It’s no secret that the digital media revolution has dramatically changed the way that fans follow sports.

No longer do they engage with their teams on game-day alone—rather, fans are now capable of following the stories of sports teams and leagues from anywhere, and at any time, regardless of time zone or location: 

• 43% of global sports fans follow sports leagues on social media. 
• 58% of 16 to 24 year olds and 49% of 25-34 year olds report following athletes on social media.  
• 41% of global sports fans stream live sports through digital platforms
• 32% of sports fans—and 43% of Gen Z sports fans—use social media platforms whilst watching live sports. 
• From 2020-2021, global use of TikTok for sports-related news and content grew by 30%. On Twitch, this number was 21%. 

The effect of social media on commercial sport cannot be overestimated—and it is growing more each day. Alongside this, fans are absorbing online content in an increasingly more deliberate way: never before has their attention been more sought-after and competed for, and modern consumers can spot a paid advertisement a mile away. Contemporary fans snub advertising and are wary of sponsored transactional promotions. 

Younger audiences, in particular, are more interested in engaging in sports content that is a conversation—not a broadcast. They want to engage in conversation with teams and athletes, feel heard, and see their own voices mirrored in that of their favorite leagues. 

The rules of social media for sports organizations are evolving, and one of the biggest questions in fan-engagement today is this: how do teams and leagues master the immense power of social media to maximize revenue and fan-engagement? 

Social media has taken over as fans’ preferred method of engaging with sports, making it a prolific space in which to capitalize on their enthusiasm and attention. 

Every day, sports-related topics are trending across social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter) , and fans of all ages now turn to online platforms for sports content, including: 

• 51% of global sports fans from Facebook 
• 46% from YouTube 
• 31% from Instagram 
• 25% from Twitter 

Some of the most followed accounts on social media are sports related (see: Real Madrid, with an impressive 134 million followers, and the NBA with a huge 88 million followers). 

With fans spending more and more time online, the most dynamic teams, leagues, and organizations are capitalizing on social media to use engaging visual media assets to build creative stories around their brand, promote their teams, and encourage conversation by:  

• Keeping fans in the loop on team and league news, including new signings, contract announcements, sponsor reveals, and events. 
• Exciting fans and encouraging their emotional investment in teams and athletes with fun behind-the-scenes content and interview snippets. 
• Sharing live stream content such as real-time matches or commentary, or play-by-play updates such as goal announcements. 
• Making fans feel heard by gathering their thoughts and ideas through tools such as Twitter and Instagram polls. 
• Directly including fans (and making them feel special!) by sharing their UGC content (for example: fan commentary videos). 
• Developing a compelling, relatable brand voice. 
• Creating community by sharing game-day highlights that fan’s can relish and rally around. 

Driving Engagement with a Compelling Voice

How is it that the below tweets from Real Madrid (sent out live during a particularly grueling match) racked up more re-tweets and likes than former US President Barack Obama’s—perhaps more eloquent—celebration of Michael Phelps’ 2016 Olympics gold-medal win? 

It’s simple: Real Madrid has worked to cultivate an authentic voice that mirrors that of their burgeoning, young online fan base: one of such raw excitement and emotional investment in the game that the only possible reaction to a goal is: 

“AASDFGHJKHJKLFDGHJKDFGHMJDFGNHMDFGNHM” 

Fans feel heard, included, and excited, which inspires them to drive the virality of Real Madrid’s online presence by sharing their excitement—and therefore their own—with their followers. 

This makes for a powerful flywheel for fan-engagement. 

The news is in: corporate partners now receive more impressions from exposure on social media than on any other channel. 

Teams and leagues with organized access to high-quality digital media assets (such as game-day photos and video) have the power to produce engaging social media content with the potential to reach millions of fans around the world. 

Sponsors benefit from this by way of the organization’s implicit endorsement of their brand: instead of the usual ‘transactional post,’ in which the team advertises their sponsor directly, the simple presence of sponsors’ logos (such as on signage or shirts) goes far beyond explicit endorsement.

Sponsors feel more seamlessly involved with a team or league and its athletes, organizations’ endorsement of brands feels more authentic, and fans don’t feel directly advertised to—making them more inclined to engage with the content, and boosting sponsors’ impressions and advertising equity. 

In a digital age of fragmented attention spans, compelling visual media is an essential pillar of fan engagement on social media. 

Whether used across social channels, sponsorship collateral, or websites, each piece of quality digital media moves an organization closer to a captivating brand narrative, capturing the hearts of fans both new and old, and retaining their engagement all year round—instead of only during peak times.

A digital media hub like GeoSnapShot ensures that these opportunities are capitalized on by busy marketing teams, providing seamless management, monetization, and security of your digital media—and ensuring that the right people within your organization have the tools at their disposal to maximize on blue-sky brand possibilities and commercial success.