How do fans in today’s age follow their favorite sports? How do they really integrate sports with social media?
As millennials, we tend to enjoy sports just as much as the other generations do. However, we do have our own way of indulging into our love of sports, and that has a lot to do with the evolving technology. Around 45 percent of the genX are committed sports fans as opposed to the 38 percent of millennials. It comes as no surprise that only 78 percent of the millennials own a television set. Out of these, further lesser number of people actively use the device. This leaves plenty of room to suggest that our generation makes the optimal use of internet and social media to follow our favorite sports.
1)73 percent people turn to Facebook to carry out discussions regarding their favorite teams, match moments, the various players, and just about any news that they wish to gather about the game.
2)Similarly, 54 percent people watch full matches, highlights, discussions and news related to their favorite sports over YouTube.
3) 37 percent crowd takes on to Twitter to get involved in sports discussions and news.
4)About 33 and 18 percent of the sports fandom uses Google+ and Instagram, respectively.
With the short attention span that spews amongst our generation- along with the busy lifestyles that we follow, we are more inclined to watching the match highlights and bloopers on YouTube or get quick updates from Twitter. They use Facebook and Instagram to share their love for the sport(s) and have discussions with their friends and family. A lot of sports clubs even have dedicated communities and fan pages that have millions of people included on such fan bases. These kinds of pages sell official sports merchandizes to their fans, sometimes when host exclusive- ‘members only’ events, merchandize discounts and discussions.
Such social media groups and communities have their own rules and regulations that are to be followed by each and every fan. No doubt, the presence of sports in the world of social media allows everyone to bond over their interest and passion towards the sports.
Twitter’s #BrandBowl was created to provide a platform for Super Bowl advertisers to battle for the top spot.
It has been recognized that nearly 39 percent of the people share a sports related post with their family and friends. 33 percent go beyond the regular ‘like’ and share a brands content related to sports. A whopping 32 percent of fans who are engaged by sports brands on social media actually go ahead and purchase the products. It is a truly incredible market space that could be further explored in so many ways, allowing people to indulge a lot more than the current numbers.
Take an example of how Pepsi has managed to integrate with sports. They have been able to boost their sales over the years just by associating themselves with various games. Even though the beverage doesn’t have a direct utility when it comes to sports, but with the right kind of campaigning, they have really done a great job with their marketing so far.
If your brand chooses just the right marketing strategies, you can meet the following statistics:
1)Up to 75 percent of engagement through pre-game content.
2)68 percent of engagement through the sport’s nostalgic photographs and videos.
3)63 percent of engagement though debates and discussions.
Vinfotech comes loaded with such amazing analytical tools that can help you understand your audience and engage them according to the numbers. We believe that the huge sports fan base across the world can be integrated on one such social network for sports fans, so as to accelerate discussions around the frenzy and introduce them to brands, start-ups and entrepreneurs that revolve around this market.
Do reach out to us to gather some more details on how you can benefit out of a sports-based social media platform!
Vinfotech creates world's best social networks for employees, brands, interest groups and sports fans. We promise initial set of real engaged users to put turbo in your social network growth. Our award winning software vSocial™ allows us to build stellar customized communities faster and better. Our customers include Aston Martin, Burberry, Arabian Gulf League and Snapdeal.