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Attaching Value To Your Social Media Presence

As of the moment that I am drafting this post, there are 88 sports agents/agencies being followed on The Master Twitter list of sports agents/agencies (if you read this site and you are not yet following this list, you need to get on it!).  While there are a few agents on Twitter who are not a part of the list, they are most likely not on it for 1 of 2 reasons:

  1. They never/rarely send tweets.
  2. They send over 50 tweets a day, with extremely useless information.

Very few agents fall into either category, yet we know that there are well over 88 people who call themselves agents (and some of the accounts on the list are agency accounts – most likely run by interns).

If you think that it has taken an unreasonable amount of time for agents to embrace Twitter, their adoption of Facebook is even slower.  While I do not have a listing of all sports agency Fan Pages (you can find Dynasty’s Fan Page here), I believe that there are less agent/agency Fan Pages than there are agent/agency Twitter accounts.

Agents and agencies are missing out on a great opportunity to spread brand awareness, create relationships with fans of the agencies and their clients, and promote their knowledge on open platforms – all for free.  Yes, all of our favorite price.  There is no cost to have an active voice on Twitter or Facebook.  But there may be a cost to not having an active voice.

If Facebook Fans are worth $3.60 a piece, as discussed in this Mashable article, then sports agencies without a presence on Facebook are missing out on potential income.  Does the post have any credence in our industry, though?  Perhaps, as people who Fan a sports agency’s page are most likely people who will find the content relevant.  It’s not like Fan-ing a generic brand like Taco Bell or KFC.

The CEO of the company that ran the study is quoted as saying, “It’s no longer an option, it’s a necessity,” when discussing the importance of brands to have a strong Facebook presence.

Personally, I don’t like trying to assign a value to each Fan.  Whether it be $3.60, $1.00, or $7.00, there is value added to having your brand prominently displayed on Facebook.  And whether you believe it or not, your clients will end up benefiting from the increased exposure, as well.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

2 replies on “Attaching Value To Your Social Media Presence”

Darren,

I agree, that Facebook fan page have the potential to add value to your agency. I really don’t believe that you could put a dollar sign on the value of each fan for an agency fan page. My question is, with fan pages being of value, regardless of whether that be financial, or just making yourself and your agency more well know, do you believe it is a wise decision to invest in Facebook advertising for your page. Personally, at this point, I don’t believe it is necessary to run advertisements on Facebook, but possibly over the next couple years, when you can target specific people even more, it would be more beneficial.

Doug V.

I agree – it is tough to put a dollar sign on the value of each fan. It could be wise to advertise a page; however, remember that most ppl will be disinterested in an agency’s Facebook Fan Page. That’s why the ppl who so “Like” the page are probably more valuable than those who “Like” more general brands.

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