Social Media Explosion

Just a couple of weeks ago, we saw the most massive social media event in history to date. The 2014 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil, destroyed old social media records. The final match between Germany and Argentina beat out last year’s Super Bowl for most Facebook interactions with around 280 million interactions from over 88 million people! FIFA’s world cup app also became the biggest sports-event app ever. This leaves me wondering, how big will social media get in sports? While I don’t know that it will be soon, I get the feeling that records like these will continue to be broken, and more and more frequently as social media and sports continue to integrate! As more media site and apps are developed, they will continue to open doors for fans to connect with their sports.

Sports teams are beginning to study, analyze, and write about social media and sports more and more. The fast pace of social media evolution requires constant evaluation of current trends and sites. While the handful of major media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) has been dominant for sports media use, more sites will undoubtedly continue to grow, as will the creativity with which they are employed. Vine is one example of a medium that has been gaining popularity in sports.

     There are many creative ways that teams and leagues are using social media to promote their brands. My wife recently entered us in an LA Kings sweepstakes giveaway, as a reward for entering they sent us this picture showing SKELTON sitting on the bench with the Kings’ great players. She immediately put it as our Facebook banner picture. Our page basically became an advertisement for their brand.

     I have been amazed with the ways that I have seen the NHL and other leagues using social media platforms to tie fans even more strongly to their brands. For example, they created the #MyPlayoffsStory for this year’s playoffs, encouraging fans to post pictures, graphics and videos of their playoff experience to Twitter and other social media sites.  Sports marketers continue to use social media in ways I had never considered. They will continue to open the doors for fans to get closer and closer to the games they love!