Social Media Marketing for Professional Soccer Clubs: Focusing on the Quality of the Relationship Between the Club and Fans

This study investigates how the social networking service (SNS) activities of professional football clubs have affected the quality of the relationship between clubs and fans during the period in which the COVID-19 pandemic caused limited fan service activities. This study selected a sample population of professional football fans, provided by football clubs, who were experienced in using SNSs. Data collected through convenience sampling using 215 questionnaires completed online by respondents were analyzed using frequency, exploratory factor, reliability, correlation, and multivariate regression analyses with SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 22.0. The study’s findings are as follows: among the sub-factors of professional football clubs’ SNS characteristics, interactivity and playfulness have a positive (+) effect on trust, a sub-factor of relationship quality, but information and recentness do not have a significant effect;interactivity, information, and playfulness have a positive (+) effect on immersion, a sub-factor of relationship quality, but recentness does not have a significant effect;and interactivity, information, playfulness, and recentness have a positive (+) effect on satisfaction, a sub-factor of relationship quality. This study provides practical and academic data useful for effective marketing activities by investigating how clubs’ SNS marketing activities can help fans connect with them despite the limitations owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Real-World Data on the Incidence and Risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome Following SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: A Prospective Surveillance Study (preprint)

Increasing evidence suggests an association between SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Nevertheless, little is understood about the contributing risk factors and clinical characteristics of GBS post SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. In this prospective surveillance study of 38,828,692 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses administered from February 2021 to March 2022 in the Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, 55 cases of GBS were reported post vaccination. We estimated the incidence rate of GBS per million doses and the incidence rate ratio for the vaccine dose, mechanism, age, and sex. Additionally, we compared the clinical characteristics of GBS following mRNA-based and viral vector-based vaccinations. The overall incidence of GBS following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was 1.42 per million doses. Viral vector-based vaccines were associated with a higher risk of GBS. Men were more likely to develop GBS than women. The third dose of vaccine was associated with a lower risk of developing GBS. Classic sensorimotor and pure motor subtypes were the predominant clinical subtypes, and demyelinating type was the predominant electrodiagnostic subtype. The initial dose of viral-vector based vaccine and later doses of mRNA-based vaccine were associated with GBS, respectively. GBS following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination may not be clinically distinct. However, physicians should pay close attention to the classic presentation of GBS in men receiving an initial dose of viral vector-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.