The impact of social networks in the development of a personal sports brand
Purpose Over the past two decades the subject and growth of social media has been exponential, along with its relevance to the sport marketing industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strategic usage of social networking websites to develop the concept of a personal brand by international rugby union players. Design/methodology/approach This study was embedded within an interpretivist paradigm that allowed the qualitative examination of the way international rugby players use social networking sites. The primary data collection method involved ten semi structured interviews and was triangulated with secondary sources which involved visiting the three social networking sites utilised by all the players (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) Findings The research analysis revealed personal branding themes that can be classified according to the following mnemonic: personality, exposure, response, follow, endorse, consistent, and target audience (PERFECT) Research limitations/implications.