THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN NATIONAL MOTORSPORT
Social media has well and truly gripped modern society. Love it or loathe it, it’s nearly impossible to escape it. While for some it’s a platform for sharing memories and laughing at memes, it’s an equally effective promotional tool and source of news for others. This is how it’s extensively being used in motorsport by teams, drivers and championships alike.
Formula 1’s digital output for example is unrecognisable to what it was even five years ago. And one of its star drivers, Lando Norris, is a prominent figure across Twitter and Instagram too, even live streaming his test in a Carlin Formula 3 car recently.
But national motorsport is awash with social media activity too. As motorsport gradually returns, Motorsport News decided to learn more about the social media phenomenon and how best to utilise it in a post-Covid-19 environment.
Understanding the shift
Traditionally, the best ways for a driver to promote their motorsport efforts was to foster strong relationships with the written press and TV crews, and get in the habit of faxing and later emailing press releases to as many people as you could. But social media has radically simplified that process according to Matt Cotton, a former rally driver and now owner of a media agency, MCR Motorsport Media.
“It’s the biggest evolution out there,” he tells MN. “If we go back to 2008 when I competed in the British Rally Championship, social media really wasn’t a thing. Everybody had a Facebook account but it wasn’t used as a promotional tool. Fast
