Increasing female sports fan engagement through marketing communication in social media: the case of Greek A1 basketball league

Abstract

As a result of the growth of mobile and Internet technologies, sports businesses today depend heavily on technology. These days, social media plays a big role in both the sports sector and our everyday lives. It is essential to use the available digital tools in order to achieve successful sports management strategies. Even though sports have always been connected to males, sports businesses have to understand the importance of female fans and adjust their strategies accordingly. The research problem of this master thesis is to understand how to increase female sports fan engagement through marketing communication in social media. The research object of the master paper is female sports fan engagement increasement through marketing communication in social media. The aim – based on theoretical and empirical research to provide practical recommendations for female sports fan engagement increasement through marketing communication in social media. Research methods: A case analysis was conducted utilizing literature review, books and scholarly papers in the context of the dissertation writing. Also, a semi-structured questionnaire was created, in order to gather primary data efficiently and deeply analyze participant opinions. This paper is divided into 3 main parts. The first part is a theoretical overview of social media marketing communication in the sports industry for increasing sports fan engagement, the second part outlines the research methodology, case study analysis and the survey of female sports fans in order to enhance engagement. The third part analyzes the challenges faced by female sports fans and proposes marketing communication strategies for Greek A1 Basketball league to increase the female engagement. According to the research results, even though females are interested in the league and in sports, they face difficulties and challenges like a lack of female representation, issues with interacting with other female fans and also sexist behavior. This highlights the need for focused approaches that bring in and engage women, such as highlighting female athletes, producing interactive content, and organizing events with a female audience. This paper is a practical solutions oriented final master thesis.