No long-term 'star effect' for baseball teams on Twitter
In previous generations, when professional sports franchises had athletes who were considered to be all-star caliber on their teams, those teams would experience a "star effect," which would result in long-term increases in publicity, fan interest, and merchandise and ticket sales. Now, University of Missouri researchers have analyzed the Twitter usage of Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, athletes and fans and discovered that the "star effect" had no long-term impacts on MLB teams' Twitter following and fan engagement. Nicholas Watanabe, an assistant teaching professor in the MU Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, says this is important for professional sports franchises that are looking for ways to improve fan engagement and expand their brand reach.