Managing social media in sport

Digital media has been a game-changer for fan interaction in sport. But as social media offers new opportunities for clubs and sponsors to converse with fans, it’s the players who are finding themselves in hot water, and over the past few months Twitter has been a major fixture of the back pages.

Liverpool’s Ryan Babel recently became the first footballer to be handed a £10,000 fine over improper conduct on Twitter, after posting a mock-up photograph of a match official. This led to Newcastle United’s players being issued with guidelines for their own Tweeting habits. Similarly, cricket star Kevin Pietersen was heavily criticised in the press following an outburst on Twitter after he was dropped from the England team.

There’s an open field for individual sports personalities now, and while this can be a valuable PR tool for clubs, it’s also a commercial risk. To understand whether personal communications by players are being embraced as a unique opportunity or downplayed, and where the responsibility lies for drawing this line, Pearlfinders spoke to teams across football, cricket, rugby and F1. To view the content, click here or subscribe.