The Winner's Guide To Using Social Media in Sports For Fan Engagement

The Winner’s Guide to Using Social Media in Sports for Fan Engagement https://influencermarketinghub.
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The Winner’s Guide to Using Social Media

in Sports for Fan Engagement
Navigating the Current by Werner Geyser Last Updated: October 13th, 2022 12 min read In�uencer Marketing
State of Sports Social

Media
From thousands of Chelsea fans coming together to petition against a referee to live streams o
Tips on Social Media
Thursday Night Football on Twitter–there’s no doubt that social media has in�uence in the wor
Sports Marketing to
of sports.
Engage Fans Play your cards right and you could turn it into a major asset for promoting your spor
team or athletes. In this post, we take a closer look at the state of social media in sports and ho
Frequently Asked
to e�ectively use it in sports marketing. Let’s get started.
Questions
The Winner’s Guide to Using Social Media in Sports for Fan

Engagement:
Summary
Navigating the Current State of Sports Social Media
Tips on Social Media Sports Marketing to Engage Fans
Frequently Asked Questions
Navigating the Current State of Sports Social Media
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The Winner’s Guide to Using Social Media in Sports for Fan Engagement https://influencermarketinghub.com/sports-social-media/
It goes without
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saying that
Platforms
social media
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is already
Events
a huge part of our lives.
Resources
We use it to follow o
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favorite celebrities, �nd out more about brands, and participate in trending conversations. It’s n
di�erent when it comes to the sports industry, with people following their favorite athletes an
sports teams on social media.
By breaking down communication barriers, social media o�ers a way for sports teams and athle
to connect with their fans and strengthen their bonds. In fact, over 35% of U.K soccer fans
Twitter are using the platform to follow their team and athletes more closely than before they
used social media. They also feel more closely bonded to their team.
This trend can be observed even better among younger age groups consisting of people aged
between 16 and 29. Among people in these age groups, 63% liked a sports brand on Facebook
while 44% followed a sports brand on Twitter.
Moreover, the use of social media to consume sports content isn’t just limited to the U.K.
According to a Capgemini survey, 67% of respondents aged between 18 and 27 were consumin
sports content through social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The trend
rises slightly among 28-27-year-olds, 68% of whom use social media to watch sports content.
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Source: statista.com
But what do these percentages translate to in terms of actual engagement numbers? Looking a
the social media accounts of leading sports brands, events, athletes, and teams can help us ans
that question. SportsCenter, for instance, has amassed 31.7 million followers on Instagram whil
the o�cial NFL Twitter page has 30.7 million.
These massive follower counts also translate to signi�cant engagements. During the SuperBow
LVI, the event generated 1.8 billion impressions on social media and 618 million video views wit
78 million engagements. Further surpassing these numbers, WrestleMania 38 hit a record 2.2
billion social media impressions with 1.1 billion video views, resulting in 87 million engagement
Even from just these numbers alone, it’s clear to see the power of social media for sports
marketing. And with the right strategy, you could use it to grow fan engagement for your sport
team, brand, or athletes.
Tips on Social Media Sports Marketing to Engage Fans
Considering the signi�cance and impact of social media in sports, you can’t a�ord to miss out if
you want to get ahead of the competition. Check out the following tips on how to engage spor
fans using social media.
1. Generate real-time engagement with live streaming

When it comes to sports, nothing beats real-time engagement while tensions are high, and fans
are enthused to share their commentary with others. Livestreaming some parts of your sportin
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event can bePlatforms

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a great wayAgencies
to generateJobs
this type of engagement
Events Resources
on social media.
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In fact, 42% of people want to see more live sports on social media. And 39% of social media us
are already streaming sports live on social media.
While media partnerships and restrictions may prevent you from live streaming your entire eve
for free, you might be able to stream certain events on platforms like Twitter or YouTube. This
could help you build momentum for larger games and events, enticing fans just enough for the
major events.
Twitter has even hosted the live stream for NFL’s Thursday Night Football. This allowed for
consistent fan engagement by giving them more football.
Source: techcrunch.com
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2. Provide real-time updates and highlights throughout the event Report 2023
Even for events that can’t be streamed live on social media, there’s still a way to generate fan
engagement in real time. You can use in-the-moment platforms like Twitter and features like
Instagram Stories to continuously share updates and highlights as the event is taking place. Tha
way, you can give your fans the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions throughout th
event.
This could be a great way to remain top of mind and keep the conversations current. Moreover,
allows fans who are unable to watch the live event to stay informed on the latest updates such
who scored a goal, who received a penalty, or which boxer threw a deadly uppercut. Deloitte al
found that social media was one of the top preferred channels to get rapid updates among spo
fans.
Liverpool FC regularly shares highlights in real-time as the team plays a match. This allows them
give fans an opportunity to share their comments and opinions about the match even as it’s
happening.
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3.Articles
Give recognition
Platforms to yourJobs
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In the world of sports, building fan loyalty is crucial to driving revenue and engagement. You ne
loyal supporters who keep buying your team merchandise or coming to your matches to survive
a sports team or an athlete.
While entertainment is certainly the �rst factor in building a loyal fanbase, fans also love to be
rewarded for their loyalty. That reward can be in the form of recognition. And social media can
the perfect channel to recognize your biggest fans and strengthen their loyalty.
You could give them a shout-out, respond to their comments, and show them that you’re listen
You could even tap into the interests and values of more niche and obscure fanbases to show y
appreciation for them.
As the second biggest team in the English Premier League, Chelsea FC has over 49 million fans
worldwide. One reason for the team’s huge popularity is their ability to engage and acknowledg
fans on social media.
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4. Build excitement through pre-game teasers

