NBA Hit 30 Million Online in China
Updated: Jun 11, 2019
Just the other week the National Basketball Association achieved a sensational feat in China: they crossed over the 30 million follower mark on Weibo, making them the most popular sport on Chinese social media. To commemorate their spectacular growth, Mailman put together an infographic to highlight their extensive presence online.
Some key insights to note:
– Consistent with what we’ve seen from other sports, star athletes are more popular and engaged than the clubs they represent. This is particularly evident in basketball, with certain athletes more than quintupling their clubs following.
– Posting language depends player to player: the third and fourth most popular players are posting exclusively in English, creating an authentic tone to their account. Jeremy Lin posts exclusively in Chinese, which, due to his heritage, retains that same personality. The most popular of the bunch, Dwyane Wade, posts in English with accompanying Chinese moderation to not only have the message come from him, but be accessible to a broader fan-base.