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Social networking sites are defined as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections (Boyd & Ellison, 2008). Many people are now on social networking sites, accessing them on a regular basis (Duffett, 2015; Gangadharbatla, 2008; Ting, Wong, de Run, & Lau, 2015). As a result, while social media was initially created to be a means of communication between individuals, commercial organisations are now leveraging on the platform to market themselves. Marketing communications can be sent to specific targets based on disclosed interests and demographics on social network sites. As members of a social network site have a relationship with each other in a virtual community, messages are also perceived to be more credible and a potential source of influence on consumer behaviour (Phua & Ahn, 2016; Ridings, Gefen, & Arinze, 2002).
Sport organisations and athletes are also leveraging on this new platform to communicate with spectators and their fans (Abeza, O’Reilly, & Seguin, 2019; Castellano, Khelladi, Chipaux, & Kupferminc, 2014; Frederick, Pegoraro, & Smith, 2021; Su, Baker, Doyle, & Yan, 2020; Thorpe, 2017; Wallace, Wilson, & Miloch, 2011). In particular, given the popularity of football and the high levels of commitment to the sport displayed by their fans, football clubs are well-placed to leverage on social media to engage with their fans (McCarthy, Rowley, Ashworth, & Pioch, 2014). They can also use social media to achieve commercial goals including drawing spectators to the games (Nisar, Prabhakar, & Patil, 2018; Parganas & Anagnostopoulos, 2015; Parganas, Anagnostopoulos, & Chadwick, 2015; Vale & Fernandes, 2018).
While there are differences across countries and demographic groups, studies have suggested that there are several factors in motivating spectators to watch a match including the presence of drama, skill of players, team attachment and player attachment (Funk, Filo, Beaton, & Pritchard, 2009; Mahony, Nakazawa, Funk, James, & Gladden, 2002; Won & Kitamura, 2007). Consequently, football clubs are providing information that is demanded by fans and encouraging their attendance at the games (McCarthy et al., 2014; Parganas et al., 2015; Vale & Fernandes, 2018). However, whether this can be a viable strategy remains unknown. This is because fans may not rely solely on social media for information as they are still dependent on traditional media for information (Clavio & Walsh, 2014).
Football is a popular sport in Singapore. In a national survey conducted by the government in 2011, football was the most popular sport watched by Singaporeans across platforms including television, event venue and online (Sport Singapore, nd). Yet somewhat surprisingly, attendance at local matches had been poor. From 2010 to 2012, the average number of spectators was only about 1,150 spectators per match (Dan, 2014; Selvam, 2015). This is of concern as low attendance at matches can affect the financial viability for the clubs in the league. In the financial year ending March 2017, gate receipts for the league was reported to be only $68,456, contributing less than 1% of total revenue (Football Association of Singapore, nd).
Football clubs in Singapore have also embarked on social media marketing strategies to attract spectators. Past research have demonstrated that social influence on social media can affect consumer behaviour. The aim of this paper is to examine whether social influence can be generalised to social media marketing strategies for football clubs.