Look Who’s Talking—Athletes on Twitter: A Case Study

TLDR

Social media, especially Twitter, has become a key marketing platform for sports teams, leagues, coaches, athletes, and managers, with athletes tweeting rapidly and prompting questions about their content. The study aimed to examine what athletes are saying on Twitter. The authors analyzed athletes’ tweets over a seven‑day period to investigate their content. Athletes mainly discuss personal matters and answer fan questions on Twitter, demonstrating the platform’s effectiveness for enhancing fan–athlete interaction.

Abstract

This case study investigated athletes’ use of a specific social-media platform—Twitter. Social media are a rising force in marketing and have been fully embraced by the sport industry, with teams, leagues, coaches, athletes, and managers establishing presences. Primarily these presences have been focused on Twitter, a microblogging site that allows users to post their personal thoughts in 140 characters or less. Athletes, in particular, have engaged in tweeting at a fast pace, which raises the question, What are they saying? This case study investigated the tweets of athletes over a 7-d period in an attempt to answer that question. The findings indicate that athletes are talking predominantly about their personal lives and responding to fans’ queries through Twitter. The results indicate that Twitter is a powerful tool for increasing fan–athlete interaction.