How the Colorado Rockies social media team has succeeded without baseball

The Rockies last took the field on March 10 in a 5-5 tie with the Cincinnati Reds. Two straight days of rain washed out games following that, but the threat from COVID-19 of postponing spring training and the season was looming heavily during those gloomy days in Scottsdale as well.

On Friday the 13th, Major League Baseball suspended all spring training activities. That same day, the Rockies social media account put out a thread on Twitter. That would become the backbone of what the team’s social media would center on for the foreseeable future.

“The first day that the season was postponed, we put out a long thread, outlining what our approach would be,” Valentin said. “Every once in a while, we’ll go back to that and make sure that we’re sticking to our goals and what we wanted to accomplish. That’s definitely guided us in making sure that we continue to effectively communicate with people.”

Valentin also emphasized that communication and connection go hand-in-hand.

“This is always a focus for us, a core element of our account and organizational voice, but we’ve doubled down on being conversational, authentic, and empathetic while keeping things fun,” he said. “That ‘real talk’ and diversity of our approach is huge and we are trying to create an environment where we can make meaningful connections with people and they can make meaningful connections with each other.”

He also said that that connection is built by a team of people within the Rockies organization, not just the two people who monitor the social media accounts.

“Everything we do is an organizational effort. My team and I may push send on the social accounts, but prior to that point there is so much discussion and strategy that comes from all corners of the organization,” he said. “My boss, Jill Campbell, is the best and has created an incredible collaborative environment for our department that lends itself to great work in these times. Our community relations group has been amazing doing so many things to help others. Our production team has been a huge help with our video requests. They have been stars. Our partnerships group has kept their relationship strong and we have supported them and our partners as much as possible. The marketing and communications teams have been fantastic. Everyone, every department. And our executive leadership, led by Dick Monfort, Greg Feasel, and Jeff Bridich, have done an amazing job navigating a crazy situation, and they have supported our group every step of the way.

“We are just trying to be the thread that ties everything together as one of the only voices we have right now.”

From team photographers to players to graphic designers, it has truly been a team effort to stay connected to baseball fans in a time without baseball.