So most professional sports teams today have a social media presence, but there’s a big difference between using social media well and just ‘being on’ social media.
If you really want to engage and inspire the fans following you on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SnapChat or Instagram then you need to be creative and make social media part of your overall marketing strategy.
We found some worthy winners in the social media arena who deserve a mention when it comes to creating a buzz for their team.
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Ipswich Town FC
As with any premier league football team you’d expect a generous fan following, but Ipswich Town connect with these fans across a wide range of social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google+. This lets them engage with all ages of social media users, and having just launched @official_itfc on Snapchat they are now connecting with younger supporters too.
They also utilise two Twitter accounts, an official Twitter page for news, behind the scenes videos, fixtures, competitions etc and @ITFC_PlantBlue which they use to promote and sell merchandise and for tickets sales.
This is also used for retweeting fans’ tweets and pictures, but by separating these two accounts, fans are not bombarded with with ‘salesy’ posts unless they choose to follow both.
This social media savvy football team also use hashtag #itfc throughout their social media platforms to create unity and enhance the brand.
Leeds Rhinos
As you might expect with the game of rugby, whilst the sport side is taken seriously, off pitch is slightly more relaxed than the world of football. Leeds Rhinos have a good variety of social media content and achieve the right mix of conversational and commercial messages which can be difficult to achieve.
Through their social media channels they also promote and help young rugby players, helping to support the future of the sport with the @RhinosChallenge.
A great way they engage supporters is by announcing the latest squad for each match on YouTube. This is then shared via the Rhinos Facebook page in a short one minute, but attention grabbing video. This not only engages supporters but encourages shares, comments and interaction between the fans too.
Wales Football Team
Whilst not everyone may consider the Welsh football team one of the best, their campaign for Euro 2016 has reminded us that football and social media can be fun. At the time of writing this Wales are facing England and maybe it’s the fact that this is the first time that Wales have qualified for a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, but they’ve certainly embraced it.
On Twitter and throughout their social media the #TogetherStronger has been used leading up to and during Euro 2016, inspired by the official Wales anthem for this summer’s European Championship in France by the Manic Street Preachers.
This just goes to show you might not be a sure bet but if you’ve got a great social media campaign, your fans will get behind you.
Well known for their passion, Welsh people around the world have joined the social media campaign to support the team with tweets and posts to inspire on the field.
There’s no doubt that social media and sports teams go hand in hand, letting the fans follow the action and sharing the moment with their friends and fellow supporters. It’s worth remembering that great social media doesn’t just apply to the ‘Barcelonas’ and ‘Manchester Uniteds’ of this world, but local sports teams can also reap the benefits of social media.
If you want to know more about using the different social media platforms for sports clubs and teams, contact our social media team and see where it could take you.
