MLB Strong On Social, But Players Have Room To Improve; Olney Leads Baseball Media

MLB as a league remains strong in terms of social media presence, but players on the whole lag behind their counterparts in other major pro leagues, particularly on platforms such as Instagram, according to an analysis of data from social media/marketing measurement firm Insightpool. MLB continues to outpace rival leagues on social media -- a credit to the league’s early adoption of many platforms. Among all MLB influencers, the league’s official accounts lead the way with a reach of 18.9 million people, as measured across around 100 social networks by Insightpool. Right behind MLB’s accounts are those for Angels CF Mike Trout, who also ranks as SBD’s most marketable MLBer. But Trout is one of only four active MLBers to crack the top 10 among overall MLB influencers. Insightpool President & COO Chris Hackney said of the dearth of active players among MLB influencers, “In basketball, a lot of players are hyper-active on social, to the point where the league itself is actually trying to police what goes out there to protect the brand. In baseball, it definitely seems like there is a two-tier system. You have certain players that invest their time and believe in social as part of what they do, and then a whole lot of others that don’t.” As far as what steps the league can take to get players more active on social, Hackney said, “It’s a combination of the league, teams, agents and managers. There needs to be more education on the power of personal brand and promotion. With the NBA, you have more players understanding they can be a lifestyle brand, as many make more money off the court. Baseball players are more traditional athletes.”

WHERE IS THE TRAFFIC? Hackney noted Twitter remains the platform with the most traffic for MLBers, as with most athletes. But he noted that coming up quickly among MLBers is Instagram use. Hackney: “It’s a little easier to maintain a presence, because it’s so visual. You see that in some breakout MLB players like (Braves 2B) Brandon Phillips. Guys like him have more of presence on Instagram than Twitter. We’re also seeing a ton of new interest in Snapchat, but the numbers there aren’t nearly the size of other platforms as far as personal brand.” Baseball players on the whole also are just now catching up to their peers on Instagram.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Interestingly, the No. 5 influencer for all of MLB is model/actress Kate Upton, who is also the fiancée of Tigers P Justin Verlander. She often tweets about Verlander, and most notably took shots at MLB and baseball writers last fall when it was shown that Verlander had more 1st-place AL Cy Young votes than the award winner, the Red Sox’ Rick Porcello. Those tweets got thousands of likes and retweets and put her at the top of the MLB conversation for a brief period.

MEDIA MAVENS: Data also showed that among MLB media personalities, ESPN’s Buster Olney has a commanding lead over other writers and broadcasters. Olney actually ranks No. 8 among all MLB influencers. Fox’ Ken Rosenthal ranks No. 2 among MLB media, while MLB Network’s Peter Gammons is third. Longtime ESPN Deportes anchor Carolina Guillen is the lone female to crack the top 10. Hackney noted that while almost all media members are heavily tilted toward Twitter, Guillen is the exception. Hackney: “She has a very comprehensive social presence and favors platforms like Instagram that traditional media members have not latched onto as much.” Hackney also pointed out Guillen as an example of where MLB excels on social, and that is with Latin American audiences. Insightpool saw high activity levels during the World Baseball Classic stemming from Latino origination points. Those audiences treated the WBC as bigger than the World Series, and Hackney feels it gives MLB a leg up in becoming more of a global sport.

METHODOLOGY: Insightpool utilizes social characteristic, conversation and affiliation data from over 100 social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. That data is compiled into 360º social profiles. Insightpool then looks at the data of every influencer and ranks them on four criteria to determine the social influence of that individual: reach (cumulative follower base of that individual); relevance (social relevance to the specific topic being analyzed); resonance (audience engagement with individual’s post activity); and engagement (an individual’s engagement with the specific topic being analyzed). For MLB influencer, Insightpool analyzed the following filter variables to determine the influencer ranking of those listed: tagged as influencer of MLB; percentage of Twitter and Instagram conversations focused on MLB and related keywords; audience engagement with conversation on MLB and related keywords; and a three-month weighted average applied to all influencer scores and metrics.