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Social Media Engagement for

Texas Tech Athletics

Applied: Uses & Gratifications Theory

Presented by: Mike Thomas, Ashlyn Shugart, Peyton Simpson, Rebekah Blanchard

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TTU Athletics Media Platforms/Engagement

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Challenges TTU Athletic Media is Facing

Challenge 1

LACK OF ENGAGEMENT

Challenge 2

Challenge 3

CREATING EXCITEMENT

NON INCLUSIVE

The University’s Football and Basketball team’s do a great job keeping their Facebook and Instagram pages up to date, however, they focus more on these two sports in comparison to Tech’s other sports teams such as golf, tennis, track, soccer, etc.

Lack of Engagement: The first thing we noticed about Tech’s athletic media presence was that although social media content is being created and shared across various platforms, students are not always compelled to attend or purchase tickets to Texas Tech sporting events and we believe that might be due to the fact that the shared posts aren’t very interactive.

Non Inclusive: Secondly, we felt that the university is not providing the same quality or amount of content for the other athletic departments. Account managers place too much emphasis on certain sports teams such as football and basketball, thus failing to highlight/promote/represent each group of athletes equally.

Creating Excitement: The third thing we noticed was that Texas Tech’s athletic social media accounts are primarily targeting students and alumni. That isn’t a bad thing, however, we felt they should consider creating posts that are inclusive of the locals who currently reside in Lubbock, TX.

https://oursocialtimes.com/11-really-useful-social-media-statistics-for-2018/

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Which Platform is Most Commonly Used?

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Texas Tech Social Media Vs Other Universities

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USES AND GRATIFICATIONS APPROACH

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF AUDIENCE

HOW AND WHY PEOPLE SEEK OUT MEDIA

MEDIA GRATIFICATIONS SOUGHT AND OBTAINED

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SURVEILLANCE

PERSONAL IDENTITY

DIVERSION

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

NEEDS MEDIA FULFILLS

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Socializing

Get peer support
Meet interesting people
Feel a sense of community

Entertainment

Amusement
Leisure

Self-Status Seeking

Generate likes/
followers
Career development

Information Seeking

Learn about on-off campus events
Learn about a specific service or product

EXPECTATIONS

ACTIVITES

Park, N., Kee, K. F., & Valenzuela, S. (2009)

BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS

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ARTICLE 1:

Major Finding: “...sports fans, more than fans of other programming genres, identify with the competing athletes as well as identify with other fans,” (Gantz, Wang, Bryant, & Potter, 2006, pg.)

Application: Create content that strengthens social identities and group affiliation.

ARTICLE 2:

Major Finding:

“...the strengths of different motivations vary significantly for different social media.” (Gao & Feng, 2016, pg. 18)

Application:

Be knowledgeable about the style of different social media platforms and apply those styles to attract more involvement and feedback.

Major Findings:

Article 1: Gantz, W., Wang, Z., Bryant, P., & Potter, R. F. (2006). Sports Versus All Comers: ComparingTV Sports Fans With Fans of Other Programming Genres. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 95-118.

Article 2: Gao, Q., & Feng, C. (2016, June 24). Branding with social media: User gratifications, usage patterns, and brand message content strategies. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216304502

Article 2: This article is explaining that different people find certain media platforms to be more enjoyable than others. Some may prefer more of a visual aspect, while others may enjoy a platform that offers more interaction or communication. We can apply this finding by bettering our knowledge on specific platform’s motivations, and highlighting those aspects to appear more pleasing to the public.

Article 3: Why People Use Social Media: A Uses and Gratifications Approach

Article 4: P. I. (2015, November 26). Applying uses and gratifications theory and social influence processes to understand students' pervasive adoption of social networking sites: Perspectives from the Americas. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401215001085

Article 4: This finding explains that social networking groups are proven to all use the same social media sites due to the fact that they all see value in that specific platform. Knowing this, we can use a cross-over method to advertise less popular platforms such as twitter, onto platforms that student’s use more often such as facebook or instagram.

Article 5: Relations Between Gratifications Sought and Obtained: A Study of Television News

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ARTICLE 3:

Major Finding:

“The respondents indicated that they use social media to connect and keep in touch with family and friends, interact with people they do not regularly see, chat with old acquaintances, and meet new friends,” (Whiting and Williams, 2013, pg. 366).

Application:

Tailor advertisements and content toward things that encourage interactivity.

ARTICLE 4:

Major Finding:

“...university students show willingness to use social networking sites when they know that others in their social networking group have the same values regarding the benefits of such tools…” (Ifenedo, 2015, pg. 9).

Application:

Use a cross-over method to promote less popular platforms like twitter, on facebook or instagram.

Major Findings Continued...

Article 3: Why People Use Social Media: A Uses and Gratifications Approach

The third article we selected focuses on the reasons why consumers use and like social media. Individuals who actively use social media do so in order to keep in touch and connect with their family members and friends, interact with people they don’t typically see on a regular basis, talk with old friends/acquaintances, and also to meet new people/make new friends. If we keep these findings in mind when creating social media posts for the university’s sports teams we would be able to tailor our content and messages to encourage interactivity amongst our audience.

