How Social Media Has Impacted the Gender Differences That Exist Amongst Sports Fans, and Its Effect of Marketers Timothy French Marquette University
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Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette College of Professional Studies Professional Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects Spring 2013 Social Media Marketing: How Social Media Has Impacted the Gender Differences That Exist Amongst Sports Fans, and its Effect of Marketers Timothy French Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/cps_professional Recommended Citation French, Timothy, "Social Media Marketing: How Social Media Has Impacted the Gender Differences That Exist Amongst Sports Fans, and its Effect of Marketers" (2013). College of Professional Studies Professional Projects. Paper 50. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: HOW SOCIAL MEDIA HAS IMPACTED THE GENDER DIFFERENCES THAT EXIST AMONGST SPORTS FANS, AND ITS EFFECT ON MARKETERS By Timothy French, B.S. A Professional Project submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in Leadership Studies with a Specialization in Sports Leadership Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2013 ABSTRACT SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: HOW SOCIAL MEDIA HAS IMPACTED THE GENDER DIFFERENCES THAT EXIST AMONGST SPORTS FANS, AND ITS EFFECT ON MARKETERS Timothy French, B.S. Marquette University, 2013 This professional research study accessed the current relationship between season ticket holders of Marquette University men’s college basketball team and usage of social media. A survey was created based on a modification of the Sport Spectator Identification Scale (or SSIS) as well as the Sport Fandom Questionnaire (or SFQ), and included specific questions related to the individual’s demographics, social media usage, and experience attending collegiate basketball games. Despite the fact that females are continuing to have an increasing presence in the vast world of sports, marketers and organizations continue to place a strong focus on the needs, interests, and desires of male sports fans. Additionally, the advancement of social media while beneficial for marketers has created a clouded and convoluted world in which consumers and fans receive thousands of messages on any given day. Thus, it is essential that sports marketers understand the connection that social media has to its fans and consumers, as well as the growing role and presence of females in sport. Questions that were asked prior to the study were: How has the advancement of social media impacted gender differences that exist between sports fans today? What is the relationship between gender differences that exist amongst sports fans in relation to social media usage, preferences, and trends? Collected data and analysis of the results using a t-test reaffirmed previous findings in regards to consumption of sport, identification with a specific team, and social media usage. Males continue to rank higher in terms of consuming sport and identifying with a particular team, and that a connection does exist between fandom and identification. Females continue to use social media more, but males use it more for sports related purposes. There also appears to be a connection between sports and social media for males and females. Males prefer to consume sports and social media to express their opinions as well as for observational and informational reasons. In comparison, females tend to consume sport, identify with a team, and access social media sites primarily to communicate with friends and family. There has been a gap between previous research studies on gender differences of sports fans in relation to social media users, thus, findings from this study will be beneficial for marketers and organizations that operate within the sports industry. In particular, findings will have an impact on how these professionals and organizations customize their marketing campaigns and successfully incorporate an integrated social media marketing message and campaign that better reaches their targeted consumer base and fan base. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING i DEDICATION Timothy French, B.S. This professional research project is dedicated in loving memory of my great Aunt Bette, who is still the “person closest to perfect” that I know. Thank you for continuing to watch over me as I strive to achieve all of my personal and professional goals in life. I love you and miss you dearly. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Timothy French, B.S. There are a variety of people that assisted me in the completion of this project along the way. In no particular order I would like to thank: Emily Hernandez and Dr. Jay Caulfield of the College of Professional Studies; Dr. James Pokrywczynski of the Diederich College of Communications; Caitlin Moyer of the Milwaukee Brewers; Dr. Naveen Bansal of the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science department; Jeremy Saperstein of the IT Services department; and Benjamin Kennedy of the Office of Research Compliance. A very special thanks to Kimberly Mueller, Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing and Sales for Marquette University, and to my co-Primary Investigator Dr. Paul McInerny, Associate Athletic Director for Engagement and External Affairs at Marquette University. Both were incremental in the completion of this project and assisted me every step of the way. I would also like to thank my family and friends, and in particular my girlfriend, Lucy Duethman; my adorable younger sisters, Ali and Jackie; my nana Margaret Mehigan; my grandpa Don Bryzezinksi and my grandma Nancy; and my parents, Robert and Sandy, all of whom have always believed in me and have always supported me in all of my professional and academic endeavors. For that and everything else, I thank you. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Lord for always giving me the strength to persevere through any and all challenges that life presents, and for always standing by my side in these battles. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................................i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................v CHAPTER I. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ...............................................................................1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................3 Gender Differences of Sports Fans ......................................................................3 Consumption of Sports .....................................................................3 Motives to Consume and Consumption Patterns ............4 Attendance ......................................................................9 Identification with Sports ..................................................................11 Gender Differences of Social Media Users ........................................................16 Consumption of Social Media ..........................................................17 Site Preferences .................................................................................21 Privacy Concerns ..............................................................................23 Impact on Marketers ...........................................................................................25 III. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................35 Research Questions and Hypotheses ..................................................................35 Participants ..........................................................................................................37 Instrumentation ...................................................................................................37 Procedure ............................................................................................................39 Data Collection ....................................................................................................40 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING iv IV. RESULTS ....................................................................................................................40 V. FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................61 VI. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................66 VII. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................68 Research Limitations ..........................................................................................68 Future Research ...................................................................................................70 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................76 VIII. REFERENCES ............................................................................................................78 IX. APPENDICES Appendix A: 2013 Social Media Marketing Survey – Demographics Questions......................................................................................87 Appendix B: 2013 Social Media Marketing Survey – Sport Fandom Questionnaire ...............................................................................89 Appendix C: