Influence of Social media on sports. Social media has become one of the most important spheres of our lives over the past decade. The advent and popularity of various social media platforms have transcended into various aspects of our lives, and sports is no exception to this rule.
Today, it is almost impossible to talk about sports without introducing social media in one way or the other. Almost every sports organization or club has a social media account where they try to connect with fans. Social media is the new cool in sports and major clubs around the world take advantage of this trend.
Real Madrid, the most followed club on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram uses social media to connect with fans. Real Madrid’s Instagram page is littered with match previews, highlights, and exclusive interviews. This is the same for all sports organizations on social media.
These days, it is virtually impossible for a major sporting event not to cause an uproar on social media. World cup finals, NBA finals, and tennis competitions overwhelm your social media feeds with information, memes, and updates. Football matches always go hand in hand with hashtags to increase communication between fans all around the world.
The social media craze in sports is not limited to clubs and sports organizations. Athletes and sports stars are perhaps the biggest consumers of social media. Sports stars use social media to ensure that their names become a mainstay on the internet. They use it to connect with fans and to promote their brands.
Most important of all is the fact that they use it to make a whole lot of money. On social media platforms, followers are gold, and sports stars have a whole lot of it. Perhaps due to the extremely visual nature of Instagram, fans find it the best way to relate to their sports heroes.
For example, the most followed sports star on Instagram is Cristiano Ronaldo, and he takes huge advantage of this. His Instagram page is full of pictures of moments from the football field and training field. Back in 2016, a photograph of him celebrating Portugal’s trophy win went viral on Instagram.
Ronaldo makes a lot of money via his Instagram page and his other social media platforms. It is estimated that a tweet about one of his many sponsors is worth over $500,000.
Social media is here to stay in sports. Major sporting events around the world are live streamed on Periscope and other platforms. Expect an increase in the coming years.
Conclusion:
Social Media has a huge impact on sports now and there are players who use it fora noble cause too. Thus, social media is now a way to access sports.
