Using New Technologies to Reach New Tennis Players

Daniel AbrahaoAndrew Feldman

USTA North CarolinaCommunity Development Workshop

October 2008

Objectives

• Become familiar with some new technologies used for communication

• Learn how to apply those media to reaching out to new tennis players

• Understand how to create a Facebook page for your organization

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be what you’ve

always been.

What’s out there?

• Facebook (and others)

• Instant-messaging

• Text-messaging

• Blogs

• YouTube

Where’s email?

Facebook

• Web-based social networking site

• 100 million users worldwide (36 million in US) since 2004

• Includes email, photos, videos, updates, friend-finder, IM feature

• Do you (should you) have a presence on Facebook?

Instant Messaging v. Text Messaging

Typically online (but can also be on mobile)

Used on mobile phone with phone number

Typically do not keep record of IM (but can)

Same

Pops up on monitor or within program (g-chat)

Arrives on phone as message to be read

Often uses own language or abbrev. (LOL, ttyl, btw)

Same

Must be on same online network (AOL, MSN)

Works across phone networks

Blogs (and micro-blogs)

• Web sites from which to share information and “tell your story”

• Popularity of Dmitry Tursunov’s blog on ATPtennis.com: 60,000 hits

• Twitter micro-blog (short feeds—140 characters—instantly shared)

• Is it relevant for your needs?

YouTube

• Web site where users can post videos

• “Viral” quality of popular videos

• Political campaigns say more effective than Facebook

• How can you use for your tennis program?

Going Forward

• Choose two of the social media discussed today

• Make a concrete plan to utilize (what and by when)

• Share with 1-2 people at your table

• Share with us

Questions, comments, judgments?

Contact us (Facebook us!)

Daniel Abrahao

USTA North Carolina

daniel@nctennis.com

336.852.8577

Andrew Feldman

USTA National

afeldman@usta.com

914.696.7106