Creating a Fan Community for Sport Teams Through Social Media

Abstract

With so many people using social media, it is no surprise that sports team at all levels are looking to use social media to increase interactions with the spectators. Consumers appear to choose to use social media to connect with the team, other fans, and feel a sense of belonging to a community. There are many articles that discuss the relationship between social media and sport; however, many of them are not supported with empirical data, nor do they address the gap between fan communities and behavior. This study uses empirical data to try to prove that there is a relationship between social media and creating a brand community for teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It adds to the literature by providing empirical evidence between fan communities and fan behavior.