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Phoenix Suns Survey Report

Introduction
The Phoenix Suns research team conducted an
online survey of Phoenix Suns fans who follow the
team on social media to learn about what kind of
content fans like to see and engage with. The
primary purpose of the survey was to figure out what platform’s fans use the most
and which platforms they use to interact with the team. Based on the interview we
conducted, we also aimed to see what the relationship was between interactions on
social media posts and the type of content that is posted.

Research Question 1: What type of content do fans like to see on social media?
Research Question 2: Is there a relationship between posting frequency and
engagement levels?

Methodology
The survey was built and analyzed using the survey software Qualtrics and was
compromised of 15 questions. To screen out non-fans and followers of the Phoenix
Suns, skip logic was used to ask questions centered around participants that were
aware of the team’s presence on social media and followed them on multiple
accounts. Overall, the survey took 5 to 7 minutes to complete.

The first block of questions was used to gauge how active fans were on social media
platforms. (see Q1-Q3 in the appendix). The second block of questions was used to
screen participants to determine if they were fans of the team and if they followed
the team on social media (see Q4-Q6 in the appendix). To get down into the specifics
on what type of content fans engage with and prefer to see, questions were asked
relating these topics and to see if frequency in posts influenced engagement (see Q7-
Q10 in appendix). The third block was used to determine what kind of audience the
suns are potentially reaching by determining if participants were from Arizona and if
they live in Arizona (see Q11-Q12 in the appendix). Lastly, demographic questions
were asked at the end of the survey (see Q13-Q15 In the appendix).

The survey was distributed through Instagram stories every day from October 31-
Nov 5, 2023, and posted to twitter on October 31, 2023. On twitter, the post received
274 impressions, 27 engagement and 9 link clicks.
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Sample Demographics
The target population for this survey was individuals who considered themselves fans
of the Phoenix Suns and followed them on social media. In total, 37 Phoenix Suns
fans were surveyed. Participants were mostly male (72%), residing in Arizona (96%)
and between the ages of 18-24 (88%). Table 1 provides further sample demographics.

Table 1. Sample Demographics (N = 37)

Demographics % of Sample
Gender
Male 72%
Female 28%
Age
Under 18 4%
18-24 88%
25-34 8%
Residence
Arizona 96%
Other 4%

Results
Social Media Activity

Overall, most Suns fans are actively on social media with 54.1% of respondents
responding that they check social media almost all day (see Figure 1).
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Social media usage

25

20
20

15
12

10

5
5

0
Occasionally/sometimes Almost all day All day

How frequently do you check social media throughout the day ?

Figure 1. How frequently respondents check social media.

When participants were asked which platforms they used the

most, a majority of respondents responded with Instagram
(86.5%). Given that Instagram receives the most engagement
from fans it seems to be a pattern that it is also the most used
platform among fans.

Frequently used platforms

What social media platforms are you on most frequently?
35

30 32

25

20 23 22
20
15

10

5 8

0 3
Instagram Twitter TikTok Snapchat Facebook Other

Figure 2. Most used platforms among respondents.

Social Media Feedback
When participants were asked to rate how much they agreed with the statement that they
enjoyed the content that the Suns social media posted, 48% of respondents either agreed,or
strongly agreed. The remaining 4% said that they strongly disagreed which is interesting giving
that they still follow the team despite not liking the content they posted. When asked If they
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frequently engaed with the suns on social media, 40% of the participants remained neutral. For
the final question, respondents were asked if they look out for content from the Suns social
media and once again 44% remained neutral on the question which gives the assumption that
they don’t look for content to be posted and might interact depending on the type of content
that is posted.

Suns social media feedback

60.0%

50.0% 48.0% 48.0%

44.0%
40.0%
40.0%

30.0% 28.0%
24.0%
20.0% 20.0%
20.0% 16.0%

10.0%
4.0% 4.0% 4.0%
0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
0.0%
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

I enjoy the content the Suns post on social media. I look out for content from the Suns social media accounts.
I frequently engage with Suns social media.
Figure 3. Feedback of Suns social platforms.

Despite majority of respondents answering neutral when asked if they look out for content on
social media, 36% of fans answered that it was moderately important to them how frequently
the team posted on socials with 32% of them answering that it was very important.

Posti ng frequency
Slightly important Neutral Moderately important Very important Extremely important

Slightly important
Extremely important 8%
4%

Neutral
Very important 20%
32%

Moderately
important
36%

Figure 4. Importance of posting frequency.

