The Value of Snapchat in Sports
While most people are familiar with social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, one particular new social media channel that is gaining value due to its popularity with millennials is Snapchat. Snapchat, which has been around since 2011, allows users to take live pictures or videos and allows friends or contacts to view these images for up to 10 seconds. These capabilities have encouraged many sports brands to heavily incorporate Snapchat into their social media marketing strategy.
Recently, Major League Baseball has partnered with Snapchat to create weekly Snapchat “stories.” MLB will start showing Wednesday stories that include highlights from games and contributions from actual fans. The fan contribution part is what will potentially increase value the most to both the MLB and the team brands, because it allows for the MLB to keep the fans engaged. Essentially, the MLB and individual teams have then created new brand spokespeople. In addition, Snapchat is a great way for the individual athlete celebrity to promote their own individual brand. Players can directly connect with their viewers by uploading videos or images of their “winning moments.”
Overall, Snapchat offers an exciting and engaging way for sports teams and fans to connect via social media. When teams incorporate a “Snapchat story” into their social media campaign, it allows for fan to be the brand promoter for the team and gives people glimpses of exciting sporting events to help create brand awareness.
