| Social media are defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content" (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010, p. 59). With the growth and advancement of digital technology in today's worldwide society becoming more prevalent, it is important to understand how companies, brands and sports teams use these mediums.;Seven social media directors of NBA teams were interviewed in a qualitative-focused study. Questions revolve around motives, implementation, management, and evaluation of social media strategies. Motives of social media use revolve around connecting with fans, while using three different methods: team to fan communication, fan to team communication, and fan to fan communication. Implementation of social media strategies revolve around staff members (immediate and higher-level organization members), timeframe (2006-2009), different types of approaches (team-centric, fan-centric, combining physical and virtual spaces), and use of guidelines.;Management of social media strategies include number of staff, how often strategizing occurred, how often changes were made to the strategy, and if the director was the final decision maker on decisions. Evaluation of social media strategies include how evaluation was conducted, how often social media strategies were evaluated, and if paperwork and documentation were used to evaluate social media strategies.;As social media continues to evolve, so will implementation, management, and evaluation strategies. Each NBA team social media director provided unique responses, and may not work for other NBA teams or sports leagues. However, knowing that the social media directors interviewed use and evaluate social media extensively for their respective teams, the future is bright for the intersection of sports and social media. |
