Player Led Twitter Chat: #KeepItComing

The announcement is made, a new professional women's soccer league will launch in four months.

This sets off a series of events for many fans. Elation, high fives, wild tweeting, and then a hunt for more information. For more details. When we get good news like this we have an almost insatiable appetite for more, and want to read any and every perspective we can find.

Yael Averbuch and Ella Masar, both players who will likely play in the new league, joined forces to lead a Twitter Chat, uniting the conversation around the hashtag #WSoccerChat. The chat attracted American, Canadian and European players, fans from around the world, team representatives, members of the media, and people with soccer business interests. The 30-minute tweetchat reached an audience of 160,173 followers. Check out the screen shot below for a slice of the chat:

There's lots of reasons why this rocks. It gives access to players. The chat feels like something you might share with a friend, so it builds engagement and the fan community. It tells us something we didn't know before. Social media can unite fans in a way that was almost unthinkable a few years ago. And in a way websites and press conferences can't offer.

If you're interested, here below are some common themes that appeared during the discussion. You can also check out the full chat here:

Broadcasting
Accessibility of games on TV, webcast for fans as key to selling the league, building awareness, educating fans.

Salaries
Players valuing sustainability of the league over big salaries and big international talent.

Marketing
Curiosity around team marketing strategies to mitigate risk of USWNT popularity not transferring to league situation.
Transfer of marketing knowledge from US Soccer to teams.
Marketing to new, untapped fan bases.
Player-fan engagement through social media, autograph sessions, grassroots events, camps.
Team/player rivalries.

Roster
Some players have contracts with foreign clubs through 2013. More player availability foreseen for 2014.
How will the non-national team roster spots be filled - college draft?

If you're on Twitter, follow @Yael_Averbuch and @emasar3 for a heads up on the next Twitter Chat about the new women's professional league.

Related posts:
New League Could Get Massive Boost from WPS' Digital Rolodex