Why The Golf Industry Should Care About Parasocial Relationships: Entertainment

Whether channels simply chew the fat (Good Good Golf), or are channels hosted by professional golfers (Bryson DeChambeau), viewership is going up and up. Golfers and fans want someone to connect with, and social media content creators are giving it to them.

The result?

Energized golfers and fans who are loyal to social media content and its creators. 

What is it that attracts golfers and fans to golf entertainment content? 

What can traditional media learn from the genre’s success? 

And are golf entertainment channels something brands should hitch their wagons to?

There is something about successful media channels that connect with and relate to viewers. Whether it’s podcasts, television shows, or social media content, viewers become loyal fans because there is an emotional connection with the personalities hosting the channels. Academic researchers call this one-sided affiliation between viewers and content creators a parasocial relationship.

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Synopsis

To get under the hood of parasocial relationships between golfers, fans, and entertainment content creators, we used the validated Multidimensional Measure of Parasocial Relationships (Garcia et al., 2022) to quantify the connection. 

We wanted to not only understand the parasocial relationship, but also understand how social media channels and personalities influence viewers’ decisions. For example, buying habits, life choices, attitudes.

We partnered with YouGov Sport to conduct this research with UK- and US-based golfers and fans.

What’s covered in the report? 

• Parasocial relationships
• How golfers and fans connect with social media content creators
• Affect 
• Behaviour
• Cognitive
• Decisions
• Overall trends
• Key takeaways

Cover image credit: Tania Tare