Master’s degree thesis IDR950 Sport Management Analysis of Twitter Behaviors of Portuguese and Turkish Clubs Eduardo Perdigao Drapier Sarp Doga Tezonarici Number of pages including this page: 155 Molde, 22.05.2019 Mandatory statement Each student is responsible for complying with rules and regulations that relate to examinations and to academic work in general. The purpose of the mandatory statement is to make students aware of their responsibility and the consequences of cheating. Failure to complete the statement does not excuse students from their responsibility. Please complete the mandatory statement by placing a mark in each box for statements 1-6 below. 1. I/we hereby declare that my/our paper/assignment is my/our own work, and that I/we have not used other sources or received other help than mentioned in the paper/assignment. 2. I/we hereby declare that this paper Mark each 1. Has not been used in any other exam at another box: department/university/university college 1. 2. 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Has the research project been considered by REK? yes no - If yes: Reference number: Publication agreement ECTS credits: 30 Supervisor: Christos Anagnostopoulos Agreement on electronic publication of master thesis Author(s) have copyright to the thesis, including the exclusive right to publish the document (The Copyright Act §2). All theses fulfilling the requirements will be registered and published in Brage HiM, with the approval of the author(s). Theses with a confidentiality agreement will not be published. I/we hereby give Molde University College the right to, free of charge, make the thesis available for electronic publication: yes no Is there an agreement of confidentiality? yes no (A supplementary confidentiality agreement must be filled in) - If yes: Can the thesis be online published when the period of confidentiality is expired? yes no Date: 22.05.2019 Preface Studying abroad is a unique experience; to have the fortune of exploring a new culture while meeting people from different countries is a priceless opportunity, giving students the chance to open their mind to new possibilities and business prospects. This thesis is the result of two years of study and hard work. It united two persons from different countries and ideologies that learned to live together and respect each other’s differences while sharing a common goal: to succeed in the sport industry. We brought together studies from some of the main Portuguese and Turkish football clubs. Our goal was to learn and understand the differences and similarities between these markets and how these teams can improve the manner in which they interact and relate to their customers and supporters. Furthermore, this study will work as a base for future studies in the sports industry in Norway to help develop the market in the country which has received and welcomed us. We are incredibly thankful for everything that the university, the Norwegian people and the country of Norway have given us. A special thanks to our supervisor Christos Anagnostopoulos to his support, guidance, patience and help during this study. He did not only help but also guided us in this research. Additionally, we want to give greetings and best feelings to our professors Solveig Straume and Oskar Solenes, Hallgeir Gammelsæter for their support in and out of the university during our 2 years studies. Summary Social Media is a new phenomenon got into our lives in the last decade. People are creating profiles on social media platforms and create a new world for themselves. Not only “people” but also companies, brands and sport entities created their own profiles in social media platforms, by this way become a part of this world. Amongst many social media platforms, Twitter is a huge social media and micro-blogging platform that hundred millions of people use in a daily basis. This study aims to analyze Twitter behaviors of 3 Turkish and 3 Portuguese clubs. Study is based on two chapters. In the first chapter, relevant literature is reviewed from a general perspective to social media, narrowing it down to social media marketing, which appeared very recently, further implications of social media marketing strategies and branding to sports world. In the second chapter, data from Twitter accounts of these total 6 clubs from 08.02.2019 – 08.03.2019 term are collected and gathered, continued with the simple calculations of each club and comparisons between them. Not only the numbers collected and calculated but also the methods, preferences and using of social media tools of the sample clubs are analyzed and compared during the study. At last, a general comparison between countries with suggestions of the authors for more efficient marketing strategies and conclusion is brought to light as a result of the analysis. Table of Content 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. An Overview for Social Media and Sports ............................................................... 1 1.1.1. Research Questions...................................................................................... 2 2. Literature Review ................................................................................................................. 2 2.1. Social Media ............................................................................................................ 4 2.1.1. Twitter ........................................................................................................ 6 2.1.2. General Data Protection Regulation ........................................................... .9 2.2. Social Media Marketing in Sports ......................................................................... 10 2.2. Branding in Social Media for Sport Clubs ............................................................ 13 2.3. Brand Attributes for Team Sports ........................................................................... 15 3. Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 17 3.1. Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 18 4. Results ................................................................................................................................. 24 4.1. Discussions ............................................................................................................ 25 4.1.1. Analysis of the Clubs ................................................................................ 25 4.1.2. Futebol Clube do Porto ............................................................................. 25 4.1.3. Sport Lisboa e Benfica .............................................................................. 27 4.1.4. Sporting Clube de Portugal ........................................................................ 28 4.1.5. Analysis of Portuguese Clubs .................................................................... 29 4.1.6. Besiktas ...................................................................................................... 33 4.1.7. Fenerbahce ................................................................................................ 35 4.1.8. Galatasaray ................................................................................................ 37 4.1.9. Analysis of Turkish Clubs ......................................................................... 40 5. Comparison Between Portuguese and Turkish Clubs ......................................................... 43 6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 46 7. References .........................................................................................................................