Perspective
How the WNBA looks to Twitter for the assist
A conversation with the league, reflecting on a season like no other.
To say this WNBA season was like no other would be an understatement. Lockdown forced fans and players alike to stick it out in their own homes until a solution bubbled up — quite literally. Despite the obstacles, the WNBA was dedicated to keeping fans in conversation with their favorite teams and athletes. Twitter was, too.
We spoke with Roman King, creative director at the WNBA, about the ways Twitter helped keep fans connected to all the action happening inside the bubble, how it supported and amplified the players and their social causes, and how the WNBA conversations are still going off on the platform.
Twitter: This was a historic season. How did Twitter help the WNBA stay connected with the world?
Roman King: As a league, we are player-first. We are amplifying the voices of our players and allowing them to tell their story on a bigger platform. They have always been vocal on Twitter because that is where the conversation starts and where the conversation is happening. For instance, this past National Voter Registration Day saw a large majority of the women so active on Twitter, specifically encouraging people to get out there, get registered, and vote.
Twitter: Since you couldn’t have people sitting in the stands, how did Twitter replace the live fan experience?
RK: This season we had to really think creatively and outside the box. At the same time, we were looking for new ways to leverage our long-standing relationship with Twitter. For example, we’ve spent the last four years doing #WNBATwitterLive, where we air games exclusively on the platform. This year, we broadcasted 10 games throughout our shortened season.
Obviously, we had no fans in the stands. Still, we wanted to keep the conversation going and make sure we were still engaging with our audience. So, for the first time we had more of a “picture-in-picture” stream on Twitter. We had huge analysts like LaChina Robinson and Ros Gold-Onwude weigh in, and that earned a lot of fan engagement. We also premiered the #WNBATwitterLive hashtag, where you could see your Tweets pop up on a screen in the bubble. That was a huge engagement factor that pulled in a lot of people and made them feel more connected to the game.
Twitter really helped us create moments that replaced the live fan experience — and people loved it. You can see it in the views. We hit 8.1 million total views for the 10 games this season, which is huge. It really speaks to the level of our audience on Twitter and just how engaged they are.
Twitter: How did the WNBA use Twitter differently than other social platforms?
RK: Twitter is like a first line of defense for us. If anything is happening conversationally, it’s happening there. When you think about platforms like Instagram, we use it for content like visuals and highlights. The difference, though, is that we can do that on Twitter while also engaging with our fans and being a part of the discussion.
On Twitter, we’re having conversations, we’re live-Tweeting games, and we’re always amplifying especially our players’ voices. I mean, consider the fact that we have 144 WNBA players. That means there’s 144 different viewpoints, opinions, thoughts, and voices. The only place you can bring all that together is on Twitter.
Twitter: The WNBA held a beautiful tribute to Kobe Bryant on August 23, which would have been his 42nd birthday. How did that all come together?
RK: Kobe was a huge supporter of the WNBA and was a mentor to a lot of our players. On that specific day we dedicated the game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream to Kobe.
On the #WNBATwitterLive game between Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream, the hosts, Monica McNutt and LaChina Robinson, spent much of the broadcast discussing Kobe’s legacy on both men’s and women’s basketball. It was a little bit of a departure from previous WNBA Lives, which are normally game-focused. This was about Kobe and his legacy. That was a special day for us.
Twitter: Now that the season has wrapped, what do you think next year will look like, and how will Twitter play a role in the WNBA?
RK: Twitter is and will continue to be integral to the WNBA media landscape. We are going to keep the conversation going. I always say that with our fans, the players, and the teams, that conversation happens on Twitter. It’s going to continue to happen on Twitter next season for us. We’re looking forward to keeping the conversation going and continuing being culturally present. We are going to continue to elevate and amplify our women, their stories, and their voices.
The WNBA isn’t just basketball. I think the fans and the world have really seen that this season. Our players and the league are so much more than just basketball. That’s going to be key, and I think Twitter is along for the ride with us.
Kelsey Taylor (@kelseyerin) is part of the Sports Global Content Partnerships team, managing Twitter’s strategic partnerships with sports leagues and media partners to bring the most premium sports content to the platform and drive sales revenue.