Social Media Marketing in the European Football Industry Dissertation

Social Media Marketing in the European Football Industry - Dissertation Example The paper operates mainly based on research question which can be stated as follows: Do European football clubs that engage fans through e-marketing techniques generate more revenues than those who do not? Most of the large clubs are known to many around the world, showing a positive relationship between fan base and revenue generation. This relationship is strengthened through innovative e-marketing techniques by the clubs. Football is one of the most popular sports not only in Europe but also around the globe. There are billions of football followers and fans. Since the world is changing to become a global village comprised of an online community, the concepts of e-commerce, e-business and e-marketing are very common. The traditional boundaries are no longer hindrances in the frequent communication of people who live thousands of miles away from each other. E-marketing is a growing phenomenon which is based on the most recent and innovative marketing tools such as social media and mobile phones. It is equally beneficial for all industries, producers and investors to get engaged in income generating activities. All of the European football clubs have a large number of fans and followers who attract investors and sponsors to finance the clubs so that their products and services are maximized. The analysis of data collected for this study through primary and secondary sources, shows that the clubs which engage their fans through e-marketing techniques are generating solid revenues even in times of recession. Contents Abstract 1 Contents 2 Football as an Industry 5 Marketing and Sports Communication 6 Role of Branding and Brand Awareness in Marketing 9 Marketing through Social Media 13 Types of Social Media 16 Viral Marketing 19 Web 2.0 Marketing 21 Web 3.0 Marketing 22 Social Media and Online-Social Networking 24 Marketing Football through Social Media 26 Demand and Supply Chain: 27 Publicity and Popularity: 27 Direct Interaction between Football Clubs and Fans: 28 Reward for Fans 28 Engage and Expand Fan Circle: 28 Set up Campaign 29 Procure Content 29 Update Content 29 Track Metrics 29 Analyse and Review 30 Effective E-Marketing 30 Social Media and European Football Clubs 32 Research Question 41 Methodology 41 The Rothschild Study 41 Sampling 42 Data Collection 42 Questionnaires 42 Interviews 43 Online Surveys 43 Types of data 43 Rate of Response 43 Triangulation 44 Length of the Study 44 Findings 44 Clubs’ Personnel Preferences 44 Nexus between E-Marketing and Increase in Revenues 46 Benefits of Common Age Groups 53 Increase in Number of Fans for Increase in Revenues 54 Income Generation by the Clubs through Fan Engagement 55 Discussion 59 Intensify Use of E-Marketing Strategies 59 Enhance Relationships with Fans 60 Establishing a Dedicated Communications Department 60 Leverage Experts to Boost Interaction with Fans 61 Design Interactions Based on the Stimulus-Response bond 62 Explore the Potential of Social Media 62 Exploit New Strategies Made Possible by Web 3.0 63 Train the Ordinary Users 63 Development of a Marketing Strategy for the Club 63 Economic/Financial Aspects 64 Social Aspects 65 Technological Aspects 66 Limitations 66 Future Research 67 References 67 Appendix A 77 Appendix B: New technology for Football Fans â€Å"Apple TV† 80 List of Tables and Figures Figure 1 Clubs’ Revenues 2010/11 5 Figure 2 Annual Progress in Social Media Comments 14 Figure 3 60 seconds on Facebook 23 Table 1 Social Network landscape as of August, 2009 16 Figure 4 Social Media Workflow 27 Table 2. Popular Social Networks as of July 2009 32 Fig. 5 The Fan Engagement Spectrum 34 Figure 6 Facebook’s March to a Billion 37 Fig 7: Clubs’ Personnel Preferences 42 Fig 8: Nexus between E-Marketing and Increase in Revenues 43 Fig 9: Clubs’ Revenues 44 Fig 10 Facebook Share of Time Spent Online 44 Fig 11 Role of Social Media in Revenue