The Rise of Twitter in IndyCar Part IV — Drivers Navigate the Twitter Superspeedway

When it comes to connecting with fans on Twitter, public relations professionals have a central piece of advice for race car drivers, celebrities and other public figures: Don’t do it if it’s not you.

Because being “you” — as in authentic, honest, candid and real— is the key to effective use of Twitter.

Hannah Griffiths, a director at Palindrome Sports Ltd. based in the U.K. (www.palindromesports.co.uk) who counsels Pippa Mann (@pippamann) among others, says using Twitter “very much depends on the client.”

“With the use of Twitter there comes a high level of transparency, and I think that is its appeal,” said Griffiths. “It’s a great way of getting across your true personality and interacting with fans and supporters in a very unique way. I’d say to any client that if you’re happy to let people into your world, and update them on the rhythms and activities of your days, then it’s for you. If not, then we’ll find another means of communication and interaction. The transparency can work both ways, and it’s not within everyone’s comfort zone.”

Griffiths’ client, Pippa Mann, is obviously comfortable with transparency. She’s tweeted more than 5,500 times to more than 2,400 followers in two years.

“I like that Twitter is informal, and the fact that it makes a lot less work to maintain a Twitter account than it does my Facebook page,” Mann said. “The thing about Twitter though, is even if I can’t say everything I want all the time, I can say most of what I want most of the time, and it gives fans direct access to my voice without a safety net of going through a PR person first.”

Minimum Filtration -- Use Maximum Care

Public relations experts advise everyone who uses Twitter to keep in mind it's a very public forum and once you hit "send" it's hard to take it back. Even though Twitter allows users to delete Tweets, odds are someone will see your tweet and copy it or re-tweet before it's fully deleted from the stream.

Case in point: when the first part of this series posted, I meant to tweet that "PCap (@PCaporali) is a Twitter rock star" but mistakenly tweeted "PCap is a Titter rock star." I deleted the tweet within a few minutes of discovering the error but it was too late, the re-tweets were already flying.

Embarrassing typos aside, Amy Kontrath, vice president of communications for IndyCar, said social media guru Peter Shankman (@petershankman, www.shankman.com) offered a good guideline. "He said if you wouldn't want your parents or your preacher seeing it, then don't put it out there. I think that's a pretty good rule for us all to follow."

"I censor myself," said Ed Carpenter (@edcarpenter20) will drive for Sarah Fisher Racing (@SFRacing) in 2011. "I feel that people and drivers can get too liberal with Twitter. I would never want to say something on Twitter that would get taken out of context or have a member of the media use something in a negative light. I have seen too much of that in other sports especially. I don’t want to use Twitter as a sounding board as some do. I just like to use it to keep up with news and to keep up with what the racing world is saying."

Mann said nobody should expect their tweets to remain private. "I have to remember that Twitter is a public forum," she said, "and anything I say anywhere in any forum, whether it's public or not, can always be attributed back to me."

High- or Low-Frequency Tweeting

How often someone Tweets is also a personal decision. While Mann probably follows into the “heavy user” category on Twitter — cheerfully admitting she tends to “bombard everybody with everything that pops into my head” — Carpenter is a bit more reserved.

“I view Twitter probably four or five times through the day,” said Carpenter. “I definitely use it more to keep up with news and things that I follow more than I utilize it to keep the world informed of my each and every move. I am not going to name names, but I get to a point where I just don’t read what a lot of people say because it is like Groundhog Day all the time. Went to the gym … did this … did that … I don’t like to get to the point where I just tweet the same thing every day.”

Versus pit reporter Lindy Thackston (@LindyThackston) said she "tweets anything I think would entertain my followers, and that is a mix of things because I think I have a good mix of followers. I figure I could have followers from news, racing, football, entertainment, and so on -- all things I'm interested in anyway -- so I tweet what I think is important news or is interesting. When I'm working, I like to give some behind the scenes info. I also try to throw in some personal stuff and show some of my personality. Those are the tweets that get the most response."

