Let’s talk social media in sports.
We are in a social media world. We are at our phones or desktops and we can find anything we want to know about anything we want to know about.
In sports, we get trade rumors, injury updates, news and gossip about any player or team we follow. Most of us understand that some news and rumors come from trusted authorities and much of what we see is opinion, placed misinformation or out-and-out managed agenda. Good information is golden for teams, but does wrong info or misinformation hurt teams? And are followers real or not? Do teams really benefit from streams of social media commentary? Teams brag about their followers, market to these followers and charge ad rates based on these followers, but are they real?
A recent survey by gambling.com ran each team through SparkToro's fake follower audit, creating a ranking of the worst hit teams.
Highest Number of Fake Followers: L.A. Lakers – 5.04 million
Highest Percentage of Fake Followers: San Jose Sharks – 48.9%
That means that if the “new” Twitter eliminates what they determine as being “fake accounts,” the L.A. Lakers are estimated to lose the most followers, with an estimated 5 million at risk.
With a fake-follower percentage of 45.4%, the Lakers could see a decline of around 5.04 million followers on Twitter, leaving them with a slightly less impressive 6.06 million than the 11.1 million followers they think and boast that they have.
Well, that’s California, you might say, but In Ohio, the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the way in fake followers at 1.3 million – there must be something in the NBA water or fan base – and seven teams have roughly a quarter-million or more fake followers. The Cavs have a 38.4% rate of fake followers but are topped by seven other teams in fake-follower percentage, led by the Cincinnati Reds at 46.8% and the Columbus Crew at 46.3%.
The top 10 Ohio teams most affected by a cleanup and elimination of fake followers are the following:
1. The Cleveland Cavaliers with 3.3 million followers, a 38.4% fake-follower percentage and 1.3 million fake followers.
2. Cleveland Browns with 1.6 million followers, 44.9% fake rate and 703,000 fakes.
3. Cincinnati Bengals with 1.3 million followers, 42.4% fake rate and 557,000 fakes.
4. Cleveland Guardians, 1.2 million followers, 41.3% fake rate and 476,000 fakes.
5. Cincinnati Reds, 946,000 followers, 46.8% fake rate and 443,000 fakes.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes, 623,000 followers, 44.5% fake rate and 277,000 fakes.
7. Columbus Blue Jackets, 518,000 followers, 44.6% fake rate and 231,000 fakes.
8. Columbus Crew, 203,000 followers, 46.3% fake rate and 94,000 fakes.
9. Columbus Clippers, 51,400 followers, 29.0% fake rate and 14,900 fakes.
10. Akron Zips, 50,100 followers, 16.5% fake rates and 8,200 fakes.
Many teams brag about their numbers, but they also charge advertisers on click-throughs or by followers. Teams will lose if the fake followers are eliminated and they will also realize they aren’t as popular as they thought they were. But then again, if they believe everything they see on the Internet, do we want them making trades and player deals for our teams?
What do YOU think? Let me know at mike.blake@mountvernonnews.com.
