Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Asociate Professor, Department of Sport Management Faculty of Physical Education & Sport Sciences,University of Tabriz , Tabriz, IRAN
2
Department of Sport Management Faculty of Physical Education & Sport Sciences,University of Tabriz , Tabriz, IRAN
3
Department of Information Technology Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Tabriz East Azerbaijan Province Iran
10.22034/sms.2001.141242.1346
Abstract
Today, social media marketing has created an ascending and remarkable trend in the marketing activities of football clubs, and many of the clubs' sports goods and services are exchanged electronically. Therefore, this research aimed to identify the functions of social media marketing strategies in Iranian Premier League football clubs, which was conducted with a quantitative-qualitative (mixed) approach and an applied objective. The statistical population included experts in sports management, social media marketing, and officials from the League Organization and Football Federation. Sampling was done through a purposive method, considering the achievement of theoretical saturation. On this basis, 20 semi-structured interviews were initially conducted for data collection. Then, based on the results of these interviews, a 25-factor researcher-made questionnaire was designed. Data analysis was performed in two qualitative and quantitative sections. In the qualitative section, the content analysis method was used with Maxqda software. In the quantitative section, questionnaire data were analyzed using SPSS software. The research findings showed that transactional marketing strategy, relationship marketing strategy, database marketing strategy, knowledge-based marketing strategy, and customer-oriented marketing strategy can have valuable functions in the effectiveness of social media marketing activities of Iranian Premier League football clubs. This is achieved through providing the grounds for customer loyalty and satisfaction, providing the grounds for brand identification and awareness to increase brand identity, increasing market share and understanding the quality and relative price of the product, producing new products and increasing sales, and reducing marketing costs. The research results also confirmed this importance. The achievements of this study can provide appropriate solutions for the development of social media marketing activities in the football industry.
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