Social media is the universal language spoken between teams and fans. It allows players to connect with their fans on a personal level, promote sponsors, and share their events and lives. But if it’s not managed properly, it can hurt an athlete’s reputation and career.
For example, a bad tweet can lead to a suspension or expulsion. Despite the potential negative impact, many athletes are encouraged to use their social media accounts as a way of promoting themselves and their brand. Having an active and positive presence on social media can boost an athlete’s market value, increase their visibility, and help them land sponsorships or endorsement deals.
Sports organizations are leveraging social media to engage their fans, particularly casual ones. By promoting content on social platforms, they can bring attention back to their games, and even draw new audiences. This type of interactive content is much more effective at increasing fan engagement than traditional TV broadcasts or news stories.
Athletes who maintain consistent social media presences can instantly gain thousands or millions of fans that are loyal to them and their team. This is especially true for young athletes. In fact, a recent YPulse surveyopen_in_new found that 70% of sports fans ages 13 to 37 say they don’t need to go to live sporting events to follow their favorite teams and players. This is because they can see their favorite athletes’ tweets, follow them on social media and stream games online to watch their heroes play.