Improving Sport Culture Through Nano-Influencers: The Impact of Message Framing and Platform Fit on Message Persuasiveness

Abstract

The Canadian amateur and community sport system, along with several national sport organizations, has come under intense scrutiny following documented cases of misconduct, abuse, and organizational cover-ups. These events have prompted urgent calls for cultural change, especially within youth and community contexts where parents, coaches, and club administrators play central roles. This study contributes to the field of strategic sport communication by evaluating a social media campaign launched by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport to promote values-based sport in Nova Scotia. The campaign featured amateur athletes as nano-influencers who shared personalized messages aligned with the True Sport principles on Instagram. Using a mixed-methods approach involving interviews with athlete ambassadors (n = 9) and a stakeholder survey (n = 133), the study examines how message framing and platform fit affect message persuasiveness. Leximancer and thematic analysis revealed three key themes: objective misconceptions, platform-fit incongruence, and the need for a bottom-up approach to knowledge transfer. Findings offer theoretical insight into message platform source alignment and provide practical guidance for sport organizations designing digital campaigns that foster ethical and inclusive sport culture.