Anita Whiting, David Williams, (2013) "Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach", Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Vol. 16 Issue: 4, pp.362-369,https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-06-2013-0041

Article 4: P. I. (2015, November 26). Applying uses and gratifications theory and social influence processes to understand students' pervasive adoption of social networking sites: Perspectives from the Americas. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401215001085

Article 4: This finding explains that social networking groups are proven to all use the same social media sites due to the fact that they all see value in that specific platform. Knowing this, we can use a cross-over method to advertise less popular platforms such as twitter, onto platforms that student’s use more often such as facebook or instagram.

Article 5: Relations Between Gratifications Sought and Obtained: A Study of Television News

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ARTICLE 5:

Major Finding:

“Getting information which is perceived as useful in discussions with others may be seen to facilitate transmission and help in the correlation process outlined by Laswell,” (Palmgreen, Wenner & Rayburn, 1980, pg.170).

Application:

By publishing meaningful content it will encourage social media engagement amongst consumers by word of mouth.

Major Findings Continued...

Article 5: Relations Between Gratifications Sought and Obtained: A Study of Television News

The final article we analyzed discussed how consumers seek out information that they consider to be useful. Whether that be the time and location of a game, a post outlining an athletes stats, or a message from a fellow student athlete. This article concluded that by providing information people want to know about, it will encourage them to discuss the content/message with their friends, family’s, and loved ones. We can apply this finding by researching what our target audience wants to be informed about and create content that aligns with their interests. By doing so we hope this will generate desirable results and get people to talk about posts face to face.

Palmgreen, P., Wenner, L. A., & Rayburn, J. D. (1980). Relations Between Gratifications Sought and Obtained: A Study of Television News. Communication Research, 7(2), 161–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/009365028000700202

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SOLUTIONS

By Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory

Our goal is to create and implement a more effective approach that will actively engage the Texas Tech athletic fan base through the use of various social media platforms.

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Implementation

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Solution 1: Engagement (:57) (Entertainment and Personal Identity)

Incentives will be given to students who ‘check in’ or post a picture with a specific # while at a game. This will not only entice students to attend the games, but also give more media exposure to the TTU athletics social media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4cTR6L-8-Y&t=11s

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Solution 2: Inclusive (increased surveillance)

The TTU athletic media teams need to recruit more people to cover the sports teams that don’t get as much recognition. This will help keep all social media accounts up to date.

Offer internships: students will get experience AND it won’t cost TTU anything!!

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Solution 3: Creating Excitement (Personal Identity)

In addition to the already popular live videos, stories, and average posts, each game day an athlete should take over one of the TTU Athletics social media accounts and do a ‘Day in the life of a student athlete’ segment. This will give fans a behind the scenes look at pregame activities and will also make the players seem more relatable.

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Solution 3: Creating Excitement (Surveillance)

The TTU Athletics Snapchat page needs to be made public so it is more discoverable. Athletes can wear Snapchat Spectacles during warm ups to give the fans a different perspective.

Have teams participate in ‘viral challenges’ on social media. This will likely get more likes, shares, and retweets than any other post.

(over 26 million views on YouTube alone)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1xT_0aQ2iU&feature=youtu.be

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SURVEILLANCE

PERSONAL IDENTITY

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

ENTERTAINMENT

AUDIENCE

CHOOSE MEDIA

IF SUCCESSFUL, NEEDS ARE GRATIFIED

This is a graph summing up the uses and gratifications theory pertaining to social media. We believe that all of our proposed solutions will improve the Texas Tech athletic department’s social media platform, as well as satisfy the uses and gratifications theory. We will increase entertainment and personal identity by offering more engagement and rewards for students through different media platforms, making them feel included. We will increase personal relationships for Tech students by recruiting athletes from most sports and upload a social media post portraying “a day in the life of that athlete.” We will then proceed to increase surveillance over the more lacking media like twitter and snapchat by bettering platforms, keeping them up to date, and finding new techniques for the fans to become more informed.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, we believe that by using the Uses and Gratifications Theory we will be able to effectively increase social media engagement, establish a relationship with our audience, and increase the number of followers utilizing Texas Tech Athletics platforms.

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Questions?

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References

Gao, Q., & Feng, C. (2016, June 24). Branding with social media: User gratifications, usage patterns, and brand message content strategies. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216304502

Gantz, W., Wang, Z., Bryant, P., & Potter, R. F. (2006). Sports Versus All Comers: ComparingTV Sports Fans With Fans of Other Programming Genres. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 95-118.

Ifinedo, P. (2016). Applying uses and gratifications theory and social influence processes to understand students' pervasive adoption of social networking sites: Perspectives from the Americas. International Journal of Information Management, 192-206.

Park, N., Kee, K. F., & Valenzuela, S. (2009). Being ImmerseSocial Networking Environment: Facebook Groups, Uses and Gratifications, and Social Outcomes. Cyper Psychology and Behavior, 729-733.

Palmgreen, P., Wenner, L. A., & Rayburn, J. D. (1980). Relations Between Gratifications Sought and Obtained: A Study of Television News. Communication Research, 7(2), 161–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/009365028000700202

Anita Whiting, David Williams, (2013) Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Vol. 16 Issue: 4, pp.362-369,https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-06-2013-0041