Social media has become an integral part of a professional athlete's career and female athletes seem to possess some of the larger followings, giving them strong influence. Not only can this help the individual athlete but it can be a powerful tool in highlighting women's sport, bringing more interest and additional coverage.  Female athletes can also evoke change in other ways by being an influencer, such as by using their own personal stories to inspire others. “The stakeholders on the commercial side of sports are constantly searching for the next frontier, the next growth play,” Dan Cohen, who leads sports marketing company Octagon’s media rights consulting division, said in an email. “It is clearly women’s sports.”

It’s official, the start of the 2020-21 MLB season has been pushed back to June 2020. We took this chance and looked at what some of our Opensponsorship MLB  athletes are up to during what was supposed to be the beginning of their seasons. Even with the season on hold, the digital presence of our athletes through their social media accounts have been stronger than ever. 

The Coronavirus pandemic has taken the whole world by storm.  The sports world and the rest of society are staying home in lockdown, trying to figure out ways to cope with something they have never experienced before.  One unforeseen way people have been coping is by spending hours browsing and creating content on the app TikTok.  TikTok, which has been mostly viewed as a social media or content creation platform for the younger generation, has suddenly turned in to a platform where you could find people from any age simultaneously creating and consuming content.

              Often times, professional athletes are known more for what they do in their given sport than for what they do in their personal lives. They spend so much of their time in the spotlight and they make more headlines for the accomplishments on the field. However, off the field, these athletes are the same as their fans. They have their own interests and hobbies that they enjoy doing in their free time, they crack the same jokes with their teammates and friends, and they binge-watch the same Netflix shows as the rest of us.

The Coronavirus pandemic has taken the sports world by storm, and athletes now have an unprecedented amount of time on their hands leading to an increase in the number of athletes on TikTok. Some are taking on new hobbies -see Giannis Antetokounmpo learning the guitar and Cody Zeller learning to cook and play the guitar (well, trying to). Some are doing their best to stay in shape at home- nice setup, Serge Ibaka! But most of all, athletes are more active and engaging on social media than ever before. The most interesting takeaway from this uptick in social media activity has been the increase in athletes on TikTok.

This post is designed to help fitness industry professionals make crucial business decisions now to capture additional business in the future. In 2020 the fitness industry reached new heights. The industry is now valued at over 105 billion USD, up about 6 billion from 2019. Over the past 4 years the industry growth rate has averaged between 3-8%, with 2018 showing almost 10% growth. With the trend pointing decidedly upwards it is clear that fitness brands investing in this area will most likely yield a high ROI. The question now becomes what are the best, most cost efficient ways for a fitness brand to increase their market share? Here at OpenSponsorship we have the cost effective solutions to your problems.