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Engaging the Sports Prosumer on LinkedIn

Entered in LinkedIn Presence

Objective

As the leading publisher covering the impact of sports on business and culture, we leverage LinkedIn to engage not only the sports business community, but what we call the sports prosumer audience. We’ve cultivated this audience by providing deeper storytelling around the world of sports - capturing compelling stories outside the lines of play. This audience is affluent, influential and expects more from their sports coverage. They’re as passionate about their careers as they are about their favorite teams and players. 

Our intention on LinkedIn is to reach this audience when they’re in the middle of their workday or conducting business-related tasks like reading their email or engaging with their network. 92% of our audience says consuming FOS is part of their daily routine, a data point fueling our strategy and approach to LinkedIn and other platforms across our ecosystem.

Our content influences conversations that happen in the boardroom, in the group chat, at the dinner table, at the watercooler. We believe that as a driving force of popular culture, the business of sports is meant to be enjoyed by more than just sports industry professionals, but by mainstream audiences as well.

Strategy

In 2023, Front Office Sports published 1,016 total posts on LinkedIn, a 93% YoY increase from 2022. We are incredibly intentional in our posting strategy and approach to storytelling to cater to the LinkedIn audience and bring them unique perspectives and storylines at the intersection of business, sports and culture.

Some of our best performing franchises and storytelling formats on LinkedIn include:

The Come Up: The stories of athletes, coaches and executives who have overcome the odds to get where they are today - proving that sacrifices and determination aren’t optional on the road to success. We celebrate the stories of adversity and tales of fulfilled childhood dreams, like Erik Spoelstra’s journey from video coordinator for the Miami Heat to leading the team to six NBA Finals in 13 years or Erin Matson’s rapid rise from national champion lacrosse player to national champion head coach in the span of one year.

Stadium Status: While the corporate world is focused on return to office, the sports world is redefining what it means to go to work - moving fast and furiously at building new stadiums, investing in groundbreaking upgrades and leveling up the resources for women’s sports. Whether we’re celebrating the Las Vegas Ace’s facility - the first ever built solely for a WNBA team, the KC Current’s brand new stadium - the first women’s professional sports stadium in the world or the cutting-edge eco-friendly features of $1.2 billion future home of the LA Clippers, our audience is highly engaged across the board.

On each of our social platforms, we aspire to make the business of sports a part of sports fans’ daily consumption. Our coverage and audience engagement numbers continue to prove that stories like Pop-Tarts being the most exciting Bowl sponsor of the decade, Jalen Hurts’ journey to the Super Bowl with his all-female management team or the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament capturing a record-breaking audience are becoming a core part of mainstream sports conversation. Dreams really do come true.

In addition to daily news, reporting and coverage at the intersection of sports, business and culture, we leverage LinkedIn to engage our audience of professional consumers with thought leadership through white papers, webinars, summits and more. LinkedIn continues to be a core presence for us in promoting initiatives like Rising 25 - our award celebrating young professionals working in sports and Best Employers in Sports, along with our virtual summit franchise Future of Sports, in which we bring industry experts together to discuss the trends, insights and topics that are defining the future of sports. 

Our executives are extremely present on the platform, garnering millions of impressions from their own accounts, evangelizing the FOS brand and our unique initiatives in addition to engaging directly with our audience on a personal level. Front Office Sports’ co-founders have an impressive following of 60k+, sharing updates on the company’s growth, new hires and relevant stories we’re breaking and covering in the space.

Results

In 2023, Front Office Sports’ content on LinkedIn generated more than 100M+ organic impressions, 10.5M+ video views (a 310% YoY increase) and 5.5M+ engagements.

With an average engagement rate of 5.6% throughout the year and a spike in July, averaging 6.6% throughout the month, our content continues to resonate with a large audience. Our social following grew +26% on the platform in 2023 and our top performing post generated over 5.4M impressions alone. We continue to reach a wide audience that craves richer and deeper storytelling around sports, which we’ll continue to deliver in 2024 and beyond.

Media

Video for Engaging the Sports Prosumer on LinkedIn

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Front Office Sports

Links

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