The Essence of Social Media Strategy in Big Ten Athletic Departments: A Phenomenological Approach

The Essence of Social Media Strategy in

Big Ten Athletic Departments:

A Phenomenological Approach

Makayla Hipke

Frauke Hachtmann, Ph.D.

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

  To develop an understanding of the essence of social media strategy developed and deployed by Big 10 athletic departments.

Purpose

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

  12 Division I-A universities  More than 10 million fans attend Big

10 Conference football, men’s and women’s basketball, and volleyball events

 Programs with largest fan bases: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State

The Big 10 Conference

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

“A group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technical foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation of user-generated content.”

(Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010)

Definition of social media

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

 Back Stage Sensation   Engagement, interactivity and two-

way communication   Community building  Relevance and brand building   Immediacy

Literature

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

 What did the participants experience in terms of the phenomenon?

 What contexts or situations have typically influenced their experiences of the phenomenon?

Research questions

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

 Design: phenomenology  Purposive sample   In-depth phone interviews  Data analysis: horizontalization,

clusters of meaning, textural and structural descriptions, narrative of the essence

Method

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

  Social media are now trumping websites in terms of fan communication

 Platforms are used for different purposes

  Social media are used for information, promotion, and research

1. Connecting with target audiences

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

“It’s a way to a pulse on your fan base, to know how they’re feeling and know when something might be worth addressing and when something might be better just to ignore it.”

1. Connecting with target audiences

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

 Ranges from centralized team approach to decentralized individual approach

 Ranges from frequent short-term planning meetings (weekly) to infrequent long-term planning meetings (annually)

2. Coordination of Postings

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

  Competing interests are challenging   Individual sports accounts are

handled by sports information staff for recruiting purposes

 Organizational accounts are handled by marketing for branding purposes

 Keeping a balance

3. Content gatekeepers

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

“As much as we want to get out and promote, we have to make sure that we’re not killing ourselves with spam and becoming spam. We have to engage our audience but also be courteous to them.”

3. Content gatekeepers

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

 Difficult to show ROI of social media efforts

 Administrators still need to be convinced of the value of social media

  Social media still considered “added value” instead of stand-alone promotional channel

4. Sponsors and revenue

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

“They’re running a campaign with stadium signage or maybe a website banner, and they’ll get a throw-in with social media. That’s something we want to get away from.”

4. Sponsors and revenue

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

  Enhancing the fan experience  Building the brand organically

through engagement  Will engagement lead to

merchandise and ticket sales?   Fan loyalty as a result of two-way

communication

5. Building loyalty through engagement

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

“We’re not able to keep up with everybody but we interact with fans as much as possible. It can’t just be one-way. If it’s two-way that’s where they become engaged and their fan loyalty builds because they’re being heard. They’re being respected.”

5. Building loyalty through engagement

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

 Measuring two-way communication meaningfully

  Concern for the brand   Concern for the student-athlete

6. Negativity and metrics

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

“We’re not too concerned about doing something social that’s going to hurt our brand. We’re worried about our student-athletes and how it’s going to hurt their personal prospects.”

6. Negativity and metrics

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

  Social media are used to communicate with various audiences for different purposes

 Difficulty measuring ROI   Centralized versus decentralized

planning   Sports information versus athletic

marketing

The Essence

2013 AEJMC Annual Convention | Washington, D.C.

 Need social media plan with clearly articulated and measurable goals

  Identify and measure key performance indicators

 Managerial decision-making   Connect sponsors in a meaningful

way

Discussion

Thank you!

Makayla Hipke Frauke Hachtmann, Ph.D.