Five Tweets w/The Rhino: Alyson Footer

If Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros have bases loaded and two men out in the ninth inning down by three runs, we know Alyson Footer, Senior Director of Social Media for the Astros, will quickly tweet out the game’s dramatic conclusion.  We at Pitch to the Rhino quickly stumbled upon Footer’s tweets via @astrosblast back in mid-May and were impressed with the volume of information Footer tweeted out from the account.  Whether it was analysis of a tough loss or behind-the-scenes in the Astros draft war room during the recent 2010 MLB draft earlier this month, Footer was always sharing helpful information with the team’s followers.

Footer, who originally worked for the Astros’ media relations department from 1997-2001, is presently the team’s only social media department employee.  She covered theAstros for eight years for MLB.com and in May 2009, the Astros created a social networking position and offered it to her.  Since she was tweeting, blogging and Facebooking in her reporter role, the Astros thought that was a good place to start. Footer said her new role was a work in progress considering how new and unchartered the social networking world was, and still is.  Although the team has had a Facebook page for at least two seasons, the Astros’ foray into social media really started rolling when I began her new job on June 1, 2009.

Footer’s responsibilities include the obvious — tweeting her way through the season and offseason and keeping the fans updated on everything going on with the team as it happens. She is at nearly every game, home and road, so she’s able to give real-time updates on all news, game action, off-the-field events and behind-the-scenes happenings (that are acceptable for human consumption). In addition, she blogs almost daily and includes many pictures in those blogs, and also posts regular photo albums on the Astros’ Facebook page, where all of her blogs automatically link to.

Footer said the team is presently in the process of planning Tweetups and social networking nights at the ballpark, which falls to her as part of her present role.

The following are the Houston Astros social media channels:

Astros Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/Astros

Twitter feeds:

Alyson’s Twitter account: http://twitter.com/alysonfooter

AstrosBlast (team-related events): http://twitter.com/astrosblast

Astros news feed: http://twitter.com/astros

Alyson’s landing page, which includes videos, her Tweets and her blogs:

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/fan_forum/alysons_footnotes.jsp

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Now, the “Five Tweets w/ The Rhino” Interview

1. Talk a little bit about the 45th Anniversary team logo. Are there any social media activities planned around it?

We’ve been celebrating all season & will continue, so many giveaways and special nights at the ballpark are advertised through social media.

2. We love the interaction and game commentaries you do. How many hours do you work on gamedays & how many people do you chat with?

I work about 10 hours on gamedays & talk with dozens throughout. It’s a great give & take with fans. I can answer questions on the spot, and they keep me laughing.

3. The Giants hosted a successful tweetup in April, and the White Sox did in early June. Any plans for an Astros Tweetup in 2010?

Yes. We’re putting together our game plan for a Tweetup & we’re exploring social media nights for our fans who blog.

4. Talk a little about your Alyson’s Footnotes blog. Do you have complete creative control over what you say, and have you always enjoyed writing?

I do have complete control, as I’m a one-man show for the time being. Having gone from PR to reporting to social media, I do like to write!

5. With the MLB Baseball Draft live on television for the first time ever, do you foresee a time when tweeting from the draft will be expected?
They already do. MLB.com has Tweeters everywhere, & there were several dozen Tweets coming from the Draft room, during the telecast.