Harry Redknapp to host Twitter Q&A as part of fan engagement strategy
Queens Park Rangers boss, Harry Redknapp, is to hold his first Twitter Q&A session today in a move to develop closer relationships with the fan base. QPR are currently the only undefeated team in English top flight football, so with form doing well it’s probably an excellent time to plan a Q&A with the manager.
Hoops fans have been asked to tweet in their questions to the manager on the #AskHarry hashtag and throughout today, he will respond via the @OfficialQPR Twitter account. Whilst Twitter Q&As are incredibly common among clubs, it’s good to see a club willing to integrate their manager into their activity. Managers on Twitter are incredibly rare, and to the best of our knowledge the only major football manager currently using Twitter is Celtic’s Neil Lennon.
Undoubtedly, younger and ambitious footballers are probably more motivated to be on Social Media as they look to not just make their own opinions about the game known, but also start to build a media profile for life after football. Managers meanwhile have either been “too busy” to take to Twitter or have harbored a cautious skepticism for a platform that regularly gets player sin trouble and into the back pages. For QPR however, they see the move as a refreshing way of opening up a dialogue with their fan base and capitalising on a time where there’s likely to be less criticism towards the manager.
QPR Multi-Media officer, Adam Hulme, told Digital-Football.com,
“At QPR we are always looking for new and innovative ways to engage and communicate with our fans through the club’s official Social Media channels. Many fans will only be able to hear Harry Redknapp’s thoughts and opinions by watching our live press conferences – streamed live via @OfficialQPR – or small snippets on TV, but without really having their ‘own’ questions answered.
It’s rare that football managers take time out to engage with their fans through Social Media. As Harry isn’t on Twitter, we thought we’d do the next best thing…#AskHarry!”
The move shows how Social Media is increasingly becoming a more and more influential consideration for not just marketing and engagement strategies, but also with press issues.
