How Fans Engage with the NFL Online
The day has arrived at last. The 2009 NFL season kicks off tonight with the opening game between the Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers (a game our own Rafael Robinson is attending, by the way).
Media Frenzy Communications conducted a survey looking at how fans use the Internet to stay on top of news on their favorite NFL teams and engage with the league. They found that while 65% of respondents say they have been lifetime fans of their favorite teams, nearly 70% said they had rarely or never attended a home game. Media Frenzy says this supports the need for NFL Teams to reach out to loyal fans through as many channels as possible (like social media).
Some results from the survey:
- 60% did not know whether their favorite team had an official Facebook page
- 60% did not know if their favorite team had official representatives on Twitter
- Yet Facebook showed 166 results for NFL pages and hundreds more for individual team pages
- 71% look to their team’s official website for news and info
- 61% look to their local newspaper (print and online)
- 51.5% said NFL.com was a trusted source of info about their favorite teams
- 35% said they visit their team’s official sites just 1-3 times a week
- 54% said they read local newspapers (print and online) as well as blogs (31%) about their favorite teams every day
"In other words, there is opportunity for both the NFL and the individual team organizations to reach a broader fan base through a more organized and official use of social media," says Media Frenzy. "Reaching out to sports bloggers and providing information through Twitter and other social networking sites could boost fan loyalty and dispel false information."
The NFL has of course banned the use of Twitter by players and coaches during game time (including 90 minutes before and after the game). Meanwhile, Chad Ochocinco Johnson, the NFL player who brought Twittering in the NFL to the news in the first place says he has some loopholes that will let him get around the league’s Twitter rules. He also says he will be tweeting from the Super Bowl.
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