Syngenta has published the findings of a pioneering social media listening project analysing 16.1 million mentions of the word ‘golf’ to learn what people say about the sport, as well as their experiences of the game.
Golf & Social Media: The Great Divide, which is free to download from www.syngentagolf.com, has been produced in conjunction with global market research firm Ipsos and, using its Artificial Intelligence enabled Synthesio platform, explores key conversations and customer reviews, providing insights on why people play golf in two leading golf markets: the US and the UK.
Mark Birchmore, Head of Global Marketing for Syngenta Turf and Landscape, said: “This is the first major market study we have undertaken since publishing our findings highlighting a $35 billion market opportunity to grow female participation. What’s changed since then – and over the decade since we have been publishing customer insights reports as part of our Syngenta Growing Golf campaign – is the exponential rise of social media and its multiple channels of influence. Working with Ipsos and using AI to analyze millions of posts has enabled us to take a deep dive into social media and extract key insights and solutions for golf.As with all our reports, the purpose is to help golf courses better understand customers and use the insights for business growth.”
As well as identifying the most talked about topics online (professional golf 20%, personal experiences 16% and equipment 13%), the interactive report highlights important themes, including:
- News drives conversations: Donald Trump and controversial topics such as LIV Golf supercharge online activity, but create negative sentiment, impacting golf’s reputation.
- Experiences drive interactions: while news about golf is negative, mentions of experiencing golf are positive, with posts on Instagram generating 41% of all interactions, engaging golfers and non-golfers alike.
- You’re either a golfer… or you’re not: real or perceived, golf still faces a challenge with exclusivity, and prospective players need to feel they are joining an inclusive community to be able to perceive themselves as golfers.
By analysing customer reviews and understanding what motivates people to play golf, two clear customer profiles emerged: Insiders and Outsiders.
With both groups playing or attracted to golf for different reasons, golf faces a challenge – and an opportunity – to generate business growth by meeting the needs and expectations of both customer profiles.
Golf & Social Media: The Great Divide is published at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, and will be followed throughout the year by supplementary studies into key topics including Gender, Diversity, Sustainability and Golf Entertainment.