Understanding the Impact of Digital Marketing and Social Media on the Consumer Behaviour in the Sports Industry

Abstract

Sports have had an enthralling impact on players and fans for centuries, and this is even more true in today’s digital age. The primary goal of the research study is to comprehend the sports consumption behaviour of the target population, i.e., the sport consumer. According to the paper by Abosag et al. (2012), every sports fan develops unique bonds with their favourite sports team over time. As a result, the goal of this study is to see if digital marketing and social media have an impact on how sports consumers are motivated to exhibit three dimensions of engagement behaviours. The User Gratification theory has been used to explain motivations such as information, personal identity, social community interaction, personal engagement, and purchasing attributes. In addition, the customer engagement behaviour framework is referred to in order to comprehend content consumption, personal contribution to the content, and proactiveness demonstrated in content creation. For this study, 105 survey responses were examined and the analysis shows that the need for Information was the primary driver of Contribution, while the need for Purchased Behaviour was the primary driver of Consumption. The study also paves the way for a better understanding of the potential opportunities to critically examine consumer behaviour in order to design future marketing activities and promotions.

Keywords: Digital Marketing, Social Media, Consumer Behaviour, Sports, Online Community Engagement

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