99SYN14528_SocialSportsFanDoc-V2

As fanship increases, Twitter overtakes Facebook as the
sports fan’s most used social platform
“I mainly use Facebook for
Arsenal and football, but I’ll use
Instagram where I usually follow
brands like Adidas and Puma.
– Khash, football fan.
“
WWW. WWW. WWW.
SMALL
FAN
AVERAGE
FAN
MASSIVE
FAN
1.3 Creatures of social habit
Level of Fanship/Gender
Sponsorship agencies have long claimed that their ‘knowledge of fans’ is what gives them the edge
over other agencies. This may or may not be true. Let’s face it, ad agencies do produce some pretty
tasty 60-second sport spots.
There is, however, a real need to understand what makes fans tick (and click) when it comes to social
media. The content that really flies is the stuff that taps into exactly what fans are thinking
and feeling at any given moment. Truly insightful content puts their thoughts into words,
pictures and film… and helps them express themselves better than they could themselves.
But getting social content right isn’t just about understanding the intricacies of fans’ needs.
It’s about where and when to publish this content. Those who create content are increasingly
responsible for the reach and engagement it achieves. No longer is this the sole preserve of the
media agency.
Add to this fans’ increasing desire for real-time content that drops within seconds of the live moment
and you move towards a one-stop-social-shop that needs to create, publish and promote content in
a single movement.
Fortunately, Millennial sports fans are creatures of social habit. They know what they like and they
know where to find it. Brands should think hard before they opt for ‘build and they will come’ over
‘fish where the fish are’. Moving into section two, we look at who is feeding fans the content they
want. What are the cornerstones of compelling content?
51% of Massive
Sports Fans use
Twitter at least
once a day
Using a scale of 1 (never) to 7 (multiple times a day),
respondents were asked how frequently they used
a number of platforms (both on- and offline) to fuel
their desire for sport. The results showed that YouTube,
Twitter and Facebook massively dominate sports fans’
consumption, with 51% using Twitter, 49% using websites
and 43% using Facebook daily or multiple
times a day. This trend is magnified as fanship increases.
On the other hand, platforms with a comparatively
new digital presence showed dramatically lower usage
across all levels of fanship, with 97% using Pinterest
and 69% using Vine weekly or less. Whilst this certainly
does not suggest these channels should be ignored
(particularly as they have the ability to be integrated
into content on more popular platforms), it does imply
a hierarchy among social media in terms of traction
and engagement.