RACHEL BAINES SOCIAL MEDIA’S POSITIVE IMPACT ON SPORTS PR

SPORTS & PUBLIC RELATIONS Both involve building mutually beneficial relationships between an entity and its publics Entities: Athletes Sports Teams Leagues & other sanctioning bodies Numerous Publics Fans Media Team Sponsors

SPORTS & SOCIAL MEDIA Monitoring & Search Engine Optimization Opportunities to connect w/ fans & other publics Real time communication Interactive & Engaging Posts Provides an opportunity for feedback and conversation

SPORTS PR VS. MARKETING THE TEAM Best to have PR & Marketing efforts complement one another Fans that follow their favorite athletes on social media are 55% more likely to purchase a brand if an athlete mentions it on Facebook or Twitter Athletes become potential spokespeople Preach social media etiquette to athletes

BRANDING Brings a personal element to the team/athlete “From a PR perspective, it’s great for the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB to use social media to not only promote its respective games, it’s also great for growing the brand” - PR Blogger Jason Mollica Encourage fans and sponsors to interact through social media Offer freebies, contests & giveaways

SECOND SCREEN EXPERIENCE Social media feeds fans’ hunger for player information & stats Sports fans generally sit down to watch TV w/ either a laptop or smart phone Second screen experiences are encouraged through original content and posts Athletes and teams can share multimedia content

SOCIAL MEDIA IS UNAVOIDABLE Cutting off player/fan access to social media is only hindering any PR efforts Professional leagues have instituted social media policies MLB Players cannot Tweet/Post directly before or after games Inhibits players from taking responsibility for their actions or words Creating positive relationships w/ publics will drive support