Sports clubs and social media
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Sports Clubs and Social Media Wilko de Graaf Cordoba, May 8-11 th 2013
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SPORTS CLUBS AND SOCIAL MEDIA Authors: Mike Muller and Wilko de Graaf, MBA Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences School of Sports and Nutrition Department of Sports, Management and Business Presented at: EASS Cordoba - May 8th, 2013 According to Sanderson (2011) sports is in combination with social media ‘a whole new ballgame’. Professional athletes announce their retirement through uploads on social channels. Sports club members receive match results through Twitter. Team members communicate via Facebook who will be attending next week’s training. This exploratory study outlines the current use of social media (as defined by Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010) by Dutch sports clubs in order to strengthen ties with their members. In addition to a literature study both a qualitative and a quantitative study was executed. April 2012, social media moderators of 10 different amateur sports clubs active on Facebook were interviewed in-depth in order to gain insight into their use of social media for their sports club. May 2012, a questionnaire (n=296) was carried out under the members of the subjected 10 different sports clubs in order to investigate the behavior and preferences of sports club members regarding the use of (their club’s) social media. Moderators were not all appointed officially by a club’s board. All 10 moderators were volunteers. They operate rather separately from the club’s board and tend to set their own goals for social media use. They mention the increase in member involvement, club (brand) awareness and new member recruitment as main goals. Quantitative findings show there is a correlation between reasons in order to follow the club’s social media and the involvement of sport club members. Facebook is mentioned as most popular medium. Members’ main reason for following their club on social media is reception of information about the latest club news. Dutch amateur sports clubs have limitedly adopted social media in order to strengthen ties with club members. This study shows there is room for professionalization. Members active on a club’s social medium tend to be more involved with their club. Literature Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons (53). 59-68. Sanderson (2011). It’s a whole new ballgame: how social media is changing sports. New York: Hampton Press.
Transcript of Sports clubs and social media
Sports Clubs and Social Media
Wilko de GraafCordoba, May 8-11th 2013
Sports Clubs and Social Media
Mike Muller and Wilko de Graaf
Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of Applied SciencesSchool of Sports and Nutrition
Department of Sports, Management and Business
Cordoba, May 8-11th 2013
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Topics
• Introduction• Research Design• Results• Conclusions and considerations• Future research• Discussion
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School of Sports and NutritionDepartment of Sports, Management and Business
Amsterdam 4
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Research into how and to what extent social media is
implemented by sportsmen and sports organizations in order to
reach set goals
Topics
• Introduction• Research Design• Results• Conclusions and considerations• Future research• Discussion
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A whole new ballgame
• According to Sanderson (2011):
sports is in combination with social media ‘a whole new ballgame’
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Primary research objective
Exploratory investigation of the use of social media (as defined by Kaplan andHaenlein, 2010) by sports clubs
Social media: … a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010)
Primary research questions:• What reasons and objectives do sports clubs have when deploying social media;• What motives do sports club members have when they follow sports clubs on
social media.
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Research Design
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• Desk Research• Investigation of the use of social media by 10 Dutch sports clubs
• Triggered by a posting on HvA’s intranet• Content analysis
• Qualitative research• Interviews with 10 content managers (moderators) of subjected sports clubs social
media• Quantitative research
• A survey carried out under members of subjected sports clubs (n=296)• Data collection time frame: May 2012• Solely Dutch respondents• Limited number of questions (17)
Results of investigation of the use of social media by 10 Dutch sports clubs
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Results of investigation of the use of social media by 10 Dutch sports clubs
Postings mainly about• Club news
• training times, general club information• Links to club’s website• Pictures, video’s• Competition results• Invitations for activities
Postings hardly about• Member recruitments• The sponsor
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Results of investigation of the use of social media by 10 Dutch sports clubs
• Very limited interaction• If there is any, it’s mostly not initiated by the club
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Qualitative Research: Sports Clubs active on social media
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• The initiative for the use of social media comes from volunteers (9 out of 10)
• Virtually no objectives set by clubs• Awareness• Membership recruitment• Quickly reach members• Reach more members• Attracting visitors / participants in activities
• Lack of time limits the use of social media
Qualitative Research: Sports Clubs active on social media – lessons learned
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• Most clubs do not evaluate their use of social media• Hardly any knowledge about statistics provided by social media• If there is any knowledge, statistics are most often not utilized
• Most social media visitors on the day after the match• Club’s website visitors arrive via social media
• General idea’s about successes on social media• Photo’s and video’s do better than text messages• Match reports are popular• Short reports better than long(er) reports• Use a sense of humor• Give fans and members a ‘reward’
Quantitative Research “Members of clubs that use social media”
Study Limitations• 296 respondents (of which 236 use social media)• Limited number of questions (17)• Asking for behavior• Not representative
21n = 296
age
gro
up
s
General use of social media (%)
22n = 236
never <1 pw 1 pw several daily several times times pw pd
On which medium club must be active? (%)
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n = 236
Use of medium provided by club (%)
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n = 236
never <1 pw 1 pw several daily several times times pw pd
Reasons to follow social media of the club (%)
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I want to make new friendsI want to discuss with others
I want to react to postings from the moderatorI want to search for information about other people
I prefer receiving information via social mediaI want to share photo’s and video’s
I want to share informationI want to share knowledge
I want to stay tuned with the latest news
I’ll get more involved in the clubA club member should be a member of a club’s
social mediumI want to be part of the club
n = 236
Difference between reading and responding to posts from the club
26Reading posts Responding to posts
Always
Most often
Once in a while
Rarely
Never
n = 236 n = 236
Invitations
Match/ Live reports
Questions from omoderator
Video’s
Photo’s
Other news
Club news
Topics respondents like to see covered (%)
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SweepstakesOther items
PollsOther news
Sponsor informationVideo’s
Live match resultsInvitations
Match results / reportsPhoto’s
News about the club
n = 236
Involvement with the club
Proposition Factor Load Cronbach’s alpha
I’m proud that I’m involved with my sports club 0,78
0,89
My sports club is a fun club for sports 0,83
I’m really a part of the sports club family 0,73
My sports club means a lot to me 0,73
I feel at home at my club 0,73
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* Factor analysis - 5 out of 13 propositions (Cronbach Alpha = 0,89)
Involvement with the club
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Composite scale (N=296).
very little average highly very little highly
Involvement with the club
Involvement* versus Test Sig.
Follows social media of club Mann-Whitney 0,000
Hours active as a volunteer in club Kruskal-Wallis 0,000
Hours active as a sportsman in club Kruskal-Wallis 0,034
Hours active as a supporter of club Kruskal-Wallis 0,000
Situation (employed, unemployed, student) Kruskal-Wallis 0,031
Age Kruskal-Wallis 0,000
Activity on Facebook Kruskal-Wallis 0,403
Activity on Twitter Kruskal-Wallis 0,378
Gender Kruskal-Wallis 0,830
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* Constructed through factor analysis - 5 out of 13 propositions (Cronbach Alpha = 0,89)
Conclusion and Discussion
• Lack of time limits the use of social media by sports clubs• No policy• No set objectives• No statistical analysis
• Club members expect clubs to be active on Facebook (#1) and Twitter (#2)• Club news and match reports are most popular
• Highly involved club members are most active on social media of the clubs
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Future Research
• Execute research based on a more representative selection of sports clubs• Focus on professional sports clubs• Extensive quantitative content analysis
