Collegiate Athletic Fans Perception of the Use of Social Media in Marketing

Grade Level at Time of Presentation

Junior

Major

Sport Management

Institution

Morehead State University

KY House District #

99

KY Senate District #

27

Department

Management and Marketing

Abstract

Over the last five years, social media has become the dominant tool for people to receive news and messages. Nowadays, sports fans also turn to the four main platforms of social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, to receive marketing information, highlights, updates, and statistics while consuming sports content. Numerous studies indicated the greatest advantages for all levels of sports organizations using social media to promote the events and engage their fans. To fully understand the utilization of social media and its effectiveness for marketing intercollegiate athletic events, this study examined 149 event spectators’ (62% males and 38% females) preferable methods for obtaining athletic information and promotional messages of a regional collegiate athletic program in Appalachia. The results showed the respondents relied on social media as much as the official athletic website to obtain information and game content. They relied far less on the traditional means such as word of mouth, radio, and printed media. The use of Facebook (72%) was still more prevalent than the use of Twitter (43%) perhaps because a greater number of respondents (60%) were 45 years of age or older. Nevertheless, 56% of respondents were satisfied with the content received through social media. Practical strategies for increasing certain types of video content and messages to enhance student event attendance and engagement were addressed based on the analyses of this data. It is logical for athletic programs to create employment or internship positions to further generate and monitor promotional and informational content in social media platforms.

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Collegiate Athletic Fans Perception of the Use of Social Media in Marketing

Over the last five years, social media has become the dominant tool for people to receive news and messages. Nowadays, sports fans also turn to the four main platforms of social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, to receive marketing information, highlights, updates, and statistics while consuming sports content. Numerous studies indicated the greatest advantages for all levels of sports organizations using social media to promote the events and engage their fans. To fully understand the utilization of social media and its effectiveness for marketing intercollegiate athletic events, this study examined 149 event spectators’ (62% males and 38% females) preferable methods for obtaining athletic information and promotional messages of a regional collegiate athletic program in Appalachia. The results showed the respondents relied on social media as much as the official athletic website to obtain information and game content. They relied far less on the traditional means such as word of mouth, radio, and printed media. The use of Facebook (72%) was still more prevalent than the use of Twitter (43%) perhaps because a greater number of respondents (60%) were 45 years of age or older. Nevertheless, 56% of respondents were satisfied with the content received through social media. Practical strategies for increasing certain types of video content and messages to enhance student event attendance and engagement were addressed based on the analyses of this data. It is logical for athletic programs to create employment or internship positions to further generate and monitor promotional and informational content in social media platforms.