In Belgium, the final phase of the competition for the national title has started and with the end of the Champions League in sight, the social media teams behind the football clubs are busier than ever. A successful social media strategy does not only keep the fans close, but also leads to more revenues for the clubs.
According to research institute Nielsen, the forty biggest football clubs generate about 70 million euros in media value because of social media campaigns in collaboration with commercial partners. In other words: why would a company pay for advertisement within the stadium, when it can also choose for a branding strategy on social media in highlight of an upcoming game?
According to Thomas Peeters, sports economist at Erasmus School of Economics, the same social media strategy does not work for every football club. “Clubs such as Manchester City and Manchester United are big companies with thousands of employees, while in Belgium, big clubs have about a hundred employees at most. For these clubs, it is therefore much harder to set up a social-media department."
This, does however not mean that such a department is not worth the investment. Peeters makes the comparison with teams such as Juventus, Bayern Munich and PSG. “They have outgrown their own competition, but the TV-rights do not grow along. To remain competitive with the successful English clubs, developing their commercial strategy is of great importance. Their commercial activity represents about 40 percent of total revenues, in which social media strategy plays a big role.”
The full article can be downloaded below (in Dutch).