, the use of SNS is also prevalent. As of January 2014, 74% of the adults who accessed the Internet used an SNS. 16 Among the most widely used SNSs, Facebook was the clear favorite among adults. In 2014, of the entire adult population, 58% used Facebook, and 71% of the adults who accessed the Internet
David A. Ferrer and Rebecca Ellis
Daniel Maderer, Petros Parganas and Christos Anagnostopoulos
Athletes and sports organizations are increasingly using social-network sites such as Facebook and Twitter for marketing ( Abeza & O’Reilly, 2018 ; David et al., 2018 ; Thompson, Martin, Gee, Geurin, 2018 ) and communication purposes ( Abeza, O’Reilly, & Seguin, 2017 ; Browning & Sanderson, 2012
Jocelyn Kernot, Lucy Lewis, Tim Olds and Carol Maher
Facebook’s popularity continues to grow, with over 1.86 billion total users worldwide, of which 1.23 billion log on daily. 1 The use of social networking sites such as Facebook for behavior-based interventions is still relatively new. 2 To date, most studies have used Facebook as a component of
Rebecca M. Achen, John Kaczorowski, Trisha Horsmann and Alanda Ketzler
, 2017 ). One social network, Facebook, seems especially conducive to use as a marketing tool. As the largest social-network site, Facebook had over 1.7 billion active users who spent over 700 billion hours a month on the site in 2017 ( Facebook, 2017 ), and 32% of users interact regularly with business
Evan Frederick and Ann Pegoraro
-media platforms such as Facebook can be used by athletes and organizations to control their image repair, introduce competing narratives, and redirect audiences. With that in mind, the purpose of this case study was to determine what image-repair strategies the University of Louisville employed immediately after
Aubrianne E. Rote, Lori A. Klos, Michael J. Brondino, Amy E. Harley and Ann M. Swartz
Background:
Facebook may be a useful tool to provide a social support group to encourage increases in physical activity. This study examines the efficacy of a Facebook social support group to increase steps/day in young women.
Methods:
Female college freshmen (N = 63) were randomized to one of two 8-week interventions: a Facebook Social Support Group (n = 32) or a Standard Walking Intervention (n = 31). Participants in both groups received weekly step goals and tracked steps/day with a pedometer. Women in the Facebook Social Support Group were also enrolled in a Facebook group and asked to post information about their steps/day and provide feedback to one another.
Results:
Women in both intervention arms significantly increased steps/day pre- to postintervention (F (8,425) = 94.43, P < .001). However, women in the Facebook Social Support Group increased steps/day significantly more (F (1,138) = 11.34, P < .001) than women in the Standard Walking Intervention, going from 5295 to 12,472 steps/day.
Conclusions:
These results demonstrate the potential effectiveness of using Facebook to offer a social support group to increase physical activity in young women. Women in the Facebook Social Support Group increased walking by approximately 1.5 miles/day more than women in the Standard Walking Intervention which, if maintained, could have a profound impact on their future health.
Marion E. Hambrick, Tara Q. Mahoney and Rich Calabrese
Sport industry leaders have recognized the popularity of social media; however, some have struggled with quantifying the benefits of such usage (Fisher, 2009). This case explores the potential opportunities social media sites can provide to sport organizations. Golf tournament organizer TampaTourneys, LLC created an administrative Facebook page to keep its Facebook users informed about events. The organization also used the page to promote a cause related marketing campaign benefitting a charitable fundraiser. Partnering with Blackhawk Computers, TampaTourneys initiated a week-long campaign, which encouraged the tournament organizer’s Facebook fans to tell their respective Facebook friends about the fundraiser and become fans of the TampaTourneys Facebook page. In turn, the organization made a monetary donation on behalf of its current and new fans. Based on the campaign’s success, TampaTourneys decided to initiate a second and longer fundraising effort. The case asks students to analyze data collected from the first fundraising campaign and develop a new campaign for the tournament organizer.
Courtney Hodge, Joseph A. Pederson and Matthew Walker
Given the increasing popularity of social-networking sites, it is extremely important for brand managers involved with Internet-based communication platforms to evaluate whether their communication strategies are positively influencing user attitudes and behaviors toward their brands. This article aims to address this need by investigating how sports fans respond to various marketing communication styles via Facebook posts. Using a case-manipulation design, this study empirically examines the relation among communication styles and individual willingness to engage in 4 common Facebook behaviors (i.e., “comment,” “like,” “share,” and “RSVP”). The results indicate that a personal communication style enhanced individual willingness to “comment” on Facebook posts, while the colorful style enhanced individual willingness to “like” and “RSVP” to Facebook events.
Jan Boehmer and Stephen Lacy
This study analyzes how interactivity on Facebook relates to users’ browsing behaviors such as clicking a link, visiting a Web site, clicking articles on a Web site, and spending time on a sports news Web site. Regression analyses of 502 Facebook posts and the corresponding news articles show that the number of individuals who clicked on a link is not related to higher levels of interactivity, but an increase in interactivity did affect the number of overall visits generated. In addition, higher levels of interactivity had a slight negative correlation with the number of pages visited and the time spent on an organization’s Web site. Implications for the training and work routines of sport communication professionals in organizations, journalism, and public relations are discussed.
Francisco Javier Miranda, Antonio Chamorro, Sergio Rubio and Oscar Rodriguez
Professional sports teams are increasingly using social networks to better connect their sports and businesses to fans and the general public with the aim of providing team-related information, fostering fandom, and building team reputation. However, few, if any, studies have been done that analyze and evaluate the efficacy of this important portion of the professional sports business model from an informationmanagement perspective. This study employs the Facebook Assessment Index (FAI) to effectively compare, assess, and rank the Facebook sites of top European and North American professional teams. The study also shows how information artifacts in sports can be systematically analyzed, evaluated, and compared. In more general terms, the findings and analysis demonstrate how the information perspective can serve as a novel theoretical lens and important dimension in sport management. The results of the study show large differences between teams in the 3 FAI dimensions and a great improvement opportunity in the use of Facebook as a marketing tool. These results not only serve to create a ranking of sport teams but also can be used by sport managers for social-media-benchmarking analysis.
