Social media as a marketing communication tool for Western Province super league rugby clubs

Abstract

Social media has revolutionised the way athletes, clubs, and fans interact with each other, making their growing importance in sport inevitable. Digital platforms support sport entities to interact with consumers/fans promptly and directly by delivering a setting for sport brands to strengthen their outlooks and identities. This demonstrates that social media allows sport teams to expand their market and brand reach, hence increasing overall brand recognition and experience. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the use of social media as a marketing communication (MC) tool for Western Province Super League (WPSL) rugby clubs in a dynamic sporting and technological environment. The South African sport sector has grown in recent years, owing mostly to large financial investments in the country's key sporting codes of soccer, rugby, and cricket. Consequently, this study addressed the research gap by providing knowledge on the South African sport market. Hence, it was essential to evaluate the extent to which social media marketing may be effectively applied in a non-professional rugby club environment in South Africa. This exploratory research explored the motivations and level of social media use among WPSL rugby clubs. In addition, it examined how WPSL rugby teams might maximise their strategic use of social media and how social media was used as an MC method during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A cross-sectional and multiple-case study design was chosen, with twelve semi-structured interviews serving as the primary data collection technique. Through an examination of the recent literature on the adoption and usage of social media as an MC tool among sport organisations, secondary data was gathered. This study employed the qualitative data analysis tool ATLAS.ti (version 9) to identify and code common research-related themes. The Ethics Committee of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Business and Management Sciences Faculty granted permission to conduct the research and fieldwork, and participating respondents provided consent prior to taking part in the study. This study found that brand awareness, sponsor attraction, relationship building, information sharing, and communication were primary drivers for social media use. Findings also revealed that social media usage challenges included reach, activity frequency, cost, content population, time, and negative reactions. Further, the effects of COVID-19 on rugby club social media use led to restricted and restrictive content that had a detrimental influence on social media engagement. This investigation made a connection between the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), behavioural intention, and motivation for utilising social media as an MC tool. The findings of this research strengthen the current foundation of TAM in the domains of social media and sport. In light of this, the inquiry took into consideration external variables such as positive and negative influences, perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) positive and negative factors, behavioural intention, positive and negative to use of social media, and the factors promoting the actual use of social media within a sport setting. Ultimately, the study advances knowledge and awareness of the relationship between South Africa's sport marketing and social media. Through its contribution to the TAM and expansion of the body of knowledge on consumer behaviour, sport, and digital marketing in South Africa, this research has significant theoretical and practical significance. The investigation is valuable as it will aid sport organisations, non-professional sport clubs, and social media marketers to enhance the effectiveness of MC strategies by ensuring that their target audiences are better defined and adapted to technological advancements. Both academics and professionals may benefit from these insights. The research was able to discern an association between social media use by rugby clubs and the effective outcomes attained while employing these media as a strategic MC tool. Therefore, the research objectives for the study were achieved and it can be concluded that WPSL rugby teams utilise social media as an MC tool.