Identifying Value Creation Strategies in the Brand Communities of Sport Clubs Based on the Use of Social Media

Background. The consumer of a brand is able to influence brands through the use of social media, and this implies why the active relationship between consumers, brand and brand owners is important In the field of sports, fans as club customers also have the ability to influence the brand, including creating value. Therefore, investigating value creation strategies in brand communities based on the use of social media by the clubs’ fans is a tangible necessity. Objectives. The current study is conducted to identify the value creation strategies in members of the brand community of fans in social media. Methods. The research has a qualitative design. At the initial stage, using library studies, important value creation factors were extracted and categorized into four categories related to branding, product, interaction and networking. In the second stage, a qualitative tool was used for coding and interpreting. The research process included the conduction of a semi-structured interview with 15 academic and executive experts of sports marketing and social media. Results. The findings of this study showed that four factors related to the value creation strategy including branding, effectiveness, networking and dynamization were identified regarding the value creation done by fans of professional clubs in social media. Conclusion. The overall conclusion obtained by the experts' point of view in terms of value creation done by fans in social media is that it is necessary to focus on these four areas professionally.