Episode 26 - Cubs Win! The Most Engaging Team in Baseball

“This is the greatest journey in sports history,” says Kevin Saghy, Manager of Communications for the Chicago Cubs, “and we want to see it through to completion.” He is referring, of course, to the Cubs being the odds-on favorites to win the World Series in 2016, something they haven’t done since Henry Ford produced the first Model T in 1908.

Describing his role as part public relations and part social media, Kevin is in charge of “protecting the Cubs’ reputation” and defining the team’s public “voice”. Under his leadership, the Cubs’ social media accounts – which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest and Snapchat – have become “a little edgier, a little wittier” – and the fans love it.

In fact, a 2015 FanGraphs study named the Cubs the most engaging team on Twitter among all Major League Baseball teams. “That’s a stat we’re really, really proud of,” Kevin says.

Kevin joined Dan Gingiss and Dan Moriarty for Episode 26 of the Focus on Customer Service Podcast. Here are some key moments in the episode and where to find them:

1:05 Kevin’s role and how the Cubs’ social media team is organized

4:08 Kevin explains the line between fan engagement and true customer service inquiries

6:21 How the Cubs staff the social media team during games

8:07 How the team engages with fan questions about free agent signings, trades, etc. when they can’t share details

11:20 What the conversation with Cubs management is like when the social media team proposes something new

14:04 What kinds of customer service questions the team gets in social media

17:00 How the marketing content and customer service inquiries change during the offseason

20:03 Kevin shares some memorable interactions with fans

25:43 What Kevin wishes he knew when he first started in social care

28:02 Kevin’s outlook for the 2016 Cubs season

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