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Respondents were also asked to rank the type of content that they like to see from the Suns
social media accounts. Highlights were ranked the highest 64% of the time which lead all
categories. News were ranked in the lowest section 44% of the time.

A cross

tabulation was conducted to determine if the most used platform’s that respondents reported
using directly correlated with which Suns social media account was most followed. As we can
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see in Table 2, 96% of users reported following the Suns on

Instagram. We also see that the Suns Instagram does in fact have the
most followers with 7.8 million followers. 68% of respondents also
reported following the Suns on Twitter which currently has the
second most followers at 2.8 million.

Table 2. Cross tabulation of Phoenix. Suns followed accounts and

most engaged with social media platforms.

Platforms fans follow # of followers Platform fans use frequently

Instagram 96% 7.8 million 86.5%
Twitter 68% 2.8 million 62.2%
TikTok 24% 700 thousand 59.5%
Facebook 8% 2 million 21.6%
Snapchat 8% 189 thousand 54.1%

Limitations of Study
The survey reports were derived from Instagram story viewers and Twitter users that clicked the
link available from October 31, 2023, to November 5, 2023. Because most users who clicked the
link through Instagram there could be a bias for the preference of Instagram dominating over
the other platform’s the Suns are on. Another limitation for the study could be that only people
who followed the research team were exposed to the survey and could limit the reach that the
survey had for other demographics and age groups.
Conclusion
Overall, the survey gave an idea as to what type of content Suns fans like to see on social media
and which platforms are engaged with most frequently. From the survey we were able to
identify that the most popular content that fans like to see on social media are highlights from
the team (RQ1). The survey also found that posting frequency did matter to fans but did not
generally affect how much they engaged with the teams posts (RQ3). Instagram appears to be
the Phoenix Suns most important platform. From the survey we arrived to the conclusion that
with respondents preference leading towards video content along with Instagram being its most
followed and engaged with platform, it has served as the center for Suns fans interaction with
the team.

Appendix: Full Survey with Responses

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Introduction:
Welcome to the research study!

We are interested in understanding how aware consumers are of the Phoenix Suns and their
social media presence. You will be presented with information relevant to social media and the
Phoenix Suns and asked to answer questions regarding these topics. Please be assured that your
responses will be kept completely confidential.

The study should take you around 5 minutes to complete. Your participation in this research is
voluntary. You have the right to withdraw at any point during the study, for any reason, and
without any prejudice. If you would like to contact the Principal Investigator in the study to
discuss this research, please e-mail Jonathan Melendez at jmelen17@asu.edu.
By clicking the button below, you acknowledge that your participation in the study is voluntary,
you are 18 years of age, and that you are aware that you may choose to terminate your
participation in the study at any time and for any reason.

Please note that this survey will be best displayed on a laptop or desktop computer. Some
features may be less compatible for use on a mobile device.

Question 1: Are you active on social media?

 Yes
 No

Question 2: How frequently do you check social media throughout the day?
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 Never
 Almost never
 Occasionally/sometimes
 Almost all day
 All day

Question 3: What social media platforms are you on most frequently?

 Instagram
 Twitter
 Facebook
 Snapchat
 TikTok
 Other

Question 4: Do you currently follow sports teams on social media?

 Yes
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 No

Question 5: Are you familiar with the Phoenix Suns professional basketball team?
 Yes
 No

Question 6: Do you follow the Suns on social media?

 Yes
 No
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Question 7: For the following statements please indicate if you agree or disagree.
 Strongly Disagree
 Disagree
 Neutral
 Agree
 Strongly Agree

Question 8: What platforms do you follow the Suns on?

 Instagram
 TikTok
 Twitter
 Facebook
 Snapchat
 Other

Question 9: What type of content do you prefer to see from teams on social media?
 Images
 Videos
 News
 Other
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Question 10: How important is it for you that a team is frequently posting on social media ?
 Not at all important
 Slightly important
 Neutral
 Moderately important
 Very important
 Extremely important

Question 11: Are you from

Arizona?
 Yes
 No
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Question 12: Do
you currently
live in Arizona?
 Yes
 No

Question 13: How old

are you?
 Under 18
 18-24 years old
 25-34 years old
 35-44 years old
 45-54 years old
 55-64 years old
 65+ years old

Question 14: How do

you describe yourself?
 Male
 Female
 Non-binary/third
gender
 Prefer to self-
describe
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 Prefer not to say

Question 15:
Drag each
response based
on what content
you enjoy seeing
most
 Highlights
 Statistics
 Images
 Videos
 News

End of Survey:
We thank you for your time spent taking this survey.

Your response has been recorded.