It was a first for Twitter, and for football. On Sunday, August 25th, the San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) hosted the first ever dual takeover of its Twitter account by supermodel Marisa Miller (@marisamiller) and Golden State Warriors (@warriors) forward Andre Iguodala (@andre) during an otherwise routine preseason game against the @Vikings.
To get fans pumped up before the game, the @49ers teased the takeover in advance:
Stay tuned. @49ers will have a special guest this Sunday… pic.twitter.com/3m6v7V097z
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 22, 2013
Make that TWO special guests for Sunday’s game. Any guesses? pic.twitter.com/T6OJinklTJ
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 22, 2013
Then the big reveal:
A @Twitter first. Tune in Sunday for a Dual Twitter Takeover of @49ers by @marisamiller & @andre Iguodala. http://t.co/MNXyyRLl3s
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 22, 2013
Miller and Iguodala also tweeted about the takeover or used Vine from their own accounts to encourage their followers to join the fun.
See ya tomorrow @49ers! #gameday pic.twitter.com/2wh8egF58t
— Marisa Miller ( @marisamiller) August 25, 2013
When the game began, the two posted updates, photos and commentary directly from @49ers, signing off with initials so fans knew who had posted what:
My twitter partner needs to work on making better faces ;-) -MM pic.twitter.com/sPnKiTQqVp
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 26, 2013
Touchdowns high fives with my buddy @andre through the glass -MM pic.twitter.com/hNY6TRmgp9
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 26, 2013
High five through the glass! -ai9 pic.twitter.com/ZkSqiHy93G
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 26, 2013
The pair had fun with it, sharing their personalities with the @49ers followers and drawing them into the game.
ooooh kill em! touchdown quinton patton! told you @SNFonNBC #sctop10 -ai9
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 26, 2013
btw my touchdown dance would be #theTerio #ooooohkillem -ai9
— San Francisco 49ers ( @49ers) August 26, 2013
Twitter takeovers have a history of boosting followers and engagement across sports, as the Vin Scully takeover of the Dodgers showed earlier this year.
During the takeover, the @49ers gained twice as many followers as their daily average for August. They also earned their highest number of mentions for a preseason game in August, as this chart shows:
The number of mentions for Miller and Iguodala weren’t too shabby, either:
Do you know of other innovative uses of Twitter? Contact us at mediablog@twitter.com.