Major League Baseball Gets It...

My previous post focused on the social practices on the representation/ownership side of professional sports. This week I'll flip the script a bit to discuss the social media efforts on the other side of the table, those of  professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, etc.). In this case, Major League Baseball and its 2011 brainchild, the MLB Fan Cave.

Just some brief background... the MLB Fan Cave is an annual program designed to give select fans the opportunity (or as they advertise it, "dream job") to watch each and every Major League Baseball game. In addition to couch potato duties, the contest winners, known as "cave dwellers," are tasked with recording their experience and inciting fan engagement/participation via various social media channels. Throughout each season, giveaways, promotions, as well as visits from celebrities and MLB's best players give fans a new avenue to connect with the game.

In contrast with my previous post (regarding sports agency social activity), Major League Baseball's social presence through the MLB Fan Cave program has been a massive success, and has driven huge engagement statistics. Most notably, the Cave has drawn massive social attention and participation numbers on a wide array of online communication channels, be it through Facebook 'Comments,' Twitter 'Mentions,' etc.

However:

"For the league, it was about more than just wanting to be in the conversation because social media is the big buzzword. Social media has provided the league a way to reach out to a younger audience. The average avid MLB fan is 45 years old. The average Fan Cave fan is 28. The endeavor also allowed MLB to reach out to a more casual fan without alienating die-hards." - Maria Burns Ortiz, ESPN.

Most importantly though, the effect of the Fan Cave goes far beyond Facebook 'Likes,' and Twitter 'Follows' (even though these counting stats are impressive in their own right)... The Fan Cave has revolutionized fan social participation by opening a two-way communication channel between cave dwellers (MLB) and the fans themselves, all the while giving fans a new-found personal connection with the game on and off the field.

Dicky Fox: Wise Beyond His Years

The use of social media marketing is common in today's expansive marketplace, as online strategic success is judged quantitatively by Facebook "Likes," Twitter/Pinterest "Follows," etc. Organizations have appropriately recognized the importance and potential benefits of building interactive relationships with customers via social media. However, not all industries have been as quick to bite... The sports agency industry is one such example.  

"The key to this business is personal relationships..." the infamous words of fictional sports agent Dicky Fox from the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. Cliche or not, I severely doubt professionals (young or old) in the sports agency industry would knock the validity of Mr. Fox's statement. 

From the release of the film in the mid-1990s through present day, it was Mr. Fox's intention to accurately speak to the correlation between strong intra-industry personal relationships to agency/financial success. As sports industry jobholders will affirm, the sports industry is often a surprisingly close-knit professional network.

In the age of social media, I believe the appropriateness of Mr. Fox's assertion has gained an even more expansive significance. The importance of personal relationships to a sports agent's success is no longer solely intra-industry, but also has grown to include social network participants, and to an even greater degree than generations past, fans. Increasingly, the barriers between fans and athletes' personal lives continue to fall (i.e. Twitter). Because of this new reality, agencies have an opportunity to create and capitalize on social media strategies to amplify the popularity and publicity of their clients, and in turn, grow revenue. Manufacturing social publicity and satisfying fan desire for interaction with an athlete's celebrity are two such opportunities to help positively build their client's personal brand online. The entertainment industry has repeatedly illustrated the potential for this positive branding to result in profit, be it direct or indirect. 

"If an agent is familiar with the various uses of Twitter, and actively searches for new endorsement opportunities, he will better be able to identify when a client could potentially use social media to earn off-the-field income." - Darren Heitner, Sports Agent Blog

Agency involvement in social is a relatively novel concept, as strategies and their perceived effectiveness are continually debated. Nonetheless, in a marketplace where the vast majority of industries have built extensive social presences, agency participation remains relatively limited, thus leaving a window of opportunity for a first-mover advantage.

Brief Introduction

I'm a senior marketing major at The University of Georgia and sports enthusiast.

My blog postings will speak to my passion regarding sports and the business/marketing behind them.