Social Media as a Sports Marketing Strategy: An Analysis of the New York Mets Social Media

Social media has grown into one of the most popular tools in the marketing industry. As social media continues to evolve, it allows for even greater transparency, communication, and relationships among users and businesses. There is no doubting that social media is an effective way to foster brand loyalty and a community of brand advocates, however successful social media marketing requires a depth of knowledge, understanding of the market, and an established strategy. Social media has been extremely effective in sports business as it allows organizations to create a community for their fans where they can find real-time news, promotions, content, and information about their favorite teams. As an intern for the New York Mets tasked with covering the Arizona Fall League, my experience provided first-hand insight into the use of social media in the MLB. Through an analysis of the New York Mets social media strategy, this thesis discusses the effectiveness of social media as a marketing strategy, best practices, and current trends to provide a well-rounded analysis of the successful implementation of this tool.