Not only are the Jets in the AFC Championship game for the second straight season, but they're also the No. 1 followed organization in the Twitterverse.
Yes, the wonderful world of social media, where the official New York Jets' page currently has 95, 468 followers and is the most followed NFL team on Twitter (beating out the Patriots, a la last Sunday's AFC Divisional Playoff game).
Furthermore, an article by Sophia Hollander published in the Wall Street Journal states that Jets have recorded over one million mentions since Aug. 1. The next closest team was the Dallas Cowboys, who failed miserably with just over 600,000 mentions.
They also have 437,451 Facebook followers. It doesn't stop there, though! Per WSJ article:
The team's Fireman Ed Chant app ($1.99) is the second-best selling paid sports app on iTunes. Its "Ultimate Fan" app on Facebook, which allows fans to make predictions and stage virtual tailgates, has four sponsors, making it a rare revenue-generating Facebook app for a sports team.
The Jets also do a great job of holding giveaways and contests via Twitter and Facebook, as well as reaching out to fans. How many sports executives do you know that personally interact with their fan base? Jets' executive vice president of business operations, Matt Higgins, does on a daily basis. Higgins uses Twitter to increase the team's following and receive feedback from individuals. Here are a couple of ways he does this:
- Passing on official Jets' announcements to fans.
- Personally interacting with fans and answering their questions.
- Receiving feedback about the game experience for fans at New Meadowlands Stadium, and how to improve it.
- Linking to pertinent Jets' articles around the Web. Oh yeah, and he does all of this while attending all Jets' games (both home and away) with Jets' CEO Woody Johnson. For hard-working Jets' executives such as Higgins, the day never ends, it just continues into different parts.
Back to football, Wednesday marked the two-year anniversary since the Jets hired head coach Rex Ryan. For fans, this date has marked the beginning of a new era of Jets' football, finally dispelling the cancerous "same ole Jets" label that used to haunt this franchise.
We have entered a new age of New York Jets' football and a new age of technology (Web 2.0). The Jets are embracing it; and, like their play on the field, they're crushing the opposition.
(Follow the NY Jets on Twitter and get them up to 100K followers by clicking [here]. Read along as they Tweet live updates during Sunday's AFC Championship game. Or on Facebook [here]. Go Jets!)