Little League Facebook Pages Top 70,000-Fan Mark

By Communications Division
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.
March 28, 2012

Over this past weekend, Little League’s Facebook fan pages topped 70,000 fans for the first time.

The main Facebook fan page alone is approaching 60,000 fans. To illustrate the potential reach of that page, those 60,000 fans in turn have nearly 18 million friends listed on their Facebook pages.

In a recent survey of Little League’s Facebook fans, more than 75 percent indicated they also receive e-mail alerts from Little League International. E-mail alerts remain Little League’s primary method of one-way communication to parents and volunteers. To sign up for e-mail alerts, click here.

To become a fan of Little League’s Facebook pages, you first need to have a Facebook account. Click on any or all of the links below to get started.

• Little League’s Main Facebook Page
• Little League Softball Facebook Page
• Little League Challenger Division Facebook Page
• Little League Urban Initiative Facebook Page
• Little League Museum Facebook Page
• Little League Facebook Page for Potential New Leagues

The Facebook platform, unlike any other method of communication Little League uses, gives parents and volunteers a chance to interact with Little League International staff and with other parents and volunteers worldwide in ways not previously possible. In just the past few days, more than 22,000 people saw Little League’s Facebook posts, with nearly 700 of them commenting on or “liking” the posts.

To date, thousands of topics have been discussed on the various Little League Facebook platforms. Little League International staff members have personally answered thousands of questions. However, it has been the Little League Facebook community that has made this communications initiative so successful.

“The great value in our Facebook pages is in the public give-and-take we see from experienced volunteers,” Chris Downs, Little League International's Director of Publicity, said. “So often, before we even have a chance to reply to an inquiry, any number of hundreds of highly knowledgeable volunteers, or our own Little League International staff, will provide an answer.

“That information is then spread among thousands of other people, many of whom are new to our program and looking for information.”

Another recent improvement to the main Little League Facebook fan page is the new “Timeline” feature. Fans of the page can now access dozens of stories and photos that dig deep into Little League’s rich history – as the program approaches 2014, the 75th anniversary of its founding in 1939.

Here are some other interesting statistics regarding Little League’s Facebook presence:

• 47 percent of Little League’s Facebook fans are under 35 years of age.
• 45 percent of Little League’s Facebook fans are female.
• More than 70 percent of Little League’s Facebook fans who responded to a recent survey are parents of at least one current Little League Baseball or Softball player.
• More than 83 percent of those responding to the survey gave Little League’s Facebook communications platform a “Good” or “Excellent” rating.
• The U.S. (with 55,000 fans) and Mexico (with 1,900) are the top two countries by participation in Little League’s Facebook pages.
• Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands Antilles, Philippines, and Venezuela each have at least 100 people who are fans of Little League’s Facebook page.
• The number of fans of Little League’s Facebook pages has increased by 70 percent in just the last year.