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How Social Media Can Help Show What An Olympian Is Worth -- And Close The Gender Pay Gap

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Olympians were once largely anonymous athletes. The period leading up to the Olympic Games and directly thereafter was the prime (and sometimes only) opportunity to capitalize on their athletic notoriety. A magazine cover here or household product commercial there – then they were out of sight and out of mind until the next cycle.

However, with the arrival of social media, athletes gained platforms – virtually overnight – that extended their time in the spotlight. Controlling their own narratives meant they were no longer at the mercy of a publicist or sponsor to connect them with fans or draw interest to their sports. Because of social media, Olympians entered the realm of the everyday professional athlete.

Constant visibility means more than an athlete sharing their training regimen or broadcasting where they will compete next. Rather, “staying active on social media is key to driving value for their sponsors,” says Kimberly Cook, chief revenue officer for the sports analytics company Hookit.

Hookit “tracks, measures and values overall engagement generated around sponsorship assets across digital and social media platforms.”

Using its Hookit Valuation Methodology (HVM), the algorithm provides an earned media value (tangible dollar amount) to engagements by combing social interactions (likes, shares, comments and video views) with a content promotion quality score (size, clarity, position of logos), promotion type (hashtags or mentions), and an industry standard Cost Per Engagement (CPE).

In other words, Hookit can determine how much an athlete is worth to a brand. And for women in sports who remaining largely underpaid, having access to real-time valuation data is a game-changer.

According to Hookit, from January to March, Brazilian skateboarder, Leticia Bufoni, drove 22.6 million social media engagements, which translates into $2.5 million worth of marketing and audience reach for Nike. In 2016, Hookit determined that Bufoni “earned much more media value online than many other major-sport female sports superstars” and was the “second most valuable female athlete for Nike.” While the X Games gold medalist has yet to become an American household name, expect her global spotlight to broaden as the 2020 Olympic Games approaches.

During the same valuation term, Serena Williams, who stepped away from the tennis court after giving birth to her first child, drove 4.6 million engagements worth $1.3 million for Nike.

“There’s a tremendous amount of fighting left; there is so much difference between a woman’s pay and a man’s pay. In tennis we are lucky that most tournaments – not all – are equal pay,” Williams said of the pay gap plaguing professional women athletes during a recent CNBC interview.

“Then there is off the court things from endorsement deals…that should be more equal. There is a long way to go, but I feel like we are getting there.”

Williams and her sister Venus, who remain among the highest-paid tennis players in the world, are outspoken about the need to close the gender wage gap and stress that athletes must know their value when negotiating sponsorship deals.

So what does this mean for the female Olympian?

During Pyeongchang 2018, Hookit found that Team USA's female athletes drove more social media engagements per athlete through the Olympics than Team USA's male athletes. While snowboarder Shaun White had the most engagements (11,805,104) of all athletes competing, the next three most engaging Team USA athletes on social media were all women – ice dancer Maia Shibutani (7,033,652), skier Lindsey Vonn (6,947,603) and snowboarder Chloe Kim (4,363,01).

Under Hookit's valuation model, athletes that drive more engagement will drive more value for their sponsors. Moving forward, expect to see more Olympians leverage their social media influence to drive lucrative sponsorship deals.

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