The Impact of Social Media on Sports Marketing and Revenue

Abstract

Every sports club aims to attract a large number of audience/followers, particularly during sports competitions. There are opportunities for businesses and companies to associate their brand with clubs and athletes to improve their revenue. Social media provides clubs and companies with a means to facilitate sports marketing, improve competition attendance, brand loyalty, fan engagement and Sports sponsorship. This paper reviewed relevant literature on social media's impact on sports marketing, fan engagement, and club revenue. The study highlights several ideas on how clubs and athletes can leverage social media in sports marketing to enhance engagement and establish one-to-one relationships with fans. The study further highlights revenue as the main requirement for the continuity and sustainability of sports clubs and organizers. The study also reveals that social media is the perfect tool to utilize when creating relationships and marketing campaigns. It is also the ideal tool for athletes to brand themselves. While clubs and sports organizers in developed nations have long leveraged the advantages of social media to be financially independent, the situation is different in the third world to which Nigeria belongs. Government is still the major sports financer. Thus, the study recommends that Nigerian sports clubs, athletes, and administrators must make serious efforts to restore the image and standard of sports organizations to attract the attention of fans and corporate organizations. Athletes and clubs must put in place their social media platforms where they will continually establish relationships with fans and portray their images as well.