MLB players get social media help as baseball courts younger fans

If you can't play baseball, make content instead. 

Influential, an influencer marketing agency, announced Thursday that it will partner with the MLB Players Association to make 1,200 active players a part of its network. The move was announced as a lockout continues to threaten the start of the league’s 2022 season.

The partnership will give players insights into their social media data across all platforms, including TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. Knowing their reach, engagement, and other data points could help players pitch themselves for brand deals.

“This partnership provides our members with the tools they need to understand the value of their digital profiles and impact,” Evan Kaplan, managing director of MLB Players, Inc., said in a statement.

The deal comes at a tense time for players, who are currently locked out of the league by the owners. The labor lockout, which began in December following the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, has already delayed spring training games and could lead to a shortened season should talks remain at an impasse. The most recent negotiation reportedly lasted 15 minutes.

More than 10% of total MLB revenue comes from sponsorships, according to Johannes Waldstein, founder and CEO of FanAI, a sponsorship data platform. If the players and owners can't reach an agreement before the season is scheduled to begin March 31, sponsors might invoke force majeure clauses to try to get out of sponsorship deals, or at least pay less to the league.

For years, MLB has been working to attract younger fans. MLB fans have an average age of 57 years old, according to a 2017 survey by Sports Business Journal. The average NBA fan, meanwhile, is 42 years old. Having players be able to make brand deals on their own not only could attract younger fans but also help boost viewership.

“Fans today, especially Gen Z, are looking for more direct access, storytelling, and context about the sports they follow,” Jennifer Davis, CMO of Learfield, a collegiate sports marketing company said via email. “They want to hear directly from players and relate to their experiences on and off the field.”

MLB has taken steps to attract younger audiences, starting up YouTube series and streaming Opening Day-related content on Twitch. Last year, the league launched its first TikTok creator class, tapping into fans who were organically posting about baseball. The league, however, has seen ratings sink in recent years as concerns grow over the length of the game. In 2021, the average nine-inning game lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes, the longest ever for the league, according to The Ringer.

For Influential, the partnership further extends its reach into the sports world. The company has previously worked with the NFL and NBA, and with student-athletes for NIL deals. Influential’s clients include McDonald’s, Ford, the NFL, and General Mills.

“We are very excited to partner with MLB Players, Inc. to give thousands of major league players the data, technology, and deal flow to monetize their name, image, and likeness,” Influential’s CEO Ryan Detert said in a statement.

Barbara McHugh, MLB’s senior VP of marketing, joined Ad Age's "Marketer’s Brief" podcast in April to discuss how the league is trying to attract younger fans. Listen below.