"Showing personality" gets response because that's what many fans want when they follow celebrities. At its best, Twitter reflects the user's true personality, allowing the audience to decide whether to follow (receive someone's tweets) or not.

In the case of Mann, Thackston and Carpenter, their tweets seem to convey their personalities well. All three are friendly, yet have different personalities. Mann is a chatty (hence the steady stream of daily tweets) and out-going in person, very willing to talk off the cuff and have the joke be on her, yet mindful of her "public forum" rule.

Carpenter has a more quiet and reserved personality with new acquaintances (shown by fewer daily tweets), favoring fewer words seasoned with flashes of dry wit. Thackston is also very approachable, but with a bit of an upscale vibe. She'll go days without tweeting if she has nothing to say. When she does tweet, there can be flashes of alpha-female leather among the girl-from-Indiana lace.

Twitter celebrity popularity doesn’t appear to depend upon the number of Tweets. IndyCar’s Danica Patrick (@DanicaPatrick) is P1 among IndyCar drivers with more than 262,000 followers, despite fewer than 700 tweets in a year.

A personal tweet like this from Dec. 26 — “Go bears!!!! I forgot to mention That I went bungee jumping on vaca. Omg I am so afraid of heights! Check that off the list.” — is rare personal outburst from Patrick. Often her Tweets are focused on her sponsorship appearances, etc. Yet for more than a quarter million fans, Twitter serves as a great “what’s Danica doing now” channel.

Fan's Look to Connect with the Real Person

Penske Racing's Ryan Briscoe (@RyanBriscoe6) said Twitter's appeal to fans is "really all about the interaction. They get to know me more on a personal level and get to see or hear about what happens behind the scenes and in my personal life a bit. Plus, I often throw out competitions and giveaways. That is always fun."

Briscoe said he also enjoys the two-way communication enabled by Twitter.

"I like getting to hear what fans have to say," Briscoe said. "Getting to answer their questions, but it's also fun for me to follow other people as well. It's informative and funny."

Mann has been surprised at the level of interest in her off-track life.

"I was surprised at the interest in me," Mann said. "My daily life is fairly boring, and yet all these people are interested in following me. That part of Twitter was very surreal when I first joined, and although I've gotten used to it now, if I actually stop and think about it, it still is fairly surreal."

Thackston was also a bit surprised at the strength of fan relationships built on Twitter.

"It surprised me to see how supportive they can be," said Thackston. "I never expected IndyCar fans to embrace me like they did in the first place, but to then continue to follow me in other sports that they aren't necessarily fans of has been a pleasant shocker."

Twitter Flame

But it's not all light and lovely. Patrick also endures the darker side of Twitter, the side that can be abused to send hateful messages. While Patrick has hundreds of thousands of fans, she also has many vocal critics who often don’t hesitate to fill her stream with harsh, negative messages addressed to @DanicaPatrick.

Kimberley Jackson (@KimJackson), who manages social media for Patrick’s team, Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti), sees Patrick's incoming Twitter stream. She didn’t want to talk about the content of tweets aimed at Danica, but did say “she gets a lot of replies and a lot of feedback and a lot of people talking to her, and I think that’s just based on her overall popularity and her fan base in the sport.”

Mann uses Twitter’s controls to try and screen out haters.

“Yes, it happens,” said Mann of unkind Tweets aimed at her. “However, just like Facebook, Twitter has this wonderful little ‘block’ button. I see that sort of thing once, and then I’m afraid I just shrug, and forever after when that person tries to Tweet me I never see it. I still get the occasional re-tweets (the forwarding of critical tweets by other users) but most people who follow me do so because they kind of like what I’m doing, so they just ignore that rubbish too.”

Many drivers say they started Twitter for more of a business purpose, but then became fans of the medium themselves.

"It started out as part of a fan outreach and as a way to build my fan base," said Briscoe. "But as I've moved along, it has become more of a daily habit. I do plan on using Twitter this season to continue the giveaways and contests so fans, make sure you keep Tweeting."

