Presented at the 18th Annual SMAANZ Conference, 2012 - Sydney, Australia.

1. Developing a Social Media Strategy for a
National Sporting Organisation:
A Case Study
Ashleigh-Jane Thompson, Andy Martin & Sarah Gee, School of Sport & Exercise

2. Background
• Tennis New Zealand:
– National governing body of tennis in NZ, a member of the ITF
– Responsible for the management and administration of tennis in NZ
– Over 300,000 affiliated players participate in tennis in NZ
– Six regional centres are responsible for the delivery of tennis in their
region (Northern, Auckland, Waikato-Bays, Central, Canterbury,
Southern)
– Delivers a number of national and international tour events annually
(Tennis Auckland runs the two major international events)
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

3. Background
• Tennis New Zealand:
– Tennis is considered a minority sport:
• Amount of media coverage and publicity the sport receives in New
Zealand
• Biggest portion of funding is received from trust grants and sponsorships
– Has suffered from negative publicity in the past
– Currently no top 50 players
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

4. Changing Landscape
Internet users are becoming increasingly active in their use of
social media and social network sites (SNS)
– Text-based sharing medium;
– Audio visual medium;
– Democratised influence;
– Motivated through shared
– interest(s);
– Desire for brand interaction
v Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ
SMAANZ 2012

5. Changing Landscape
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

6. Social Media Landscape
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

7. Some quick numbers - NZ
• 64% of Internet users say they belong to a SNS
• 96% of those with a membership to a SNS said they
used Facebook most often
• Social networking ranks as the leading online activity in
NZ, accounting for 1 of every 5 minutes spent online
• It is the most engaging online activity, accounting for
21.1% of all online minutes
(Source: AUT, 2011; comScore, 2011)
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

8. Project Aims
• Social Media Strategy Development & Execution for Tennis
New Zealand
– Create, manage and maintain the Tennis New Zealand and official
Heineken Open Facebook pages
– To grow and interact with the New Zealand tennis fan base
– To help raise the profile of Tennis New Zealand
Prior to this project, Tennis New Zealand had not engaged in any new media developments
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

9. Methodology:
• Involved an in-depth examination of the selected case
• Semi-structured, informal interviews were conducted with
senior positions of responsibility within TNZ, the Heineken
Open and ASB Classic
• Secondary data was collected from the organisation (including
current promo materials, marketing plans, initial new media
ideas)
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

10. Strategy:
• Includes
– Overview
– Purpose
– Admin policies
– Content
– Metrics
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

11. Methodology:
Plan Execute Evaluate
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

12. Emergent Themes
Issues and Barriers to Engagement:
Facebook
changes
Ability to
sustain an Lack of social
online media
presence knowledge and
understanding
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

13. Barriers to engagement
• Organisation & Managerial Level
– Appropriate knowledge at management and board level
• Expectations and KPI’s
– Fragmented organisational structure
– Resources to support sustained online presence
• Sport Sector Level
– Lack of understanding of new/digital media
– Confusion in the industry about what social media should be used for
and how to use it to add value and contribute to the organisation
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

14. Barriers to engagement
• Technological Level
– Technology is constantly changing, and Facebook is continually
updating and re(de)fining its product
– These changes have implications for those managing an organisations
Facebook presence
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

15. Findings:
Building Conversations Emergent Themes
Content
Quality Relevant Engaging
Metrics & ROI
Add
Value!
SNS
Fans Tennis NZ
(Facebook)
Comments Strategy
Content
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

16. Findings
• Conversation is Key - two main concepts
1. Share quality and relevant content
Concept Explanation
Post content Mix up the type of content posted. Use a mixture of news updates, videos,
photos, links, and notes.
Sourcing other quality content YouTube videos from other relevant sources, RSS feeds from own
organisation or relevant others.
Posting style This should be open, inviting, warm and personable – but also consistent
with the image of the organisation
2. Encourage discussion and engagement
Fan comment strategies
End status with a question
Add your own personal comments to encourage further discussion
Reply as often as possible to fans, use the @name if possible
Try and reply as promptly as possible
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

17. Findings
• Competitions and promotions
– The use of these was the most successful in raising awareness and
exposure to the ‘brand’
• Behind-the-scenes material (videos and photos)
– The use of these was the most successful in encouraging constant
engagement and conversation
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

18. Findings
• Metrics and ROI
– In order to determine the value and success of an organisations social
media presence, evaluation needs to take place
– To do this, there needs to be a way to measure success
– Lack of suitable metrics is often provided as a reason why
organisations have not entered the social media realm (Tsai, 2009)
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

19. Findings
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

20. Findings
• Point = Awareness & Engagement
– Followers, fans, friends
– Social Mentions
– Referrals to ‘Official’ site
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

21. Facebook Strategy
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Theme: Week ahead Grasshoppers Coaching Tips Volunteers Weekly round up
#1: Photo of the Day: Photo of the Photo of the Day Photo of the Day Photo of the Day
Winner of the Day
Porsche Tennis
Grand Prix
Question: After
#2: winning the Link: To the Video: Spotlight on Profile: Regional Caption It! Friday
Barcelona Open, is Grasshoppers drills used by two volunteer
Nadal your website players at the
favourite to take Configure Express Pro
the title at Roland
Garros?
Kiwi Update:
#3 ‘Kiwis in Action’ Info: On the Question: What aspect Link: Information Weekly poll (covering the
Grasshoppers of your game do you for volunteers weeks tennis news)
programme want to work on most?
Goal: To educate and To educate Provide coaching Promote & To educate and engage
engage with the and engage information & tips recognize the with the audience.
audience. with the relevant to the contribution of
audience. audience. volunteers.
Measure: # comments, # comments, # comments, # comments, Active users, likes,
Daily active users Active users Active users Active users unlikes,
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

22. Findings
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

23. Research Contribution
• Implications for Academics
– The ubiquity of SNS is causing more organisations to accept a more
open and collaborative relationship with their fans and therefore there
is a need to better understand this ‘new phenomenon’
– Emergent themes provide a contribution to theory building in SNS
literature
– Provides the first insights into social media strategy creation for a NSO
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

24. Contributions to Industry
• Implications for other organisations
– To develop a successful strategy, stakeholders involved need a clear
understanding of:
• How social media fits within the organisation;
• How and by whom, the social media strategy will be managed;
• What their fans expect out of their social media relationship
• Clear guidelines for how ‘success’ will be measured
– Before expanding into multiple social media platforms, ensure that
current platforms are being managed effectively
A one-size fits all approach is not appropriate!
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ

25. Thank You!
Ashleigh-Jane Thompson
School of Sport & Exercise
Massey University
A.J.Thompson@massey.ac.nz
@ashton99
SMAANZ 2012 Developing a Social Media Strategy for Tennis NZ