This document provides an introduction and background for a research study analyzing how the NFL utilizes social media to engage with fans and provide updates. It outlines the study's goals of exploring the NFL's current social media effectiveness and how results could help the league improve engagement. The methodology section describes collecting surveys from 100 students ages 18-25 at Eastern Connecticut State University to measure fans' social media usage and satisfaction with NFL updates received. Key terms are defined and the survey questions are provided.
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Introduction
Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook have played a crucial role in providing the
National Football League with feedback in regards to the handling of controversies,
implementing new policies, marketing and even sideline reporting. The NFL has the largest
television audience in America. According to Nielsen, Sunday Night Football ranked as the
number 1 viewed television program in all of primetime from 2013-2014 (Deadline Hollywood,
2014). This paper will explore how sites like Twitter and Facebook impact not only how the
NFL will choose to operate, but how they will also utilize social media to advertise and reach
their fans with important league updates. A study by Sanderson, 2014, the @NFLlockout Twitter
handle was looked at closely in order to determine how it was actually used to gain feedback
from the league’s fan base. If the NFL utilizes social media to gain feedback from their fans,
they will become more efficient in dealing with league issues and advertising. Some research
questions I may have are as follows:
1. How effective is the NFL in reaching its fan base currently via social media?
2. How can the results of this study be utilized to aid the NFL in reaching more of its fan
base via social media?
3. At the rate of which social media users is growing, what techniques can the NFL employ
to ensure they are able to consistently reach the majority of their fan base via social
media?
Key Terms
Social Media: the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based
input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated to
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forums, microblogging, social networking, social bookmarking, social curation, and wikis are
among the different types of social media (Rouse and Wigmore, 2014). For the purpose of this
study, social media will be the medium observed to collect data.
Feedback: Process in which the effect or output of an action is 'returned' (fed-back) to modify the
next action. Feedback is essential to the working and survival of all regulatory mechanisms
found throughout living and non-living nature, and in man-made systems such as education
system and economy. As a two-way flow, feedback is inherent to all interactions, whether
human-to-human, human-to-machine, or machine-to-machine (Businessdictionary.com, 2015).
For the purpose of this study, we will attempt to utilize feedback as a way of measuring how
successful the NFL is in regard to reaching its fan base.
Effective: producing a result that is wanted (Merriam-Webster, 2015). For the purpose of this
study, we will use the term effective as a means of displaying achieved success. If a desired result
is received, then it has proved to be very effective.
Participants
The sample group being observed for the research experiment being conducted will be students
that are currently attending Eastern Connecticut State University between the ages of 18-25. Our
target number of survey participants is 100 students. This sample number was chosen in order to
achieve a decent amount of responses, while keeping a realistic goal of actually receiving 100
participants. This sample group will also be composed of both males and females. This sample
group will be reached by passing out surveys in the student center on campus. This sample group
was chosen so that the study could be easily replicated and conducted at another university. One
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strength with the sample group chosen is the high probability that our participants will be
subscribed to some sort of social media site. Through personal observation and experience (field
observation), I have learned that many people are involved with some sort of social networking
or at least holding active conversations about it. One weakness that may be encountered during
this study, could be the lack of interest that my participants may have towards the topic being
researched. One other potential weakness may be the small amount of time that students have
during transitioning between classes. If many of my hopeful participants have other important
things to do during this time, they may not be able to fill out my survey completely or at all. One
other strength about the study being conducted is that the population of students at Eastern is
high enough to accomplish the realistic goal of achieving at least 100 participants.
Procedure
Myself, and two other people will pass out the surveys in the student center during times that
students will be transitioning between classes. For example, transition times at Eastern usually
fall into 10-20 minute intervals. These times typically begin 45 minutes after the hour and end at
about the start of the following hour. Flyers will be passed out during one day, starting at
12:00pm, and ending at 7:00pm. I believe that starting around lunch time would be better, so that
students may have some time to wake up before taking the survey. This tactic is being used to
eliminate as much inaccuracy as possible. The student center also appears to have the highest
flow of traffic during regular school hours. Pens will be provided to complete the survey, in
order to ensure that we receive enough responses. The survey being dispersed consists of 9
questions, consisting of 3 yes or no screener questions, 3 multiple choice questions, and 3 Likert
Scale questions. Since transition time between classes are not very lengthy, a short survey
questionnaire was most desirable in order to attract more participants. Once the participant has
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completed the survey, either myself or one of the other two others responsible for handing out
the survey, will collect the survey and thank them for their time. To add further incentives for
students to complete the survey, we will reward those who participated with a piece of candy.
This will also help keep the research cost relatively low.
Measurement
Social Media: Operationally defined as any type of website or application that is specifically
utilized to communicate with others using media to update others regarding news, pictures or
events.
Player News/Updates: Operationally defined as any form of communication or update regarding
players in the NFL that is released to or talked about amongst other people.
Rules, Regulation, Policy Implementation News/Updates: Operationally defined as any news
regarding new rules, regulations or policy implementation related to the NFL that is released to
the public.
NFL (National Football League): Operationally defined as a national organization that is
comprised of football teams, players and officials that are involved with providing sporting
entertainment in regards to a national audience.
Satisfaction: Operationally defined as how content one may be or become in regards to how
efficiently they are updated through social media about happenings in the NFL.
