Major League Baseball is trying to find ways to reach a younger audience. They want to not just appeal to those that are 65 and older. They want to appeal to millennials. To do that they have to create a strong presence on social media because thats where most millennials go to get their news, communicate with others, and express their opinions.
According to Hannah Kurtz’s article on Linkedin, MLB is making strides in reaching their projected younger audience. She says this is how they are doing it:
- Real Time News - releasing pressing information to keep fans up to date and also as a customer service center.
- Exclusive Content - teams give out “exclusive codes and specials” on their social media accounts. It encourages “interaction with the team while at the ballpark to win exclusive merchandise”
- Embrace many social networks: they diversify and customize content for each network to become “better connected with their audience.”
- Promoting Celebrities - fans want to see their favorite players work out regiments and daily routines so they can idolize them instead of the players that fell from grace because of steroid use. By showing a player that plays the game right and doesn't have tumultuous personal life, fans embrace baseball and its players more.
These are just some ways baseball is innovating itself and creating content youth can relate to and want to view and share.
According to Yvette Halawani of yashi, the MLB is making “Stats, scores, highlights, and pitch-by-pitch updates just a few keystrokes away.”
Baseball’s increasing involvement with social media has brought in more fan interest.
Yvette says,“accessibility” is “an essential factor in growing numbers across all age groups.”
Meaning, MLB has to make content for users easy to get, navigate, and share.
MLB is also letting fans create content and share their baseball opinions and ideas.
One platform goes so far as to let fans upload videos of themselves pitching which then gets compared to the professional pitchers in baseball.
Yvette also says that “Sports commentators and players have hopped on the bandwagon of cutting out the middleman, taking to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to share their opinions and build their fan base.”
Players having their own social media accounts can be a way for them to build up their own brand and have followers see who they really are outside of the baseball field.
These days, millennials flock to social media to talk about anyone and anything. Baseball players want to get in on that action and create a name for themselves and reach fans in a different way than just their batting average and other statistics being displayed on screens.