This post is an excerpt from "Social Media Culture in Sports," a project I did with Stevie Crisosto - make sure you check out her blog "Sports and the Media"
The most used social medium by professional athletes is Twitter. Some athletes use other media, but an overwhelming number of athletes in the NFL, NBA and MLB seem to prefer Twitter.
What is the reason athletes prefer Twitter over other social media?
Consider the media goals of most, if not all sports organizations:
1. Generate fan participation and discussion
2. Establish control over team messages and news
3. Announce signings, injury updates, or other breaking news
4. Create relationships among fans, athletes, and coaches
5. Provide fans with “inside” information and product promotions
6. Boost traffic to the official team website
7. Sell more tickets!
Twitter makes it easy to accomplish all of these goals for sports organizations and their players.
MLB Players Participating Less
The term, "Digital Divide" is something that comes into play when analyzing why professional baseball players are less active in regards to social media. Twenty-seven percent of Major League Baseball players are Hispanic and many come from impoverished backgrounds. Players from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Columbia, Venezuela and other Latin American countries have admitted to growing up "less fortunate." The majority of these players did not grow up with computer in their homes and Internet access; this might explain the players lack of participation. (CBS Report)
Twitter allows players to interact closely with fans
The instantaneous nature of Twitter allows fans to move past the parasocial interaction they once had with professional athletes. Instead of a strictly one-way relationship, athletes can now directly interact with their fans through Twitter without feeling bombarded. It takes a lot of time to sign a 100 autograph, but only a few seconds to Tweet thousands. Twitter has revolutionized the way in which professional athletes communicate with their fans.
Social media allow individual athletes to further their personal brands.
"O'Neal became engaged with Twitter because someone had created a feed under his identity. He reclaimed his brand under THE_REAL_SHAQ. With his larger-than-life persona, O'Neal is a natural for social media. Other athletes have failed to grasp the Twitter concept. Kathleen Hessert, president of the consulting group Sports Media Challenge, says fans don't really care what a player had for lunch or where they went the previous night. "They quickly become bored with gibberish. They want a return on emotion," she says. "I tell my clients, 'Don't just give facts, give insight. Help fans understand something from your unique perspective.' " Behrens and her staff also advise players about privacy risks. "We are always reminding them this is a public community, not private," she says. "This is not like texting your friends." - excerpt from USAToday.com
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