By Michael Silver @BigEastSilver
Jan 14, 2015
#SocialSports By Michael Silver
@BigEastSilver
Water Cooler Days
Before the Internet, word of mouth was at the core of communication at home and the work place.
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Tebow Mania
In 2007 Tim Tebow, the University of Florida quarterback, won the Heisman Trophy.
It began the era of social media in sports.
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Staying Connected
Now, more than ever, sports fans are using social media to
stay connected with news outlets, sports personalities
and each other.
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Breaking Sports News
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Being Social in the Work Place
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Live Game Interaction
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TheoriesPedersen, Miloch, and
Laucella (2007) define sports communication as:
“The process by which people in sport, in a sport setting, or
through a sport endeavor share symbols as they create meaning through interaction.”
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Uses and Gratification Theory
Proposes that the public seek information and particular communications sources to fulfill a satisfaction (Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch, 1974). People need to expand their knowledge base and social engagements through specific media outlets. The theory addresses how the public utilizes the media to satisfy an internal need. This is useful because it illustrates that people gravitate to sports media to satisfy needs they have. Sports entities must embrace this theory; recognizing the public is pursuing quality content that satisfies particular needs they have through strategic messaging.
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Social Media Reporters in Sports
@SerenaWinters is a reporter for LakersNation.com
Covering the Los Angeles Lakers and NBA action.
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Interview #1
-What kind of changes have you adapted to through the use of social media?
“The dissemination of information! You no longer need to wait to see something on ESPN. Twitter is by far the fastest place to receive and be aware of the news.”
-On using multiple platforms:
“I have to make sure something not only gets up on our website, but is tweeted correctly, posted to Facebook and Instagram properly, uploaded on YouTube, etc. There are several steps to making sure your use of social media is properly maximized.”
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Commercial Appeal
-Will any of the four major professional sports in America use advertising on jerseys or uniforms in the future?
“Absolutely. Lookout for the NBA. They'll have advertisements on jerseys in the next couple years.”
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Multiple Platforms
-How has Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram contributed to the way fans and organizations interact?
“Social media is great for us as an interaction tool. We're able to ask fans questions and create polls for articles. We read all of our mentions on Twitter and we're able to gauge the pulse of the fan base.”
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Lakers Reign Supreme
-The Los Angeles Lakers are the #1 team in the NBA in terms of social media presence. What are they doing right compared to the rest of the league?
“The Lakers have really taken it to an extra level in terms of giving their fans an experience through social media. For example, they have more than just a @Lakers Instagram account. They have a really neat @LakersScene account run by its digital department who create high-resolution pics. The Lakers also have a phenomenal Vine account that they use regularly.”
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Player Access
-How has social media changed the way players and fans communicate?
“Most importantly, it's made players ACCESSIBLE to the fans. Just today, Kobe Bryant tweeted back to 20 random fans. Before social media, how could a fan even have a chance of asking Kobe a questing AND getting a response from him?”
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Teams Ranking Highest Socially?
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Mixed Martial Arts Reporting
@TyLawMMA is a reporter for the WorldOfMMA.com
He covers the UFC and other fighting organizations.
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Interview #2 -How did you first get involved in sports journalism?
“I grew up being a big fan of boxing and then MMA became huge. In college I started a website called World of MMA for fans of the sport.”
-Which platform gives you the biggest audience?
”YouTube has been monumental. My channel has acquired over 12 million views and continues to produce traffic to my website daily.”
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Fan Interaction -How has MMA utilized social media to interact with its
fans?
The Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) has done an incredible job utilizing social media to build a following. They use Twitter to giveaway free tickets to all events. Using the hashtag #Hunt4UFC they create scavenger hunts. Crowds of people show up and it’s a big part of their event marketing.”
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YouTube Channel with over 4,500 subscribers
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Fans flock to ESPN for Content
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SportsCenter: Worldwide Leader
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Viewers Submit Their Picks
Each night SportsCenter recaps the day of sports with the Top 10 highlights.
Fans are encouraged to tweet their suggestions using the hashtag #SCTop10
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The Super Bowl
With 111.5 million viewers, Super Bowl 48 became the most-watched TV show in U.S history.
The social experience hit record high numbers.
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Twitter Conversations
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Social Trends
Social Statistics
• Nearly twice as many fans use Facebook compared to Twitter, at 73% to 37% respectively. However, they check Twitter about 1.5 times as often as they check Facebook on game day.
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Final Thoughts
The impact of social media as a source for sports information continues to grow among avid sports fans, especially on game day.
Organizations and Universities are finding new ways to connect with their digital audience.
We are still in the infancy stage of connectivity.
As more engage socially online, each experience becomes unique and authentic.
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