With Social Media emerging from all corners of media outlets, there is one industry that is only benefiting from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc. Sports, with all of their millions of annual advertising dollars spent, they can't help but keep their hands out of social media. Their are lots of ways to promote sports, and with so many of the fans looking to get involved, the interest is already there and does not need to be created like many other industries. When it comes to just about anything else and social media, PR professionals are always looking for ways to create interest and find frequent users of their social media sites. All sports have an pretty substantial following of fans, from people who religiously watch on television to season ticket holders, no matter what there are always groups of loyal followers. Although reaching out to their social media needs is another issue all together. You have to find people that are using facebook, twitter, foursquare, and smart phones to reach out to, but the possibilities are endless on the creative end of promoting sports teams or even athletic programs at many colleges or major sporting events.
Myspace and Facebook fan pages are the father of the modern social media world. Any team will have a fan page and they will regularly update Twitter accounts, but it's the ones with good interaction that set them apart from others. Now with a lot of attendance at sports functions, its a good idea to use foursquare and get people at the event more involved. At the recent 2010 FIFA World Cup, they kept very up-to-date social media in order to try and get people involved. From having people check into games with Foursquare to constant Twitter and Facebook feeds during games, the tournament, each team, and most of the players did a very good job of posting updates and information about the events going on.
Although there are many positive ways to use social media in the sports industry, many negatives have risen. Some professional players have received fines for Twittering during games and some professional teams have banned the use of social media completely. Although there are many things that go into social media, for now it is a positive outlet for the world to get involved. With a technology generation and devoted sports lovers on the rise, there are only opportunities to be explored.
