The Effectiveness of Social Media as Communications Tools To Target Sports Fans

This thesis explores the effectiveness of social media as communications tools to target sports fans. Through comparison of academic and non-academic resources, the literature review examines six key topics: Social media as outlets for fans to express both passion and hostility; the impact of sports fans on social media for sports organizations; professional athletes on social media; social media as tools to engage sports fans; sports fans as tools in issues management on social media; and the globalization of sports fans on social media. The primary research is anchored in a case study, examining the effectiveness of the Argos Admirals, the official fan voice of the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The case study employs inter-views with CFL management, a Toronto Argonauts player, a member of the Argos Admirals and Toronto Argonauts fans. The findings indicate that social media are effective tools for communicating with sports fans, that Twitter is an optimal platform to communicate with sports fans and that the Argos Admirals, as well as other sports fan social media, accounts are effective at communicating with sports fans.