Social Media and Sports: How to Make Twitter’s Suggested User List

Most people on Twitter, especially athletes, musicians, and other celebrities, have one overriding goal: to get more followers. When it comes to getting more Twitter followers, the quickest way is very clear: get on the Suggested User List.

A couple of weeks ago, Kerry Rhodes, VaynerMedia’s very own client, made the list. Since then, his followers have more than quadrupled to just under 100,000 total. Kerry made the list because of two reasons that I can think of. First, he is a talented, rising star in the NFL who is gaining more and more attention from the mainstream. But more importantly, he is a great Twitter user. The truth is, they go hand in hand. A few weeks ago, Kerry was on CNN asking his followers for any questions they had about health and fitness. This would never have happened had Kerry not been both a great NFL player and a great Twitter user with passionate followers.

But I digress. The real question, and the focus of this article is, how do sports-related accounts make that leap and get on the Suggested User list on Twitter? I decided to examine the list and the sports-related accounts on the list to determine the answer to that question. Here is what I found.

1. Be one of the “Big Four” sports leagues.
The NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB are all on the Suggested User list.

2. Be important in the mainstream media.
In this group: ESPN’s SportsNation, NFL Live host Trey Wingo, Sports Illustrated’s senior NFL writer Peter King, and more.

3. Be a very accomplished team, player, or coach.
Among those who fit into this category: The Los Angeles Lakers (2009 Champs), the Philadelphia Phillies (2008 Champs), Serena and Venus Williams (numbers two and three in the world), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (NBA’s all-time scoring leader), Pete Carroll (USC football coach, 90-15 team record, 2 national championships, 7 rose bowls), Lance Armstrong (7-time Tour de France), Floyd Mayweather (the best boxer in the world), Tony Hawk (the best skateboarder of all time), and more.

4. Be a big name, for whatever reason.
This category includes the NBA’s Dwight Howard and Lamar Odom, the NFL’s Larry Fitzgerald and Chad Ochocinco, the MLB’s Jose Canseco and Nick Swisher, among others.

5. Be active and engaging on Twitter, and it doesn’t hurt to be a good player as well.
There are a number of athletes on Twitter who might not yet be the biggest names, but who are talented players and somewhat known, and most importantly, who use Twitter correctly and care about their followers. This category includes: Reggie Bush, Shaun Phillips, Mario Chalmers, Fabricio Oberto, Nick Barnett, Kerry Rhodes, and others. Each of these athletes takes the time to respond to followers almost every day, and update with pictures, videos, questions, etc. These guys are engaging and made the list because of their hard work.

If you are in the sports industry, understand that the Suggested User List is very exclusive, incredibly hard to reach, and perhaps unattainable for most of us. For now, it seems you have to be an athlete, coach, or member of the mainstream media to reach the list. But one day, it won’t take being in one of those categories to get there. So keep working hard, interacting, and producing good content.

I wrote another article today for SportsNetworker.com, entitled “The Top 100 Sports Tweets.” Check it out here: http://bit.ly/11DNwT