The Worldwide Leader in Sports: An Analysis of ESPN’s Digital Strategy
To Whom It May Concern:
I have recently researched and analyzed ESPN’s social media, websites, and mobile applications. Upon completion of my research and analysis, I have explanations of each section listed above with recommendations. That having been said, I believe that ESPN does an exemplary job with its digital marketing. Though I do not think that they need to change much with their strategy, I hope that my recommendations are beneficial.
ESPN has a well-known presence on various social networks. By having multiple pages and accounts via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, ESPN is able to target internet users based on what sport/league it is that they are trying to find. Also, ESPN posts various news and highlights each day in order to reach sports fans across the United States and the world. I do like how ESPN is always updating/posting new material on its social media outlets. My two suggestions for social media are the following: 1. Whatever gets posted on Facebooks should also be posted on Twitter. By doing this, all age demographics will be covered, since more middle-aged sports fans use Facebook and younger sports fans use Twitter. 2. Not every post on Facebook/Twitter needs to be put on Instagram. Because Instagram is designed for users to post maybe twice per day, seeing that ESPN posts about 5–7 times a day (or more) may overwhelm users and lead to them unfollowing ESPN on Instagram. If ESPN wants to be more effective on Instagram, I believe it should only post a few highlights/headlines and a “summary photo” with the most important headlines that day.
Similar to its social media pages, ESPN has a large presence on the Internet. After all, when logging onto ESPN’s homepage, the web browser tab reads “ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” It is clear that ESPN wants to deliver the most up-to-date sports news to every sports fan around the world. ESPN’s key messaging is also simple and understandable. On every page of their website, it is evident that they are committed to providing key information and analysis on each sport. I only have one recommendation for ESPN’s website. I believe that ESPN needs to create an “ESPN Detroit” page. Detroit has one of the largest and most passionate fan bases for each of its four major sports franchises, so I believe that it is only fair that they get their own page, just how cities like Boston, New York, LA and Dallas have their own pages.
In my opinion, ESPN’s mobile site is not as effective as its mobile app. When I go to ESPN.com on my iPhone, I am presented with a bar across the top with each professional sport. Under that is an ad for an NBA game on ESPN, and under that is a live score update for a game being broadcasted on ESPN. Under that is a similarly formatted feed as the full site, but it is a bit of a hassle maneuvering around the mobile site to find what I want. In addition, I am already logged in on my account on my laptop, and the scores/news for my favorite teams are presented on the left side of the screen. With the mobile site, I do not have access to this unless I search for a login screen. My recommendation for ESPN’s mobile website is to make it more user-friendly for those who have accounts on the website. Like I mentioned earlier, I have to search for a login page on the mobile site, and it is very inconvenient to have to search the entire website in order to see my favorite teams’ scores and news.
ESPN’s mobile application, however, is very user-friendly. All you have to do is sign in with your username and password and your favorite teams pop up on the main screen. In terms of the format of the app, the main screen displays live scores and news. Across the bottom of the screen are five tabs: Home, Favorite Teams, Sports, Listen, and Watch ESPN. I believe that ESPN does a fantastic job with this format, and it makes finding any scores/news easy with the click of a button. Most people that I know have ESPN’s app on their smartphones/tablets, and don’t even waste their time with logging onto ESPN.com from those devices. However, ESPN could still improve its website for those who do not have the app by making it appear very similar to the full site.
Overall, I believe that ESPN does a fantastic job with its digital marketing. In fact, I believe it is the best example of how a digital marketing strategy should be. I hope that you take my recommendations into consideration, and I wish the best of luck to ESPN as it continues being “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.”
