Social media in sport has been one of the most affected areas of sport marketing by technological change. Through the use of social networks and their interconnected ecosystems, sport audiences have shifted from local to global, fans have become more connected to teams and one another, and sport organisations have been able to expand their strategies in such areas as community relations, merchandising, public relations, social justice, and ticket sales.

What are the Benefits of Social Media in Sport Marketing?

Audience Reach

Through social media, sport entities are able to reach audiences they wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise. In the era before social media, only the largest sport brands had access to a truly national marketplace, and connecting with audiences normally required a reliance on paid mass media advertising, newspapers or television stations choosing to cover the sport entity. Small sports entities relied almost exclusively on word-of-mouth marketing, athletes had little market presence outside of endorsements and occasional personality profiles done by a journalist, and almost all entities focused on local and regional audiences. Social media helped to broaden audiences, allowing teams to reach new fans outside of their markets and athletes to reach audiences directly rather than having to rely on media outlets and external organisations to carry their message for them.

Message Control

In addition to more opportunities to reach audiences, social media allow sport entities to frame their own content and set their own agendas. In the mass media era, a local journalist might have chosen to write stories about how a sport franchise was struggling with ticket sales, while the team would have strongly preferred to focus on the team’s exploits on the field or the personalities of its athletes. Even worse, in the mass media era some sports and teams were deemed as not popular or important enough to warrant regular coverage, so audiences could go weeks or months without ever seeing or hearing a story about a team.

Fan Connections

The interactive and interpersonal aspects of social media have brought fans together over great distances. Social media allowed sport fans to connect with like-minded individuals that they may never have met in person before and for sport entities to form communities around their social network accounts. 

Drawbacks of Social Media

While social media have many benefits, their usage also has clear drawbacks and problems for sport entities. It is important for anyone working in sport-focused social media to understand these issues and weigh them in relation to how social media are used.

Online Disinhibition

Social media audiences can often be difficult or impossible to control, and the overall team message can run into significant issues on social media. One of the greatest benefits of social media is the direct access that they provide to fans and consumers, but the downside of social media is that its interactions with audiences are unfiltered and unmediated.

Lack of Resources

Social media content done correctly requires a significant investment of resources from an organization. Unfortunately, many sport entities have historically understaffed and under-resourced their social media departments. For many years, social media were something that an intern was expected to do or a communications employee was asked to do on top of an already-packed work schedule. However, sport organisations have learned the importance of social media as a marketing tool and they have started to allocate more personnel and resources to the area.

Content Differences

Social media require a different mindset than traditional marketing and sales normally use. Many marketing messages in sport were historically designed to be one way in nature, but social media messaging invites a give-and-take with the audience. Traditional marketing in sports often focuses on calls to action, product advertising, and promotion, while the best social media content focuses on community-building, popular culture, and gradual cultivation of audiences.

In conclusion, social media play a key role in sport marketing efforts for athletes, teams, leagues, media members, and many more within the world of sport. As audiences continue to abandon traditional media venues like television and newspapers, social media will continue to grow with sport entities wishing to connect with existing fans, reach new audiences, and expand their brand.

Header photo by Pexels