Female motorsport fan engagement on social media-based brand communities

Abstract

This study explored the engagement of female motorsport fans within F1 team brand communities on Twitter (now ‘X’). Specifically, we sought to investigate why and how female fans were engaging with social media-based brand communities managed by F1 motorsports teams, and to gain better insights into the factors that encourage or deter female fan engagement within such communities. Our research methods combined online surveys and content analysis of Twitter posts. The investigation revealed that female fans seemed hesitant to engage actively within motorsports team brand accounts due to a fear of receiving negative reactions to their comments. The findings also identified differences between the participation activities of female and male fans, as well as interest in different content categories. This study recommends that motorsports team brand community managers or social media managers give greater consideration to the well-being of female fans interacting on their social media platforms and communities. They also need to be aware of gender-based differences in engagement as well as the specific issues faced by female publics.