Marketing in the Minors: Comparing Minor and Major League Baseball Teams’ Use of Facebook

This study examined how Major and Minor League Baseball teams utilize Facebook to communicate to their target publics. Facebook posts from various teams were collected during a two-week constructed time period. Posts were then coded into six categories: interactivity, team information, player information, promotional, community, and other. Results indicated that Minor League teams had significantly fewer comments on posts than Major League teams. Additionally, promotional content had a significant negative impact on a post’s likes, comments, and shares. Posts that included videos were more likely to be liked, commented on, or shared. Teams should consider whether using Facebook as a promotional channel is necessary or if promotional practices can be modified to improve fan relationships. Additionally, Minor League teams should increase their use of audiovisual content to increase post engagement.