Racer X Illustrated — October 2017

66 http://www.racerxonline.com

RACERHEAD

The King of Social | BY CHASE STALLO

E

arlier this year, Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen became the first professional AMA Supercross

and Motocross athlete to reach 1 million followers on Instagram. Although he’s been out

of the racing spotlight since January, when he suffered a devastating arm injury in a crash

at Anaheim 2, Roczen has stayed active on social, providing regular (and sometimes graphic)

updates on his recovery. In association with HookIt, a company that helps brands and athletes

maximize sponsorship to prove and increase their value to sponsors, we compared Roczen’s

statistics across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see how they differ from 2016, when he

completed a full season in Monster Energy Supercross and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross.

January 1–June 11, 2016 | January 1–June 11, 2017

TOTAL

FOLLOWERS

NEW

FOLLOWERS

TOTAL

INTERACTIONS

SOCIAL MEDIA

POSTS

1,617,552 1,967,084

300,983 213,800

7,991,127 8,548,066

870 468

S

ocial media is especially important in racing. Having a large

social presence makes you more appealing to sponsors, which

can drive up the cost of your current deal. While Roczen doesn’t

have the largest following among racers who have competed in 2017

(Ryan Dungey clocks in at 2.1 million), he has 11.1 million more interac-

tions and video views than the next-closest racer. Of the athletes we

measured Roczen against, he’s also gained the most new followers

since January 1, raking in 213,800 followers during that span.

Consider this: In 2017, Roczen has posted 402 fewer times than

at this time last year. At the same time, his average interaction has in-

creased by over 98 percent, and average video views increased by 54 percent.

This shows how engaged his audience is, proving how influential his posts are to his follow-

ers—making him a valuable asset to his sponsors.

Rider Comparison Followers New Followers Posts Interactions +Video Views

Ken Roczen 2.0M 213.8K 468 19.0M

Dean Wilson 657.3K 73.8K 813 7.9M

Adam Cianciarulo 1.2M 58.6K 431 6.6M

Jason Anderson 386.4K 55.9K 497 4.1M

Malcolm Stewart 1.0M 61.8K 260 3.5M

Marvin Musquin 626.4K 92.5K 250 2.6M

Chad Reed 1.4M 105.9K 250 2.3M

Ryan Dungey 2.1M 118.0K 133 2.2M

Cooper Webb 543.5K 72.9K 232 2.2M

Cole Seely 459.8K 47.5K 198 2.0M

* Numbers

documented from

January 1 through

June 11, 2017.

Interactions are

measured based on

on shares, retweets,

likes, and comments.

HONDA HRC