I grew up in Chicago and have stayed loyal to my sports teams, even after three years living in Los Angeles. However, both the Blackhawks and Bulls suffered disappointing early exits in the playoffs this year. For a while, I passive aggressively pretended sports didn’t exist. Slowly, I started watching Los Angeles Kings games. They’re a fun team to watch, and I enjoy playing with them on NHL 2012 on XBOX 360. I even sent a text to my uncle asking him how long he lived in North Carolina before he started rooting for the Hurricanes. He gave me the green light to cheer for the Kings.

Right now, I root for THE Kings, but not like I root for MY Blackhawks. Still, it’s exciting to see them up 3-1, on the cusp of the city’s first Stanley Cup. Aside from great play on the ice, I enjoy their Twitter account a great deal. In fact, Mashable spotlighted the Kings’ Twitter antics last week. For this week’s Benchmark 5, I’m giving you 5 takeaways from the Los Angeles Kings’ social media account.

  1. Trash talking is OK. When the Kings upset the Vancouver Canucks in round one of the playoffs, the Kings tweeted: “To everyone outside of BC you’re welcome.” I was one of the countless non-Canuck fans saying thank you.
  2. Humor, when done right, can go far. At the start of the Stanley Cup series, the Kings Twitter account wondered aloud: “Aside from fist pumping, what else is there do in NJ?” Count me in the long list of folks that claim Jersey Shore as a guilty pleasure. This made me laugh, without really being offensive or taking any bigger shots at New Jersey than the MTV hit show does just being on the air.
  3. Infographics are great. They inform and entertain, especially now that Pinterest has exploded. Use them often (see below).
  4. Leverage celebrities if/whenever possible. When Dwight Schrute tells you he wants to go to a game, what do you do? You send him tickets encased in a Jell-O mold, obviously. The Kings don’t even know how much Jell-O I would eat to get tickets to a Stanley Cup game.
  5. Have fun. The minds behind the Kings Twitter account are obviously having a grand ol’ time. It shows. If you’re having fun with your Twitter account and followers, others will take notice and join the party.