Although it is not the be-all and end-all of a team's success or popularity, social media is a good barometer of how well a team connects with fans and keeps its best interests, marketing and otherwise, front and center.

No industry needs to leverage real-time marketing quite like sports, an industry where unpredictable events can happen at a moment's notice. Their fans are always connected and engaged, whether they are sharing their reactions to key game moments on social media or checking on their fantasy team ranking.

Last month in this space, I alluded to some of the ongoing conversation that suggests that a political agenda at “The Worldwide Leader” is in part to blame for a viewership downturn that may have precipitated ESPN’s recent workforce reduction. Both the spin doctors in Bristol and their detractors have each been quick to confront this assertion by sharing contradictory survey results. In one corner (dare I say, “the left corner?”) is ESPN, citing research that shows that sports fans do not consider their coverage to espouse a liberal bias, whereas I’ve also seen a recent survey that showed …

After a serial killer used Facebook Live to broadcast his confession, having used their video platform to share footage of himself murdering an elderly man, many marketers were left asking: Do we really want to be on the live bandwagon right now?