Carpenter agrees that while Twitter connects him with fans, he also uses it to follow sports he's a fan of himself, along with other personal interests. Carpenter is also among many other drivers also use Twitter to interact with their IndyCar peers --  all while keeping in mind the public nature of the discussion.

“I think it is just a fun thing for me,” said Carpenter. “I really use it just to follow what’s happening in the world and in other sports including racing. I need to get better about making it part of the job. This would be a good time to mention how awesome (Carpenter’s sponsor) @mydollargeneral is.”

--

The pressdog™ Original Twitter Series --

Part I: Twitter Takes Root in IndyCar

Part II: Tweetups — Let's Tweet and Greet

Part III: PR Pros See Twitter as a Tool

Part IV: Drivers and Celebrities Talk about Twitter

Part V: The Fans Tweet about Twitter

Comments

[Oilpressure]

So does this mean I can't have my massive Oilpressure.com staff doing my tweets for me? Damn!

Great series, p-dog!

[Jmcc09]

Enjoyed reading your blogs on Twitter. I agree with Hannah's comments that the fans want to see drivers' personalities. In fact, I've become a fan of Ryan Briscoe because I got to see more of his personality through Twitter. I follow most of the drivers, but I don't follow Scott Dixon, because he doesn't personally tweet. On the other hand, to the best of my knowledge, all of the other drivers maintain their own Twitter accounts.

[dewey]

here is the thing , twit is a childish thing , etch a sketch . would you teach your children to read and write from bottom to top ? a might big thought !!!

[Zachary]

Still really enjoying this series. Again, very nice work.

I’ll say this: there are drivers I find myself disappointed they don’t tweet more, which I think speaks well of Twitter as a social media tool. For every Pippa or Graham Rahal or Scheckter, there’s a number of drivers who only tweet sporadically, if at all. Hopefully, those that aren’t on there right now end up getting on the bandwagon. You get used to getting these little glimpses and occasional back-and-forths with your favorite drivers, which is something most fans only a few years ago could have never hoped for. It’s really become a prime source for news, catching up, and getting idea who your favorite drivers are out of the car.

[Bash]

Pdog, this is an amazing series - thanks for putting in the time. A definite case study. Twitter owes you. :p

One of the most enjoyable things about Twitter is the ability to tweetcast events or happenings and to follow along as others do. I still vividly remember my enjoyment a couple years ago as Tony Kanaan took all his followers along with him on his trip to the Indiana State Fair. Hilarious photos of TK in wacky hats, with powdered sugar from his funnel cake all over his face, and the narrative was great comedy. TK completely gets the power of the medium and how to use it to connect. Would love to see the IndyCar series lead the way as an example of how professional sports connect with their fans.

[Indyfan]

You mean some of the drivers don't actually tweet for themselves? Gosh, I just figured Scott Dixon always spoke in third person.

[Pat W]

Great series of posts, Pdog. Everything you say is true. Firing up my Twitter client (Tweetdeck) is frequently one of the first things I do when I get home from work, I scroll through the last hundred tweets to see the latest news and posts from media and bloggers, and the chatter/banter among fellow fans. Just the latter point alone is reason enough for any racing fan to sign up, let alone the brilliant insider stuff. I've had great discussions with fellow fans.

We have it pretty good now, there are so many team/driver/media/insider tweeters I now make uses of the Lists function to keep up with several of them, rather than follow them directly which can fill up the main feed - and that's with some notable names not having joined yet.

On Bash's point, IndyCar as a whole *already* leads the way. I knew Twitter had arrived in the mainstream when even the insular and aloof F1 teams started doing it towards the latter end of 2009. Everyone was amazed at the access - apart from those of us who had seen the same revolution many months earlier in IndyCar (although - it was still cool). IndyCar teams had a clear headstart on Twitter, compared to other racing series at least.

I love that during F1 races when Vettel does well, you've got @Newman_Haas tweeting during the race about how his engineer Rocky worked for them a few years ago - they always seem really pleased when he wins. Those kind of connections you just wouldn't know about without Twitter.

Pat
(I watch) @toomuchracing