Social Media Golf Celebrities and their Impact on Golf

Do you follow Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson...Paige Spiranac... on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook? If so you are not alone as followers are in the millions for these golfers. Is it because of how they play or what they say?

From professional golfers becoming popular via contentious tweets to phenom beauties making a name for themselves on Instagram, the impact golfers have on social media has been an enormous game changer.

Advertisers are jumping on board the social media express, tying into the celebrity to get their product noticed; the monetization value of a single tweet from Tiger Woods was calculated at $33,911 while a single McIlroy tweet was $16,161 with Ian Poulter valued at $11,982. So, the next time you are reading posts from your favorite golfer, think about the subliminal impact it is having on you.

Golf, the once exclusive pastime for the rich and famous, has gone mainstream but has it abandoned its core values to gain visibility and does it now have to right the ship?

Listed below are a few Social Golf moments to consider: do you think, overall, that social media has helped or hurt the game using these examples? 

1. There are different levels of enjoyment within the game of golf for the fan, from watching great tournament shots to learning about the new equipment from Ping, TaylorMade and Titleist and looking for the upcoming great stars who can be "the next Tiger Woods". Instagram has helped launch the career of Paige Spiranac much like the way Justin Bieber was found on Youtube.com. A million social media fans have catapulted this good golfer into the Dubai Ladies Masters despite not officially qualifying for LPGA or LET status.

One of the top female golfers and 4th in the Rolex Rankings, Shanshan Feng has only 933 Instagram followers (2,556 Twitter followers) compared with the 1 + million (884,000 Instagram) Spiranac followers. Although Feng lets her sticks do the talking on the golf course, she needs to gain similar influence or she may be watching from the sidelines over time as others line their pockets via the power of well-placed photos and tweets. Global publicity for the LET and LPGA increases purses and the internet has been chosen as the delivery vehicle.

Happy holidays! Ready for gifts🎅🏻🎄🎁 #merryxmas pic.twitter.com/HnQJSDqTf1

— Shanshan Feng (@shanshanfengCHN) December 24, 2016

2. Did we really need to know that? Is it interesting to you to know what a golfer had for breakfast and/or do we really need to see guys like Jordan Spieth or Rickie Fowler hamming it up, shirtless on vacation?

Thousands upon thousands of fans follow the top guys in golf (Spieth has 1.71 million followers) which is also great for his sponsors who help strategically place their equipment in threads and posts; Titleist ProV1x and Under Armour. The tweet below for the Titleist ProV1 golf ball received 294 retweets and over 2,000 likes:

First week with the new 2017 @Titleist ProV1x was a success. No surprise it's the #1ballingolf pic.twitter.com/ZSN6tEVzyV

— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) November 30, 2016

Have you tried these any of these golf brands because of a post tweeted from a famous golfer? If so, you are not alone. Advertisers, who once saw results in a TV commercial during a round of golf, are finding that well-placed posts and online videos are equally effective, using brand ambassadors to relate to consumers. It's easy and cost effective to get the message out using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, and, you get a lot more bank for your buck.

What may be a boon to advertisers may also hurt them as we can also "read" the thoughts of golfers when they are at odds with the game. One very candid, prominent social golfer, Ian Poulter, lets fans know when they (or the system) are out of bounds but this type of power can also be dangerous.

For example, after calling Ian Poulter an unfavorable "name" on Facebook, an average-joe deliveryman was the recipient of one of Poulter's effective posts causing the man's place of business to apologize to Poulter and to re-rout the driver to a different office. Ian Poulter nearly cost a man his job; it's easy to get attention when you have over two-million followers and the power of social media in your corner. He is heard, seen and can get someone fired with words as he has previously done.

Although the man was clearly wrong costing Poulter his shot to land in the drink, Poulter, who makes millions each year, could have cost this worker his livelihood...one-upmanship in the social sphere? 

Lesson learned...watch what you say and to whom you say it on social media.

3. Good can come of it! Golf social media celebs can also make a positive impact on the game. Many players post about their favorite causes, foundations and those of the PGA Tour, bringing great visibility and more donations to help others in need.

My pop would be proud of how the #heroworldchallenge has grown. We’ve raised more than $26M for youth programs. –TW pic.twitter.com/aAETXVMEyf

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) December 1, 2016

Do you think professional players' social media impact on golf has been positive? State your case in our golf blog comments section below and tag/follow us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

Golf for Beginners wishes all of our friends and followers a very Happy New Year.
Thanks for reading our blogs; we look forward to your thoughts, shares and retweets for 2017.

