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The social media platform Pinterest has emerged as a popular virtual space to showcase content found online (Hempel, 2012). Encouraging users to “pin” and comment on content featuring sports-related activities, athletes, and merchandise, Pinterest presents an opportunity for sports organizations looking to connect and build communities with fans. This study employed the relationship-marketing conceptual framework (Grönroos, 2004) to examine how four North American professional sports leagues used Pinterest over a 1-year time period to communicate as well as encourage engagement and interaction with fans. The longitudinal content analysis and chi-square analyses of 24,156 pins revealed the sports teams used Pinterest to promote the fan group experience, provide team and game information, and sell team-related merchandise. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed, including recommendations for sports organizations seeking to engage their fans and communicate online.
Hambrick et al. (Tue,) studied this question.