Miami Heat Has Dallas' Number on Facebook, Twitter

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In the social media arena, Miami Heat has a distinct home court advantage over its NBA Finals opponent Dallas Mavericks. Going into tonight's first matchup of a potential seven-game series, the Heat has the audience muscle while the Mavs' marketing staffers may be more prolific.

Miami has 2.9 million fans on Facebook while Dallas has 655,700. Since winning the Eastern Conference on May 24, the Heat has authored 11 posts that have produced 82,800 "like" button taps below the messages. It's an average of 7,500 "likes" per post. And 11,900 fans have posted their own comments below the 11 messages.

Not surprisingly, the Heat's post right after the team advanced to the Finals garnered the most engagement, including 29,300 "likes" and 5,200 comments. Three of Miami's recent posts have pitched Finals tickets, while two offered Eastern Conference Champions t-shirts.

Despite its smaller Facebook audience, Dallas has the Heat beat when it comes to output. The Mavs have posted 25 messages since winning the Western Conference on May 26. Those posts have reaped 19,000 "like" clicks, averaging 760 per message, while drawing nearly 4,100 comments by the fans.

Two of Dallas's posts have offered game tickets, while three were focused on parking deals for its American Airlines Center. Interestingly, two posts crossed-promoted an offer from On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, and one pushed a Tasti D-Lite special.

On Twitter, Miami has nearly 200,000 followers compared to 70,000 for the Mavs. The Heat has authored 25 tweets since advancing to the Finals; three were dedicated to ticket sales while another pitched the new t-shirt. Here's a sample tweet from May 28: "South Florida twHEAT fans, stock up on ur @NBA Finals wardrobe this wknd @ Miami Hoops Gear @AAarena! Open 10am-4pm now thru Monday!"

A look at TwitterCounter.com stats shows that getting to the Finals has apparently lifted the Heat's presence on the micro-blogging site. During the last week, Miami has attracted roughly 13,000 new followers.

Dallas has tweeted 23 times in the last seven days, replicating most of the same offers seen on the NBA team's Facebook Page. An example from May 30: "Request ur FREE Mavs Yard sign @ On the Border! Let's paint Dallas Royal Blue! While supplies last so hurry in today!"

TwitterCounter.com stats show the Mavs have picked up 4,500 new followers after winning the Western Conference.