Newhouse Social Media 600 Presentation

1. #SocialSports
By Michael Silver
@BigEastSilver

2. Water Cooler
Days
Before the Internet, word of mouth
was at the core of communication
at home and the work place.
#SocialSports

3. Tebow Mania
In 2007 Tim Tebow, the
University of Florida
quarterback, won the
Heisman Trophy.
It began the era of social
media in sports.
#SocialSports

4. Staying
Connected
Now, more than ever, sports fans
are using social media to stay
connected with news outlets,
sports personalities and each
other.
#SocialSports

5. Breaking Sports News
#SocialSports

6. Being Social in the Work Place
#SocialSports

7. Live Game Interaction
#SocialSports

8. Theories
Pedersen, Miloch, and Laucella
(2007) define sports
communication as:
“The process by which people in
sport, in a sport setting, or
through a sport endeavor share
symbols as they create meaning
through interaction.”
#SocialSports

9. Uses and Gratification Theory
Proposes that the public seek information and particular
communications sources to fulfill a satisfaction (Katz, Blumler
& Gurevitch, 1974). People need to expand their knowledge
base and social engagements through specific media outlets.
The theory addresses how the public utilizes the media to
satisfy an internal need. This is useful because it illustrates that
people gravitate to sports media to satisfy needs they have.
Sports entities must embrace this theory; recognizing the public
is pursuing quality content that satisfies particular needs they
have through strategic messaging.
#SocialSports

10. Social Media Reporters in Sports
@SerenaWinters is a reporter for LakersNation.com
Covering the Los Angeles Lakers and NBA action.
#SocialSports

11. Interview #1
-What kind of changes have you adapted to through the use
of social media?
“The dissemination of information! You no longer need to
wait to see something on ESPN. Twitter is by far the fastest
place to receive and be aware of the news.”
-On using multiple platforms:
“I have to make sure something not only gets up on our
website, but is tweeted correctly, posted to Facebook and
Instagram properly, uploaded on YouTube, etc. There are
several steps to making sure your use of social media is
properly maximized.”
#SocialSports

12. Commercial Appeal
 -Will any of the four major professional sports in America use
advertising on jerseys or uniforms in the future?
 “Absolutely. Lookout for the NBA. They'll have advertisements on
jerseys in the next couple years.”
#SocialSports

13. Multiple Platforms
-How has Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram contributed to the
way fans and organizations interact?
“Social media is great for us as an interaction tool. We're able
to ask fans questions and create polls for articles. We read all
of our mentions on Twitter and we're able to gauge the pulse
of the fan base.”
#SocialSports

14. Lakers Reign Supreme
 -The Los Angeles Lakers are the #1 team in the NBA in terms of
social media presence. What are they doing right compared to
the rest of the league?
 “The Lakers have really taken it to an extra level in terms of
giving their fans an experience through social media. For
example, they have more than just a @Lakers Instagram account.
They have a really neat @LakersScene account run by its digital
department who create high-resolution pics. The Lakers also
have a phenomenal Vine account that they use regularly.”
#SocialSports

15. Player Access
 -How has social media changed the way players and fans communicate?
 “Most importantly, it's made players ACCESSIBLE to the fans. Just today,
Kobe Bryant tweeted back to 20 random fans. Before social media, how
could a fan even have a chance of asking Kobe a questing AND getting a
response from him?”
#SocialSports

16. Teams Ranking Highest Socially?
#SocialSports

17. Mixed Martial Arts Reporting
@TyLawMMA is a reporter for the WorldOfMMA.com
He covers the UFC and other fighting organizations.
#SocialSports

18. Interview #2
 -How did you first get involved in sports journalism?
 “I grew up being a big fan of boxing and then MMA became huge.
In college I started a website called World of MMA for fans of the
sport.”
 -Which platform gives you the biggest audience?
 ”YouTube has been monumental. My channel has acquired over
12 million views and continues to produce traffic to my website
daily.”
#SocialSports

19. Fan Interaction
-How has MMA utilized social media to interact with its fans?
The Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) has done an
incredible job utilizing social media to build a following. They
use Twitter to giveaway free tickets to all events. Using the
hashtag #Hunt4UFC they create scavenger hunts. Crowds of
people show up and it’s a big part of their event marketing.”
#SocialSports

20. YouTube Channel with
over 4,500 subscribers
#SocialSports

21. Fans flock to ESPN for Content
#SocialSports

22. SportsCenter: Worldwide Leader
#SocialSports

23. Viewers Submit Their Picks
Each night SportsCenter recaps the day of sports with the Top
10 highlights.
Fans are encouraged to tweet their suggestions using the
hashtag #SCTop10
#SocialSports

24. The Super Bowl
 With 111.5 million viewers,
Super Bowl 48 became the
most-watched TV show in
U.S history.
 The social experience hit
record high numbers.
#SocialSports

25. Twitter Conversations
#SocialSports

26. Social Statistics
• Nearly twice as many fans use Facebook compared to Twitter, at 73% to
37% respectively. However, they check Twitter about 1.5 times as often
as they check Facebook on game day.
#SocialSports

27. Final Thoughts
The impact of social media as a source for sports
information continues to grow among avid sports fans,
especially on game day.
Organizations and Universities are finding new ways to
connect with their digital audience.
We are still in the infancy stage of connectivity.
As more engage socially online, each experience
becomes unique and authentic.
#SocialSports