Post contributed by Tate Russell -
According to the blog over 400 million people use facebook and it is an incredible tool to communicate with fans. It was mentioned that during the 2009 NBA finals the Boston Celtics tweeted the events of the game for up to 50,000 followers. This is important in how it relates to media because the Celtics have to have a member of their staf who can competently and effectively communicate to the masses.
We also are seeing increases in the sports organizations making announcements via social media and communicating with fans. These statements are often critiqued by media outlets and so it is advantageous for these organizations to have staff members who understand how media will react to statements. This allows sports organizations to communicate with as little media backlash as possible because of the people they hire with knowledge of communicating through these outlets.
Athletes also employ individuals to help them effectively communicate through social media. Shaquille O’neal is one of the most active athletes to use Twitter. He has been known to tweet fans hi s location and tell them the first person to meet him will receive free tickets. O’neal hired the Sports Media Challenge based in charlotte to help him best use social media in a way that will create positive public relation between himself and his fans. When the blog was published Sports Media Challenge had helped him earn 2 million followers.
Source - Benefits of Social Media in Sports, National Sports and Entertainment Law Society blog
The use of social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook among athletes is two-fold.
ReplyDeleteOn one hand, it gives fans the opportunity to directly relate with them, which they otherwise would not have had to opportunity to do.
On the other side, Twitter has been outlawed by various coaches because of the negative effects a Twitter post can bring to a team. For instance, all it takes is one athlete criticizing an official, teammate or coach for it to be national news. After all, in today's world, everything we do involving social media is open, published material for anyone to use. I mean, Twitter posts are quoted in traditional news stories today. That's bizarre.