R A C H E L B A I N E S

SOCIAL MEDIA’S POSITIVE IMPACT ON SPORTS PR

SPORTS & PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Both involve building mutually beneficial relationships between an entity and its publics

• Entities: • Athletes• Sports Teams• Leagues & other sanctioning bodies

• Numerous Publics• Fans • Media• Team Sponsors

SPORTS & SOCIAL MEDIA

• Monitoring & Search Engine Optimization

• Opportunities to connect w/ fans & other publics

• Real time communication

• Interactive & Engaging Posts

• Provides an opportunity for feedback and conversation

SPORTS PR VS. MARKETING THE TEAM

• Best to have PR & Marketing efforts complement one another

• Fans that follow their favorite athletes on social media are 55% more likely to purchase a brand if an athlete mentions it on Facebook or Twitter • Athletes become potential spokespeople

• Preach social media etiquette to athletes

BRANDING

• Brings a personal element to the team/athlete

• “From a PR perspective, it’s great for the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB to use social media to not only promote its respective games, it’s also great for growing the brand”• - PR Blogger Jason Mollica

• Encourage fans and sponsors to interact through social media• Offer freebies, contests & giveaways

SECOND SCREEN EXPERIENCE

• Social media feeds fans’ hunger for player information & stats

• Sports fans generally sit down to watch TV w/ either a laptop or smart phone

• Second screen experiences are encouraged through original content and posts

• Athletes and teams can share multimedia content

SOCIAL MEDIA IS UNAVOIDABLE

• Cutting off player/fan access to social media is only hindering any PR efforts

• Professional leagues have instituted social media policies • MLB Players cannot Tweet/Post directly before or after games

• Inhibits players from taking responsibility for their actions or words

• Creating positive relationships w/ publics will drive support