Sports and social media are a match made in heaven.
Events like the World Cup and the Super Bowl routinely break records for social media activity, with 2014 World Cup in Brazil generating over half a billion tweets.
Social media gives sports fans the chance to connect with their favorite teams and players. Add to this the impact that live events have on social media and the globalization of tight knit fan communities and the result is a perfect storm of social media engagement that any non-sports brand would envy.
But are sports organizations making the most of this incredible level of social media activity and the vast amount of data now available to them on social networks and online?
Kim Bernhard from sports brand analytics specialists BrandPeak 360 believes that big gains are there to be made from both a commercial and communications perspective but problems remain:
“In many cases we see that these two entities (commercial and communications) do not always speak the same language nor communicate internally. By having a social media strategy that caters for all stakeholders, the greater the success for sports clubs or organisations.”
From a commercial and communications standpoint, the way clubs build and engage with their fanbases is critical as this is ultimately the engine of success for sports organizations.
This guide will show sports teams and other brands alike how to build a loyal and engaged fanbase using the power of Talkwalker social media analytics. To do this, we looked at the example of two sports leagues that are followed by a truly global audience - the Premier League and the NBA – and examined the way teams used Facebook, Twitter and Instagram over the course of the 2015/16 season.
Highlights include:
- Why Manchester United should be looking to Asia and Africa with their Instagram content
- How celebrity spotting can help NBA teams reach a new in-game audience
- The top 10 NBA teams ranked by social media fanbase
- Which Premier League team has the most influential fans
- How a single shot increased the Golden State Warriors’ Twitter following by 12.5k
