Social media has evolved over the past two decades. What started as simple online communication tools with AOL chat rooms, MSN messenger, and MySpace profiles has now transformed into services we can’t live without.
Today, social media is much more sophisticated and much more powerful than those primitive social networks. It is no longer just a source of fun, but a source of income for millions of people around the world.
Whatever business or industry you’re involved in, you must have felt the impact of social media. It has made things both easier and more difficult, as well as simpler and more complicated at the same time.
Social Media and Sports
The website BettingSites was interested in how social media impacts sports in today’s culture, so they created an interesting infographic that depicts this issue in an engaging way.
As you can see from it, platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., are affecting sports broadcasting, marketing campaigns, event organization, the image of sports stars, sponsoring, sports revenue, and so on.
Today, even though television is still a popular sports broadcasting service, we can see a gradual shift toward the internet and social media platforms. More and more viewers are watching sports matches online whenever possible, so popular sports broadcasting companies are seeing a decline in viewership and revenue.
Moreover, social media platforms have become the main advertising playground for sports teams, organizations, events, players, and sports brands. In the past couple of years, social media has seen several successful sports campaigns, such as:
- #Maketherules – This was a social media campaign created by Nike with the aim of promoting women athletes. It was declared a huge success after it was shared by 96 sports stars and raked up 11.5 million followers in 2012.
- #ThisGirlCan – The English Sports Council organized another social media campaign focused on women. It tried to encourage and inspire women to take a more active role in sports in 2015. It was considered a huge success after it got more than 8 million views.
- Mauka Mauka – This Star Sports India’s campaign was one of the most popular ones ever with more than 10 million views in the first quarter of 2015.
Social Media Impact on Sports Betting
The development of social media also affects how we approach sports betting. Social media and the rising popularity of smartphones go hand in hand. Therefore, more and more sports fans who like gambling are transitioning to the betting apps.
For example, the William Hill iPhone betting app averaged more than $20 million in mobile bets every week in 2013.
These numbers and facts sound impressive and dazzling. However, they are just the first layer of a much more complex picture. If you wish to learn more about it, check out the infographic below for more exciting information.
