Facebook has revolutionized the way people consume news. Joshua Gans of the Harvard Business Review recently wrote an article about Facebook as a news source. Gans claims that not enough media analysts “comprehend Facebook’s apparent market value and its position at the top of the media pile.” Specifically, Gans points to the Facebook News Feed as a powerful tool for reaching social media users.
The Facebook News Feed is a valuable news medium for both companies and fans. It allows companies to target fans that have “Liked” their page, thus reaching an engaged, passionate, and often very large audience that wants to hear this news. At the same time, the News Feed is valuable for fans because it provides a way to stay updated on sports news while on Facebook.
Several sports news sources have utilized the Facebook News Feed to reach their digital audience. Here are a few companies that are leading the way:
What they do well: ESPN is unique in that they do not strictly post links to articles from their website. Instead, they post a variety of content, such as videos, photos, and polls.
ESPN also does a great job of sparking conversation with their posts. Almost all posts, be it pictures or articles, are paired with a question that engages their Facebook audience. ESPN understands that conversation and debate are great parts of sports, and they do an outstanding job of embracing this through their Facebook posts. Where they could improve: At times, the posts on ESPN’s page can be a bit one-dimensional. For example, at one point last week there were 12 straight posts related to college basketball. Granted, this was during March Madness, but it would still be nice to see a bit more diversity in the coverage.
What they do well: This page does a good job of covering relevant topics in the sports world. These posts not only reflect the top stories in sports, but they are also posted as these stories develop.
Also, Sports Illustrated does a great job of incorporating original content into their newsfeed. As a sports magazine, they have access to great photos and articles, so it is nice to see them incorporate this into their Facebook page.
Where they could improve: The one main weakness of this page, especially in comparison to ESPN, is the lack of conversation. With only 96,000 fans (compared to ESPN’s 3.6 million), the quality of conversations between fans are not as in-depth as the conversations at ESPN’s page.
What they do well: The first thing you will notice about the Bleacher Report Facebook page is the diversity of its content. This page posts articles covering everything from NFL to MMA, offering a great sampling of what is going on with all sports.
Where they could improve: The biggest disappointment of this page is that there is little conversation. Many of the posts are simply links to articles, with no question or attempt at fan engagement. Especially in the era of social media, there is no excuse for this type of one sided reporting.
Another area of improvement would be the timing of the posts. Bleacher Report will often post several articles at the same time, which have a way of flooding your News Feed.
What they do well: Sporting News does a great job of posting interactive content. Almost all posts contain a link to an article, photo, or video, accompanied by a question to facilitate conversation.
Where they could improve: Although the posts are very informative and contain relevant content, they are often wordy and long. The News Feed is best suited for short, conversation sparking posts.
What they do well: Overall, this page probably has the best quality posts. The posts are brief, cover a wide range of sports, incorporate Yahoo! articles, and most importantly, they do a great job of sparking conversation. Yahoo! Sports is also unique in that they explicitly encourage fans to “Like” certain posts if they agree with a statement or question. This strategy, although minor, is effective because it allows for easier engagement and thus reaches more people.
Where they could improve: Much like Bleacher Report, the timing of posts is an issue for this page. Followers will sometimes see 3 posts go up at the same time, which tends to flood News Feeds. It would be nice if these posts were more spaced out, and better yet, if they were posted while certain events were occurring (such as posting about a basketball team immediately before that team plays).
Every page listed here does a good job of posting information on sports news. The best pages, however, go beyond this traditional role of reporting, and work to facilitate conversation. Sports are great because they spark conversation; and Facebook is great because it brings people together and facilitates conversation. The best news sources recognize this intersection and work to encourage conversation around sports.