Five tactics to put oomph into your social media strategy

Large corporations have social media strategies with dedicated executives in place pumping out daily emails, tweets, Facebook status updates and the like in order to keep their company name in front of the public. With smaller businesses, owner/operators busily function in many roles during the day and although they may consider the need for an internet strategy, struggle with how to start and, once begun, how to continue their marketing and social media efforts.

In this digital age, every business should have an online presence. Although many companies say “hey, I have a website”, without a plan of action to increase visibility for that website, the chance of your site being seen by potential clients, let alone anyone on the internet, is like trying to be found in the middle of the desert.

With the approach of a new season at 1:14am EST tomorrow morning, now is a good time to spring into action. Where it is easy to get caught up in the throes of spring fever, delegating your responibilites for the day to enjoy a round of golf, it is also essential and equally easy to ramp up your social media efforts and increase engagement. Taking only a few minutes daily to set up and establish yourself and your business in the social sphere should yield solid returns. The key is to maintain DAILY engagement: no matter how little time you actually spend...like exercise, even a little bit on a frequent schedule yields results. Take "small steps" as mentioned in the movie "Contact".

As a social media and SEO consultant, I receive many phone calls, emails and daily tweets to help companies with their marketing efforts. I would like to share five ideas which will assist even the smallest firm to get more people talk about your brand and to communicate with you on a social level.

1.      If you do not have a blog, create one…now. Add fresh content at least once per week and don’t be afraid to quote sources that you find help relay your ideas. Show that you are an authority and have an opinion. This is the most important part of your strategy to increase engagement. This blog should also tie into your social networks; Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

2.      Speaking of social networks, make sure your company has a presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and even Google Plus. Not everyone wants to engage on Facebook so you have to make sure that, once your blog is posted, it is read on all the social networks.

3.      ENGAGE! Not necessarily like Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise but his term, Engage, means just that; get out onto those social networks and make sure that you communicate with others. Add yourself to Facebook groups that shre your business and even personal passions and share your thoughts about what you know. If you make golf equipment, talk about it and how it relates to the game.

4.      Ask for feedback. Ask QUESTIONS! Although this is all part of engagement, it serves a very different purpose. Asking questions gives people pause for thought and a way to interact with you. People also love to help you with your problems. A back-and-forth discussion of your market, your brand and even just questions that are interesting to the group attracts engagement.

5.     Use photos and videos to engage your audience. Did you ever notice on the bottom of your Facebook mobile app that pictures run long the bottom of the screen? Why? Because the old saying that a picture says a thousand words is true! Pinterest, one of the newest websites, is all about sharing pictures. If you have a golf product to sell and you happen to be on the golf course, show pictures of its usefulness, how it works and how great it looks. People also tend to share good photos and that increases the possibility of your picture or video going viral.

Businesses taking even the smallest steps will benefit from social media interaction and the increased visibility they will receive on the internet. Make sure to link back to your website and have your blog comments turned on for even more interaction within your site.

Voice your opinions on Twitter @Golf4Beginners, friend on Facebook and contact me directly for internet marketing consultation.

photo credit

Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous

PGA Tour can learn from John Daly's social skills

Although the PGA Tour "communicates" with its fans through online giants Twitter and Facebook, people who follow don't usually receive much of a personal response. Two-way conversation is crucial to opening the doors of social media.

With social networking still in its infancy, the potential for growth within these two vastly contrasting formats is enormous, providing that the PGA Tour is willing to adapt its style to meet the demands of both.

Executive producer of PGA TOUR.com Scott Gutterman feels that by extending reach to Twitter and Facebook, fans will experience a "direct connection" that they crave but admits that "their audience numbers are not as high as the Tour would ultimately like." Guttman understands that "two-way communication of social media doesn’t happen overnight."

ESPN sports analyst and former NBA star Jalen Rose believes that "interaction" is the key to more fans and followers.

"The PGA needs to talk with the fans who are posting on their wall. They need to interact with people talking about golf on Twitter, and even have golfers give live lessons on Ustream! It’s time for the PGA to build a culture where golfers and golf fans come to the PGA’s social media accounts when they want to talk or find out more about the sport."

Various internet studies comparing Twitter and Facebook mention that, although many users have profiles in both communities with some interconnectedness, some celebrities grow a much larger fan base due to the scope and ease of communication through one social medium over the other.

Coincidentally, social media trends indicate that although most Fortune 100 companies have some type of social media presence, Twitter is becoming more popular.

