da doce： For fans, football is all about the experience of cheering for their favourite squad, chanting against the opposing fans and feeling a connection with players on and off the pitch.
da luck： Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are being used to expand the fan experience to a whole new level. In such a social-media powered generation, it is essential to be able to connect to fans in a way that will engage them.
It is vitally important, if there is going to be communication between the club and its fans that they are “in the now” as far as social media and marketing strategies go. The biggest things fans want to see is exclusive, behind-the-scenes access; stuff they can’t just find on Google.
The advantage of today’s social media over traditional advertising and marketing is that it is not just the brand talking to the consumer, but the consumer has an opportunity to talk directly to the brand or socialise with others about the brand. The Premier League as a whole, as well as each individual squad, stand to gain so much from utilising their millions of fans and followers on social media, but many are failing to capitalise on this untouched market. Team owners should acknowledge the fact that social media is an inexpensive marketing approach and also a way to gain important knowledge about their fans. And it’s right at their fingertips… literally. Making social media a main focus in a team’s marketing strategy would not only be cost-effective, but they would obtain much more feedback much quicker than ever before.
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Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore commented on social media in a recent interview: “Social media is doing a good job of allowing fans to feel closer to the players. There is a more human side now to some of the players and the public can communicate more directly with them.”
Earlier this year, Liverpool FC’s official Twitter feed (@LFC) was voted the world’s best from any sports team at the Shorty Awards in New York City. The Shorty Awards are often hailed as the ‘Grammys and Oscars of social media’ and annually recognises the best social media users in a variety of different categories. To earn such a prestigious accolade over the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City, not to mention the countless NFL and F1 franchises, is an honor indeed. Liverpool FC demonstrates perfectly how a social media platform such as Twitter can do much for a brand or club. Liverpool realises how important it is to interact with its fans and they do a great job at it. Even with over 1 million Twitter followers, the club is constantly communicating with its fans and often retweeting their comments. In this day and age, a retweet from your favorite celebrity is considered by many to be the new autograph. By hosting such events as Twitter Q&A’s with popular Liverpool players, the club continues to draw in followers each day by keeping the stream of contact between club and fan constantly open.
While many individual clubs have made great strides in their use of social media platforms, the Premier League as a whole could actually stand to learn a thing or two from the American NFL. Jeff Berman, the General Manager of the NFL’s digital media group, revealed in an interview that the league has recently partnered with a leading American social marketing company to create new and useful social media platforms for not only the NFL in its entirety but also each individual team. Currently, every one of the league’s 32 teams has a large social presence, and their staff constantly monitor Facebook and Twitter to see what is being said about their organisation.
Berman described their changing social media strategy by stating: “In the past, we were really focused on driving traffic — the purpose of every post was just to bring people back to NFL.com. And while that’s still a priority, we’re increasingly focused on engagement, acquisition and community.
“How do we engage fans in a conversation, whether it’s serious or fun or controversial? And then how do we lead them to engage their friends?”
That is something the Premier League can learn from; they have massive amounts of fans and followers, now they just have to figure out how best to utilise them as a tool.
One way that NFL teams have made it easier for their fans to get involved is through mobile devices. Every single team has implemented mobile-optimised websites so fans can quickly and easily access team news on their phones. This quick-and-easy way to interact with their favorite team is not only upping fan enthusiasm, but is increasing the NFL’s marketing reach exponentially.
The downside to being as social media savvy as the NFL has become is that they are beginning to see a growing trend of fans who would rather watch the game in their own home and stay connected through one of the many available apps. At a time when people expect to have instant Internet connection at any time, stadiums have lagged; packing thousands of smartphone-wielding fans into one building is a formula for an overwhelmed cellular network. In response, teams have begun spending millions of dollars to install their own wireless networks. Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans were among the first.
The Baltimore Ravens have gone one step further and developed one of the more technologically advanced stadiums in the entire league. This season the Ravens will have a Verizon Wireless 4G network to service their fans. And those attending the game can view different camera angles, the RedZone channel, stats and replays via a free Ravens mobile app (the app is also available to all fans but does not have all the same features outside the stadium).
“We want [fans] to have access to the same information, have access to our RedZone, have access to highlights, be able to engage in social media, including fantasy football,” explains NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“When you come to our stadium, we want to make it a great experience.”
The benefits of social media for fans and their experience are innumerable, and clubs themselves stand to gain so much from expanding and properly utilising social media. We also see the benefits of social media in bringing players closer to the fans, breaking news and giving them a voice when false allegations or comments are made in the traditional press. This is an aspect of social media many don’t consider; the voice and power it places directly in the players’ hands. With stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo boasting close to 15 million followers on Twitter, the impact he can make with a single tweet is immeasurable. That impact could be used for both good and bad.
Players have to be especially careful now with what they reveal on social media sites. With such a large audience having 24-hour access to their social media accounts, players cannot simply ‘say how they feel’ without any regard for the repercussions. The Premier League has recently released a set of rules and guidelines as far as social media is concerned.
The Premier League is quickly catching on to the numerous benefits of an in-depth social media strategy, but they still have much to learn if they want to take full advantage of all it has to offer. By implementing some of the tactics used by the NFL, the League could see a huge boost in its fanbase.
What could your club do to improve its social media output?
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