CrossFit across Three Platforms: Using Social Media to Navigate Niche Sport Challenges

Abstract

Niche sports have limited opportunities to promote their sport offerings via traditional communication channels and may rely upon alternatives such as social media to accomplish their marketing goals (Puchan, 2004). Williams and Chinn (2010) developed a relationship marketing conceptual framework to examine social media usage and marketing within a sports context. This study used the framework with the burgeoning sport of CrossFit and examined three primary organizational relationship-marketing activities: (a) Information, (b) Interaction, and (c) Promotion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of social media by key members of the CrossFit community. The study addressed the following research questions: RQ1. What are the usage categories similarities and differences observed across the social media platforms? RQ2. What are the group usage similarities and differences observed across the social media platforms? and RQ3. What are the group usage similarities and differences observed across the usage categories? A content analysis of 5,565 Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube messages was used to explore these activities. The CrossFit social media users—CrossFit Games, regions, boxes, athletes, and sponsors—used the platforms primarily to provide information about the sport and interact with the community, while promotion was employed less frequently. CrossFit and other niche sports can use social media to provide information and build community within their sports, before attempting to create online communities and promote their products.

The Dynamics of Influencer Marketing

“…CrossFit leverages a variety of messages to different platforms. While other sports often use their social media accounts as opportunities to sell products only 2 per cent of the messages were promotional (Kang et al, 2019). It also supports its members through its free journal, The CrossFit Journal (https://journal.crossfit.…”

“…The platforms are used to create awareness of the sport and disseminate information to the members. High-profile athletes were both consuming CrossFit products and promoting the CrossFit brand (Kang, Rice, Hambrick & Choi, 2019). In the study, the social media messages repeatedly led to interaction and exhibited familiarity and unique relationships with each other.…”

Who leads the conversation? Influential Twitter users during a niche sporting event

“…Recientemente, algunos investigadores han examinado formas específicas de comunicación en las redes sociales sobre deportes de nicho. Kang et al (2019) analizaron tres actividades de marketing en el contexto del Crossfit, un deporte de nicho con escasa cobertura mediática en EE. UU.…”

“…Esta característica es de gran interés para la obtención de patrocinios Greenwell, Greenhalgh & Stover, 2013;Miloch & Lambrecht, 2006). En términos de comunicación, las redes sociales son un canal clave para los aficionados a un deporte de nicho, especialmente para recopilar información y crear comunidad, gracias a la interacción entre usuarios (Kang, Rice, Hambrick & Choi, 2019). En la dinámica detrás de estas plataformas, la información fluye por interacción.…”

Social Media Marketing for Professional Soccer Clubs: Focusing on the Quality of the Relationship Between the Club and Fans

“…Therefore, more attention should be paid to the characteristics of SNS., which comprise multidimensional variables and consist of various concepts, with slight differences depending on the subject and the researcher. This can reflect various factors because the SNS environment is diverse and rapidly changing (Kang et al, 2019).…”