For many sports events, one of the main goals is to drive revenue by selling as many tickets as
possible. Or in the case of pay-per-view and live streaming events, you’d want to drive as many
purchases as possible. A great way to achieve this goal is by building excitement during the lead
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upArticles
to the event.
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Social media serves as an e�ective channel to do this as it allows you to share pre-game teasers
that could entice fans to tune into the event. For instance, you could share videos of athletes as
they warm up for training or you could post photos of them gearing up. Instagram Stories of pr
work at the venue could also be a great way to entice your fans to watch the event.
For example, Mis�ts Boxing regularly shared Instagram Reels showcasing the training session f
YouTube star KSI as he prepped for his �ght with Swarmz and Luis Alcaraz Pineda. This manage
to drive tons of views and engagement among fans, with one of the Reels garnering 484k views
and 13.8k only 3 hours after it was posted. Not to mention hundreds of comments cheering for
the star. These numbers speak volumes about the impact of Reels, considering how the page on
has 49k followers to begin with.
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5. Show your support for a social cause

Another way to strengthen your bond with fans is by showing that you care about causes and
issues that are important to them. A survey by Nielsen even found that fans expect sports leag
and athletes to lead the way in supporting social causes. Whether it’s about empowering youth
taking a stand against racial discrimination–sports fans are likely to back athletes and sports
teams on important social justice issues.
According to an ESPN survey, 71% of fans supported athletes who spoke out about racial injust
So, it’s no surprise that 55% of NBA fans supported in-court messaging that stood up for the Bl
Lives Matter movement.
Considering this, you should take the opportunity to share your support for a relevant social ca
via social media. Make sure to focus on issues that your fans care about and align with your team
values. That way, you can authentically support the cause and earn the trust of your fans.
As for the causes that are important to sports fans, the Nielsen survey found that 68% of fans
were most passionate about animal welfare. Other causes that sports fans cared about include
equal opportunity, food availability, human rights, renewable energy, and access to education.
That’s why Naomi Osaka received tons of support from fans for helping a young tennis player to
pursue her dream. Naomi shared a video of the young player thanking her, which received 74.4k
views on Twitter.
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6. Encourage athletes to take fans behind-the-scenes
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Athletes
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are Platforms
the human faces behindJobs
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your sports
Events
brand or team. As such,
Resources
they can help you buil
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human connection with your fans. Further, they could bring fans closer 2023 and sponsors
to brands
well. In fact, 26% of avid sports fans who consume sports content through social media say that
athletes help them connect with brands and sponsors.
So, don’t hesitate to bring athletes to the front of the conversation. To build a deeper connectio
encourage them to take fans behind the scenes–whether they’re prepping for a game or chillin
out after a big one. They could share candid photos and in-the-moment videos that feel “human
as they give fans an inside look into an athlete’s life.
Instagram and Facebook Stories are the perfect way for athletes to give a behind-the-scenes lo
to their followers. Alternatively, they could also share Instagram Reels to show how they prepa
for a game. That’s exactly what Simona Halep did to show her fans how she prepared for the U.
Open 2022.
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7. Tell athlete stories to build a closer connection
Besides athletes interacting directly with their followers, another way to build a strong
connection with fans is by telling their stories. As much as fans like to idolize athletes, they also
want to be able to relate to them. So, sharing social media posts about a player or athlete’s stor
could bring in that relatability factor.
You could talk about the challenges that an athlete had to overcome to get to where they are
today. This could be poverty, family issues, health problems, discrimination, and so on. The idea
to humanize the athletes by showing how they’re real people with real problems and real lives.
Essentially the goal is to show fans that these athletes are just like everyone else.
Alternatively, you could also put a spotlight on some aspects of their personal lives such as thei
volunteer work or their family. For example, the New England Patriots shared an article on
Facebook, showing how one of their players took his son to the Gillette Stadium for the �rst tim
This is a great way to add some positivity to your feed while showing the humanness of the
player.
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8. Run contests and giveaways

If there’s one thing that sports fans are known for, it’s their competitiveness. Sports fans like to
win, and they enjoy the thrill of competing for something. This is why giving them the opportun
to win through contests and giveaways is a great way to engage them on social media.
Ideally, you should run the contest around an upcoming event to build up the excitement durin
the days leading up to the event. There are plenty of ways to engage your fans through contest
such as asking them to caption something, share a post with their followers, correctly guess
something, and so on.
The Arizona Cardinals ran a “Fan of the Year” contest where they asked their followers to
nominate someone who’s an extraordinary fan of the team. This is a great way to give recogniti
to your fans while simultaneously giving them the chance to win something.
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9.Articles
Leverage the power
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Humor is powerful and it’s infectious. In fact, it could be the very tool you need to boost your
social media engagement and drive better visibility. When people see something funny that yo
posted, they could feel compelled to engage with it by reacting or commenting. Some might ev
share the post with their friends.
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So, humor could be a great addition to your social media strategy as it helps you entertain and
engage your fans. Share relevant memes, have your mascot perform some hilarious challenge, o
show your athletes just letting loose and having fun. You could even conduct funny Instagram
Stories polls like Iga Świątek did in the following Instagram Story.
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