Tell Me a Story: Exploring Elite Female Athletes’ Self-Presentation via an Analysis of Instagram Stories

There are many social media uses for professional athletes. From sharing their personal lives, professional highlights, and opinions to product placements and endorsements, athletes are closer to fans and consumers than ever before. Social media also puts athletes in charge of the messages, images, and content regarding their careers and their lives. With the popularity of women’s sports on the rise, it is an important time for women athletes to assess their own personal branding, as well as their professional and product branding. Building on previous work, the purpose of this study is to investigate how one particular social media advancement, Instagram Stories, has been incorporated by athletes into their online branding efforts. This study examines 37 of the top female athletes’ self-presentation strategies on Instagram via an analysis of 1,948 Instagram Stories. Results highlight no significant difference between athletes’ frontstage performances and backstage performances as they embraced Instagram Stories into their personal branding. Instagram feeds and Stories features were employed by athletes for different purposes, with Instagram feeds more likely to be used for opinion expression and Stories primarily used for interaction, promotion, and sharing behind-the-scenes (BTS) stories.