Nordic Football Clubs using Social Media [STATS]
As most of European club football comes to a close this month, some areas of the continent are only just in the middle of their fixture list. In particular, the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland continue to fight it out whilst the weather isn’t so bad. With this in mind, this week we take a look at how Nordic Football Clubs are using Football Social Media to engage with their fans.
The Nordic nations are most certainly early adopters of new technology and social media. For example, the Swedish population presence in social media has massively grown in the past few years. The percentage of Internet users who visit social networks has grown from 10% to 62% over five years. The main factor for the surge in growth is down to access to computers, Internet and broadband.
The breakdown for how many of the different generations who visit social networks has shown that men aged 16-45 are the largest group. While the older generation, 46-75 years now growing the faster than any other demographic. So, with this in mind it’s no wonder that football has been one of the most popular topics on social media channels.
Top Nordic clubs on Social Media
Club | Country | Facebook Likes | Link | Twitter Followers | Link | Total |
| Rosenborg BK | Norway | 122901 | fb.me/rosenborg | 9659 | @RBKfotball | 132560 |
| AIK | Sweden | 105925 | fb.me/aik | 5499 | @aikfotboll | 111424 |
| F.C. København | Denmark | 90616 | fb.me/FCKobenhavn | 5332 | @FCKobenhavn | 95948 |
| IFK Göteborg | Sweden | 90721 | fb.me/ifkgoteborg | 2651 | @IFKGoteborg | 93372 |
| Djurgårdens IF | Sweden | 83402 | fb.me/DJURGARDEN | 3233 | @DIF_Fotboll | 86635 |
| Brøndby IF | Denmark | 79798 | fb.me/brondby | 2448 | @BrondbyIF | 82246 |
| SK Brann | Norway | 56606 | fb.me/sportsklubbenbrann | 4325 | @skbrann | 60931 |
| Vålerenga | Norway | 43209 | fb.me/VaalerengaFotball | 2879 | @ValerengaOslo | 46088 |
| Malmö FF | Sweden | 35521 | fb.me/skanelaget | 2882 | @Malmo_FF | 38403 |
| Hammarby IF | Sweden | 30223 | fb.me/pages/Hammarby-Fotboll/165865959828 | 3831 | @Hammarbyfotboll | 34054 |
Which nation is prevailing?
Top Countries
Sweden (5), Norway (3), Denmark (2) and Finland (0).
Unsurprisingly, six of the ten clubs using social media are also based in their country’s respective capital city – AIK, Djurgården IF Hammarby IF (Stockholm), FC København, Brøndby IF (Copenhagen), Vålerenga (Oslo). Does this mean that the metropolitan clubs are better on marketing themselves in digital media? Or is it that Big City dwellers are earlier adopters of social media?
My opinion is the latter, it’s the users of the social media who’s driving up these channels. Capital clubs should be grateful to operating in major cities where citizens have a better standard of access and understanding around social media.
Facebook vs Twitter
Facebook is way larger than Twitter in the Nordic countries, 12 288 620 vs 779 000. Norway is the largest country on Twitter. Therefore, it is no wonder that Rosenborg tops this table. FC København have done a fantastic job of attracting 5332 followers of an estimated total of 70 000 users in the country.
Nordic vs EPL
Facebook:
Rosenborg BK (10) would qualify in the Top 10 list of the FB-Likes in the English Premier League. Other league placements: AIK (11), FC København (12), IFK Göteborg (13), Djurgårdens IF (14).
Twitter:
Rosenborg BK is the only club beating a club in the EPL, passing Swansea. The rest of the clubs would all end in the bottom.
Additional
Hammarby IF are the only club who do not play in the country’s highest division.
Overview
These stats are particularly remarkable in comparison to the English Premier League when you consider the smaller populations and lesser global attraction of the Nordic leagues. It goes to show that whilst Football Social Media will be dominated by the most glamorous and wealthy clubs, it doesn’t necessarily mean that smaller clubs or league can’t do social. The Nordic leagues prove that Football Social Media is growing in popularity and that traditional concerns such as budget, awareness and impact are increasingly becoming weak excuses for no activity.