Survey/Questionnaire
1. Are you an active fan of the NFL? (Circle One)
YES NO
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2. Are you male of female? (Circle One)
MALE FEMALE
3. Do you currently rely on social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter) to receive
news/updates about your favorite NFL team? (circle one)
YES NO
How old are you? (Please check one)
___ 18-19 years old
___ 20-21 years old
___ 22-23 years old
___ 24-25 years old
___ Older than 25 years old
How many social media sites are you currently subscribed to? (Please check one)
___ I am not currently subscribed to any form of social media
___ I am currently subscribed to 1-2 social networking sites
___ I am currently subscribed to 3-4 social networking sites
___ I am currently subscribed to 5 or more social networking sites
How many NFL teams do you follow via social media sites? (Please check one)
___ I do not follow any NFL teams via social media sites
___ I follow 1-2 NFL teams via social media sites
___ I follow 3-4 NFL teams via social media sites
___ I follow 5 or more teams via social media sites
How effective is the NFL in promptly delivering player news/updates? (Circle one)
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Strongly Dissatisfied Very Satisfied
1 2 3 4 5
How effective is the NFL in promptly delivering news/updates regarding the
implementation of new rules, policies or regulations? (Circle One)
Strongly Dissatisfied Very Satisfied
1 2 3 4 5
How effective is your current social media site in suggesting who to follow for prompt
coverage regarding coverage of NFL player news/updates, or the implementation of new
rules, policies or regulations?
Strongly Dissatisfied Very Satisfied
1 2 3 4 5
With regards to the first yes/no question, if the participant answers yes, they would identify
themselves as an active fan of an NFL team. This would likely mean that they are somewhat
knowledgeable about at least one team in the National Football League. People who select yes
are also more likely to view their favorite team’s games on television. If the participant were to
answer no, then it is probable that they do not identify themselves as an active fan of any team in
the NFL. They are also not likely to possess much knowledge about any specific team, or
frequently watch any NFL games. Answering question number 2 indicates whether or not the
participant is male or female. If a participant were to answer yes to question 3, they are stating
that they are reliant on social media in order to receive any news or updates regarding matters in
the NFL. Answering no, should suggest that they are either not reliant on social media for
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updates about the NFL, or that they may rely on other sources to update them about the National
Football League. Question number 4 was designed to help the researcher decide who would be
eligible to participate in the study. All responses that indicate the participant is between the ages
of 18 and 25 would be eligible. All those that check the last option (indicating they are older than
25) would be eliminated from the research study. Question number 5 helps us gather information
about how many social networking sites/applications the participant may use. If there is a high
amount of participants that utilize multiple social networking sites/applications, there would
seem to be a higher demand for information to be released via social media. Answers to question
number 6 may suggest how active of a fan the participant may be of the NFL. If a participant
were to follow more teams, the potential for determining how involved the participant is with
following the NFL may be inferred. Questions 7-9 are used to gain a sense of how satisfied the
participant may be with the level of satisfaction one may hold in regard to utilizing social media
as a source of gaining information about events, news, or player updates pertaining to the
National Football League.
Results
Of the sample group, those that followed more NFL teams, were considered to be more active.
Those that were more active, had a higher rate of satisfaction in regard to the information being
relayed through social media. These participants were more educated about the league and how
to access news that pertained to the NFL. Over time, most participants felt that the National
Football League was efficient in handling the reporting of news to them. Surprisingly, those
participants that were older than 25, were almost as active in following the NFL via social media,
as those participants who were younger than 25. Research has yet to suggest how the NFL can
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employ better techniques in order to remain efficient in regard to updating fans around the
league.
Discussion
When analyzing this study, one can notice several benefits, as well as downfalls that occurred
during the research. One major down fall was failing to collect responses from at least 100
students. Due to the lack of time available to conduct research, a much smaller sample was used
to collect data. Originally, the design was set up to collect a large number of responses to ensure
more accurate results. If the study were done differently, a larger group of participants would be
desired. One other negative aspect of the study, was that decisions about how the NFL could
employ new techniques to keep up with the high demand for information that social media
requires. If the study were to be replicated, this research question would not have been included.
Aspects of the study that thrived, was the diversity of both sex, and age of the respondents.
Although the number of responses was low, the population sample was quite diverse. It is
hopeful that with a larger group of respondents, the level of diversity will increase. The
relationship between the amount of people that use social media, and the rate of messages they
receive from the NFL through it is significant. This means that the demand for league
information is high. When the demand is high, the satisfaction is determined by the rate at which
the NFL can produce information to its fan base. If the rate at which messages are delivered
remain high, the level of satisfaction from the leagues followers will increase. This study should
be replicated by one with more time to research, as well as the ability to collect from a larger
sample group. If enough information is collected about the relationship between the NFL and its
followers, the potential for increased revenue may also be a possibility.
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Citations
Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Feedback. Retrieved April 23, 2015, from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/feedback.html
Deadline Hollywood. (2014, May 22). Primetime tv series 2013 ratings & rankings — full list |
deadline. Retrieved from http://deadline.com/2014/05/tv-season-series-rankings-2013-full-list-2-
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Del Rey, J. (2012). Inside the ny giants’ marketing playbook. Advertising age, 83(8), 15.
Marriam-Webster. (n.d.). Effective | Definition of effective by Merriam-Webster.
Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effective
Morabito, A. (2012, September 3). Football gets social, NFL’s network partners look to score
with the second-screen audience. Broadcasting and Cable, 14-14.
Rouse, M., & Wigmore, I. (2014, July). Social media. Retrieved April 23, 2015, from
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/social-media
Sanderson, J. (2014). Shaping, driving, engaging, and influencing in 140 characters: Exploring
twitter’s role in a labor dispute. Qualitative research reports in communication,15(1), 43-50.
Retrieved February 10, 2015, from Ebsco.