Influencer Q&A: How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers score with the Buy button

Monday, 6 July 2015

This spring, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@TBBuccaneers) fans were thrilled to learn that the team had selected Florida State quarterback, National Champion and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston as the top pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. They grew even more excited when, minutes later, they saw a Tweet from the team inviting them to instantly purchase Winston’s new jersey.

The @TBBuccaneers are continuing to score with the Buy button, an easy way for shoppers to purchase items directly from Tweets. They’re also having success with plenty of other Twitter tools, from Promoted Video to group Direct Messages. We talked with Kevin Corbett, the @TBBuccaneers’ director of digital and creative services, to learn more about how the @TBBuccaneers are using Twitter to rally support and sell merchandise. 

Influencer Q&A: How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers score with the Buy button

Image used with permission from the @TBBuccaneers

@TwitterAds: Why did you decide to try the Buy button?

Kevin Corbett: The moment we learned we would have the #1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft, we understood all eyes were going to be on us, and the Buccaneers would be the focus of the draft for the next four months. We wanted to do something extraordinary to make the most of our big moment, and that led us to try Twitter’s newest feature.

We loved that the Buy button enabled fans across the country to buy Jameis’ jersey just minutes after his selection. They didn’t have to be at home on a desktop, they didn’t have to be at a storefront. They could be on a train or a bus or just walking down the street, and make the purchase as soon as the news broke, right from their mobile device.

Influencer Q&A: How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers score with the Buy button

Image used with permission from the @TBBuccaneers

@TwitterAds: Do you have advice for other brands interested in using Twitter to drive sales?

Kevin Corbett: The best advice I could give would be to design a campaign around a special event and give Twitter users a compelling reason to buy right then and there on Twitter, such as a significant discount or the fact that the product is available exclusively on Twitter for a limited time.

It’s also worth noting that the Buy button is simply an interface to drive purchases to your traditional e-commerce solution. So, there’s no cannibalization of online sales. Rather, you are simply providing another avenue for online shoppers to purchase your products.

@TwitterAds: Going back to the NFL Draft, what else did you do on Twitter to make the most of your big moment?

Kevin Corbett: We posted several high profile videos throughout draft weekend. The first was of our owners and executives calling Jameis to tell him he was our pick. Another was of an interview with Jameis right after the announcement was made. Being able to share those historic moments instantly with fans all over the globe was really important to us.

What was great to learn was that we didn’t see any noticeable drop off in video begins on Buccaneers.com, meaning there was no cannibalization of our website video traffic.

@TwitterAds: What other Twitter tools have you used to connect with fans?

Kevin Corbett: During rookie camp and OTAs (Offseason Training Activities), we used Twitter’s group Direct Message function to host private chats with our two second-round picks, tackle Donovan Smith and guard Ali Marpet. For each chat, we invited a small number of season pass members to join, and they were able to send questions and comments to Donovan and Ali directly for about fifteen minutes.

We are always trying to provide our season pass members with the type of benefits that are important to them, and direct access to players is what they want. Twitter’s group Direct Message function really allowed us to deliver unique access.

Influencer Q&A: How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers score with the Buy button

Image used with permission from the @TBBuccaneers and Waleed McFarland

@TwitterAds: It sounds like Twitter is important for you from a customer service perspective.

@TBBuccaneers: Yes. Part of our success with engagement is how diligent we are with monitoring sentiment and conversations about the Bucs on Twitter. A great example of a success story that would not have been possible without Twitter is when we identified a fan who was frustrated with the team’s performance and planning to cancel his season passes.

When we saw his Tweet, we immediately engaged with him, brought the conversation offline and notified his guest member relations rep. The rep called him directly and not only talked him out of canceling, but actually got him to upgrade his season passes!

@TwitterAds: How is using Twitter different for sport teams than for other advertisers?

@TBBuccaneers: In sports, we have so much breaking news that we need Twitter to keep our fans informed. Even during the off season we have plenty of updates, from the draft to the schedule release to how off-season workouts are going.

We send a high volume of Tweets, which in turn solicits engagement and feedback from our fans. There’s an unquenched desire out there from our fans for all things Buccaneers, and with Twitter, we can give them almost 24/7 access to the team.

@TwitterAds: What was the Bucs’ most recent Twitter play?

@TBBuccaneers: We had such great success with the Buy button on draft night that we continued that success with a Father’s Day campaign. We know how relevant football is to fathers and sons, so the holiday is a great match for us.

Influencer Q&A: How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers score with the Buy button

Learn more about the Buy button here, and contact your account representative to launch a campaign.