La relación como valor estratégico en comunicación organizacional entre los clubes de fútbol y jugadores estrella en redes sociales/The relationship as a strategic value in organizational communication between football clubs and star players in social net

Abstract

Resumen

La investigación se ha enmarcado en el estudio de la gestión de la comunicación organizacional en el deporte, con el enfoque en las redes sociales como canales estratégicos para establecer las relaciones con los fans de fútbol. Olabe (2012) y Ginesta (2011) han estudiado su influencia en la comunicación con los distintos públicos de las entidades deportivas. Sin embargo, son limitados los estudios de valor de la presencia e interacción mutua entre los clubes y sus jugadores estrella en sus respectivas estrategias digitales de comunicación corporativa basadas interactividad, influencia y publicity. El objetivo del estudio es demostrar la relación estratégica de la comunicación digital de los clubes de fútbol más importantes en la Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Real Madrid CF y FC Barcelona), con sus deportistas más mediáticos (Cristiano Ronaldo y Leo Messi) en Facebook, Twitter e Instagram. Para ello, se ha utilizado una triangulación metodológica, centrada en analítica Web 2.0 y análisis del contenido, abarcando el periodo de la competición de la LFP y descanso. Los resultados demuestran un alto rendimiento de perfiles en cuanto a actividad, popularidad y valor publicitario. Las conclusiones confirman la relación comunicacional entre los jugadores profesionales con sus respectivos clubes, desarrollando una clara visión de su estrategia comunicativa. Los clubes estudiados realizan estrategias distintas para sus jugadores; así como los jugadores estudiados tienen una marcada diferencia en cuanto a el objetivo de sus publicaciones en redes sociales.

Palabras clave: relaciones públicas, comunicación organizacional, deporte, redes sociales, Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona.

Abstract

The research framework are studies of the management of organizational communication in sport, with the particular focus on social networks as strategic channels to establish relationships with football fans. Olabe (2012) and Ginesta (2011) demonstrated the influence of communication with different audiences of sports entities. However, there we can observe the limited number of studies on the mutual interaction between football clubs and their star players in their respective digital strategies of corporate communication based on interactivity, influence, and publicity. The objective of the study is to demonstrate the strategic relationship established via digital communication of the most important football clubs in the Professional Football League (Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona), with their most popular athletes (Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, respectively) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The choice of these networks is motivated by the wide use and application in case of both clubs and players (except for the FC Barcelona player, Messi who does not have a Twitter profile by the time of the study). A methodological triangulation has been used, centered on Web 2.0 analytics and content analysis of social networks, covering the period of the LFP competition and the time directly afterwards. In this way, we cover sporting period and vacation rest. In this way, we can determine the strategies of the players and their greater or lesser link to their club of relevance depending on the sport and competition activity. In order to accomplish the objective of the present study, we have used the online monitoring and measurement tools of social networks: FanPage Karma, Likelyzer and Twitonomy, so we have been able to collect a large amount of data, otherwise impossible to gather. The results show a high performance of profiles in terms of activity, popularity and advertising value. The data confirm the communication relationship between professional players and their respective clubs, developing a clear vision of their communication strategy. The study reflect the commitment and publicity value of football clubs and reveal the ways in which the players use it for their own businesses or sponsorships. In the case of both clubs, the players provoke the greatest interaction on the part of the followers, but they are not mentioned in messages through the hashtags, but key words. In addition, the clubs perform different strategies for their players. Additionally, the players have shown a marked difference in terms of the purpose of their publications on social networks. Among the conclusions, it is advisable to redesign the strategies of the social networks in order to include the conversation, dialogue and reciprocal relationship between clubs and their star players for the mutual communicative and promotional benefit, beyond the commercial effect. In short, the use of social networks by players and sports entities is based on objectives within their own separate communication strategy and business interests. However, it is advisable to cross the strategies of both players and entities to amplify the messages and optimize the strategies different actors of communication.

Keywords: public relations, organisational communication, sports management, social networks, Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona.