Learn how to keep your timeline engaging during the most important in-game moments.
Tweeting while the game is on is expected from almost all sports accounts, but if you’re not selective about what you say, your timeline can quickly become dull and repetitive.
With careful preparation and the right Twitter tools, your timeline can be as gripping as the game itself.
In-game live Tweeting can lead to some of the most important moments for fans. But Tweet strategy has shifted dramatically overthe years, as video and media-forward Tweets continue to garner the lion’s share of engagements.
The days of Tweeting score updates every 30 seconds are long-gone. We can’t stress this enough: Avoid treating your account as a score ticker. It’s fine to update fans on the flow of the game—including scores and other big moments—but it’s a mistake to showcase every score, shot, and individual moment. That leads to timeline clutter: too many Tweets in too short a time span, offering little of relevance to your followers.
Instead, treat in-game Tweeting as an opportunity to showcase the game’s most important moments. Focus on unique and engaging content—namely, less text and more images, GIFs, and videos. Of course, it’s difficult to wrangle images and videos while the action is ongoing. That’s why careful preparation is crucial.
Sharing in-game video highlights is clearly a no-brainer. But it also helps if you’ve got pre-prepared GIFs and short-form video on the bench, ready to come in when your timeline needs a boost. The goal is to let your team’s followers feel like they’ve got a courtside seat, not trapped in the nosebleed section.
Keep these tips in mind when drawing up your Twitter game plan:
- Don’t try to share every single moment from the game; your timeline should not be a score ticker.
- Focus on big plays, game-changing moments, and key time updates (end of each quarter, two-minute warning, bottom of the 9th, etc.).
- GIFs, short-form looping video, and professional images tell a story better than plain text.
- Use in-game video highlights as often as you can.
- Use features like threads, image and video cards, and Moments to keep the timeline as fresh as possible.
Share your journey with fans
You don’t have to wait for the action to start to begin Tweeting. Give your followers a heads-up that you’re on your way to the big game.
Use images and video to help your timeline look great during games
Pre-prepared GIFs and short-form looping video are critical to your in-game Tweeting strategy. Take the time in the offseason to plan, create, and organize as much of this content as you can. If your staff lacks the necessary skills to produce this content, look for affordable vendors who can. Bottom line: The more media forward content you feature on your timeline, the more engagement you’ll see with your team’s account during games.
Use compelling images or GIFs that showcase score updates
Halftime is a great opportunity to take time to create some snappy graphics.
Threading can help organize your timeline effectively during games, reducing clutter and providing structure
Threading allows you to seamlessly organize Tweets along a common theme. For in-game Tweeting, it can be a fantastic way to follow up quickly to key moments. Let's say you sent out a Tweet with 1:56 left in the half after a big three-point play, and four seconds later your team makes a steal and another three-pointer. Instead of sending out a new Tweet, you can create a thread that avoids cluttering your timeline, making it easier for fans to follow the action.
