Exploit social media for sports

THE sight of Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, Abdul Latif Romly and Siti Noor Radiah Ismail competing with resilience and courage, and eventually earning the country three precious gold medals and a bronze at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games won the heart of all Malaysians.
Thanks to social media, we were able to savour the magical moments. Who can forget the "viral" emotional interview video that was posted on Astro Arena's Facebook page, featuring Mohamad Ridzuan and his coach R. Jeganathan after winning the 100m T36 event? It was viewed and shared by hundreds of thousands of social media users.
Since its inception, social media has transformed sports, affecting almost every stakeholder, including athletes, officials, governing bodies, associations, clubs, sponsors and fans.
The way how sports is consumed has also changed with the use of social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram provide sports fans with a stimulating experience and excitement like never before.
Facebook allows Johor Darul Ta'zim FC (JDT) fans to be engaged with one another in discussions before and after matches, while Twitter enables them to get real-time scores and updates during the game in which their team won 2-0.
It is important to note that social media offers sports the perfect opportunity for growth. It is through engagement with fans on social media that sports teams can garner a stronger following, support and loyalty.
Sports associations, clubs and events with strong presence on social media stand a better chance of attracting sponsorship. Brands want to be positively associated with the passion, attachment and loyalty of sports fans.
This is evidenced in the success of sponsorship drives for major sports and fitness events such as the Kuala Lumpur 2017, Penang Bridge International Marathon and the Viper Challenge.
Social media proves to be a useful tool for individual athletes too.
It provides them the opportunity to build relationships with fans through online interaction and regular updates of their daily practice including training routine, tournament progress and achievement.
Besides his regular update on training and competition, track cycling champion Azizulhasni Awang also shares personal stories including about his student life and experience living abroad.
Such stories build rapport with fans.
Athletes' ability to influence their followers on social media is treasured by marketers.
Brands are keen to rope in athletes as part of their marketing programmes, including as ambassadors and online influencers.
The influencer marketing offers win-win outcomes for brands and athletes.
It gives brands the kind of exposure that they need, and for athletes, it provides the much needed sponsorship and support to enable them to thrive in their sports.
National badminton star and Olympic silver medallist, Goh Liu Ying, whose stock began to rise after Rio 2016, illustrates how athletes can capitalise on their influence online, by promoting international brands in her postings.
Beyond sponsorship, Datuk Nicol Ann David, our eight-time World Squash Champion also makes use of her strong social media presence to promote squash as well as other important causes such as gender equality and fundraising for the underprivileged.
This further highlights athletes' ability to influence others through their use of social media.
While the potential of social media in sports is enormous, a question arises; are we using the medium for sporting excellence? The answer is "yes" and "no". While sports stakeholders in Malaysia including governing bodies, associations, clubs and athletes realise the importance of social media, many still struggle to fully capitalise on its potential.
There are many sports associations that find it tough to expand their fan base and engage them on digital platforms. This is partly due to inefficient social media practices.
To make optimum use of social media, sports stakeholders should acquire the right knowledge and skills to analyse the environment, outline objectives, build a strategic plan, execute it and regularly evaluate and improve practices.
Dr Nurzali Ismail
Penang