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Bio at First Sight: Investigating the Role of Biography as an Element of an Athlete's Social Media Brand

Nataliya Bredikhina & Heather Kennedy

Sport Marketing Quarterly2026https://doi.org/10.1177/10616934261423733article
AJG 1ABDC B
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Despite social media biographies (bios) being a dedicated space for communicating an account's identity, scholarly research has largely overlooked bios as an element of athlete branding. This study addresses this gap by examining how athlete bios function as strategic self-presentation tools and how audiences interpret these bios. Drawing on signaling theory and a social semiotics lens, we conducted semi-structured interviews with visual aids with 18 social media users and applied thematic analysis to explore how consumers perceive bios as elements of athlete brands on Instagram. Findings reveal that bios play important roles in communicating brand identity, establishing authenticity, and signaling brand networks. While consumer expectations varied based on athlete celebrity level, participants generally valued concise, professional bios that were cohesive with the broader profile ecosystem. These insights advance theoretical understanding and provide practical guidance for athletes and marketers aiming to craft compelling social media bios that engage social media audiences.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/10616934261423733

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{nataliya2026,
  title        = {{Bio at First Sight: Investigating the Role of Biography as an Element of an Athlete's Social Media Brand}},
  author       = {Nataliya Bredikhina & Heather Kennedy},
  journal      = {Sport Marketing Quarterly},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/10616934261423733},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.