For now, the PGA Tour seems to have a better connection with its Facebook group probably because this social media option is more like its current website.

The allure of Facebook is long-term community-driven status with the ability to apply pictures, information and a "face" to the Tour while Twitter followers appear to be more chatty and unreserved, wanting information in more immediate, quick bursts. Youtube.com is almost an offshoot of the PGATour.com website so, even though there were 4.4 million uploads of golf videos as well as over 128,000 visits to the site to date, it can hardly be considered "social" media.

Taking into consideration that the PGA Tour has more than double the number of Facebook fans (45,000) over Twitter followers (about 21,000) and that the PGA of America maintains that there are 27 million golfers in the USA, the Tour should be asking what can be done to grow their visibility on both platforms as well as internationally as golf is a worldwide sport.

One way to reach fans en masse and in person? How about on-course during an event: go to where the fans are and seek them out. Although cell phones are considered a "no-no" at events, perhaps the PGA Tour could set up special tents with Twitter on net books close enough to the action where fans could post tweets in exchange for giveaways. The winner gets tickets to a future event or an 'inside the ropes' activity. Sign up as a "follower" and see your name on one of the big boards around the golf course!

Six events are set up for the West Coast Swing alone, which puts into play two Arizona golf courses and four more in California. Followers could be increased by reaching out on-course as opposed to solely through internet strategies.

The list of "fan-friendly" PGA Tour golfers can perhaps also use their power of persuasion by adding the @PGATour link occasionally during a tweet. The connection between professional golfers and the Tour would benefit because the PGA Tour has the more statistical analysis while the golfer could add 'pizzazz'.

John Daly, one of the most vibrant "tweeters" in the world of social media, (@PGA_JohnDaly), currently has over 44,000 fans on Twitter, more than double the number of followers than @PGATour yet falls short on the number of Facebook followers with slightly more than 14,000 fans.

Daly keeps in touch and keeps it "real" and so he appeals more to Twitter fans. When someone asks a question (and he's available) they can expect a response from JD.

John involves the fans with regularity from mounting a Twitter campaign as the Golf Channel's next "Haney project" to offering autographed copies of his new CD. Now that's the way to market yourself!

Of course Daly's eclectic lifestyle makes many fans want to keep track of his larger-than-life status but maybe the PGA Tour should take a tip from JD when it comes to Twitter because communication and putting a face to the tour really helps in adding value to the brand.

Adding fan base may as simple as having a a few surprise celebrity "tweeters" on @PGATour or following a few of the hot golf bloggers to stir things up a little (like @golf4beginners for instance?)

Other PGA and LPGA Tour golfers are enjoying celebrity status on Twitter rather than on Facebook and finding it easier to jot down a quick note while practicing or even just after winning an event.

Ian Poulter, @Ianjamespoulter (7,004 Facebook/ 977,239 Twitter fans) just won his first event ever in the US, a match-play event and, at 2:01am after the event tweeted, "Evening friends, What a day, just sitting on my bed in palm springs, doing cobra commercial tomorrow. 6.45 start, so happy after winning." You can't get much closer to your golf hero than that!

Michelle Wie, @theMichelleWie (2,716 Facebook/14,984 Twitter) told her fans what she was doing on Valentines Day: "spending valentines day writing a paper and listening to Metallica in my hotel room. haha so ideal...not. :)" Who would have thought Michelle Wie to like Metallica!

Stewart Cink (2173 Facebook, 1,226,058 twitter) asked fans about some of their favorite songs: "Just listening to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on the way to practice. One of few songs I like that include a countdown. Your favorites?"


All of the examples above have both Facebook pages and Twitter accounts but less time is needed for a 140 character update than the investment of time required with Facebook.

With the ability to have tweets directly imported to Facebook, MySpace and other social websites, fans still feel connected but the connection originated with Twitter. Facebook also looks and feels like any other website, with the ability to put up a "wall" separating the fans from personal connection.

That being said, both social media platforms are tools for communication, each with its own unique functionality. Whereas Twitter has become more of a quick way to meet friends and network, Facebook prides itself on a deeper level connection.

Both forms of social media are necessary in order for the PGA Tour to grow on an international level. If only the Tour could find a way to "humanize" itself and add a bit of the celebrity mix which people seem to gravitate towards, it would marry both its online business concern with a more approachable presence.

Written by Stacy Solomon
http://golf-for-beginners.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/golf4beginners
Stacy Solomon on Facebook



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