Is Twitter the Queensland Reds’ Secret Weapon?

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Quade Cooper - photo courtesy of Courier Mail

Queensland Reds superstar Quade Cooper tweets up to 6 minutes before kick-off and the coach encourages it!

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Rugby fans can follow the Reds on Twitter and are even likely to get a personal reply if they tweet their favourite player.

Coach Ewen McKenzie is a self-confessed ‘binge twitterer’ and constantly uses the real-time tool to communicate with players and fans.

And Reds captain James Horwill uses Twitter to fire up his team, rally supporters and drive ticket sales!

It’s no wonder Suncorp Stadium will be a full house on Saturday night.

Coincidence or Cause?

If effective communication is a hallmark of winning teams, do you think using real-time communication tool Twitter correlates to winning rugby games…?

Let’s take a look at how the Reds’ Twitter usage and their on-field performance stacks up against the other Australian Super Rugby teams in the 2011 minor premiership.

Twitter Usage vs On-Field Performance: a Rugby Case Study

Queensland Reds: 1st place

Coach, Ewen McKenzie has 4,735 followers
Captain, James Horwill has 4,021 followers
Quade Cooper has 36,040 followers
Faingaa Twins have 7,810 followers
Digby Ioane has 6,495 followers

NSW Waratahs: 5th place

Coach, Chris Hickey – not on twitter
Captain, Phil Waugh – not on twitter
Berrick Barnes – not on twitter
Drew Mitchell has 14,384 followers
Kurtley Beale has 12,222 followers

Western Force: 12th place

Coach, Richard Graham has 900 followers
Captain, Nathan Sharpe has 2,481 followers
David Pocock has 6,580 followers
James O’Connor has 22,600 followers
Matt Dunning – not on twitter

ACT Brumbies: 13th place

Coach, Tony Rea – not on twitter
Captain, Matt Giteau has 20,760 followers
Stephen Moore has 1,150 followers
Rocky Elsom – not on twitter
Adam Ashley-Cooper has 11,307 followers

Melbourne Rebels: 15th place

Coach, Rod Macqueen – not on twitter
Captain, Stirling Mortlock has 3,880 followers
Adam Freier has 1,673 followers
Laurie Weeks has 1,453 followers
Rodney Blake – not on twitter

I don’t think it’s a co-incidence at all.

In fact, I think that when leaders — coaches, captains, players, managers, bosses, you — provide an environment where real-time communication is encouraged and allowed to thrive, positive results will follow on.

What do you think?

Is Twitter the Reds’ Secret Weapon?

Captain James Horwill tweeting with fans!

Reds players — Good luck on Saturday!

#WeAreRed is the hashtag to watch on Saturday night as the Reds play for a spot in the Super Rugby grand final…! Go the REDS.

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Adam Franklin is the co-author of Web Marketing That Works. He also released 33 free marketing templates (free download). He is co-host of the top rating iTunes podcast, is an international social media speaker and marketing manager of Bluewire Media.