Obviously, this isn’t a perfect engagement calculation but it does offer us a quick insight into the value of followers and activity.

The table did show some surprising results, one being that Liverpool had only an engagement rate of 18.8% despite having a sizable following. Arguably one of the best results went to Arsenal who command a mammoth 3.1 million Twitter followers and still managed to hold a respectable 44.6% engagement rate in November. Our quick engagement figure may not be perfect, but it does quickly allow us to see how effective clubs are being with their content coupled with how often fans engage with the official Twitter properties.

Twitter Engagement Table (November 2013)

As football clubs invest more heavily in Social Media, now that they are seeing more demand, we can expect to see more metrics like this becoming more important and common online. Judging growth solely on follower statistics is slowly losing relevance, where engagement is growing in importance. With clubs looking to monetize their Social Media presence to potential sponsors, metrics like this can help place a value on the club’s Social Media, as well as help create internal benchmarks to measure against.

Furthermore, such engagement metrics can add value for projecting not just future Social Media engagement, but aligning with marketing campaigns such as season ticket strategies. These figures can be used and installed into the marketing funnel to help project how much traffic Social Media can generate for the club website, and in turn – conversions.

The post Manchester United top Twitter engagement table for November appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

The Belgium international, originally born in the DR Congo, had seem to be moving to make a move for the player after his goal scoring exploits for Belgian side Gent last season.

However, after a tweet from West Ham co-owner David Sullivan’s son – Jack Sullivan – the club were urged by fans not to sign the player due to his criminal record.

How would you feel if we signed Mboyo of Gent ? Terrible crime when he was 16, can he ever be forgiven ? What do you think ?

— Jack Sullivan (@jsullivanwhu) August 4, 2013

Sullivan’s son received largely negative feedback to the tweet with one fan tweeting “Mboyo would kill my club for me” and prompted Sullivan to send a second tweet informing fans “99% of you have said no to MBOYO. I’ll pass it onto my Dad. I’m sure we won’t sign him. We respect your views.”

However, for other Hammers fans, some viewed the whole exchange with great embarrassment and felt the Twitter conversation was unprofessional and crass. This does beg the question – was this a good idea to help improve transparency at the club using Social Media, or rather does it appear that major transfer deals are being influenced by the owners son over Twitter?

Either way, this was an interesting exchange and certainly the first time we’ve seen fans crowd-sourced for opinion on a controversial transfer.

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At the moment, the official Twitter feed @ManUtd has just 49,000 followers but this number is expected to sky rocket in the next few weeks as United aim to match their impressive Facebook following. The Red Devils currently have 34 million Facebook Fans – putting them in the top 100 Facebook Pages worldwide. United will have some work to do though, chasing the current EPL Twitter leaders Arsenal who have 2.5 million followers and Chelsea who have 2.3 million (And also hold the most engagement this season).

Why have they been absent for Twitter for so long?

Jonathan Rigby, Head of Marketing at Man United

United’s absence from Twitter was very briefly explained in 2012 by Jonathan Rigby, Head of Marketing at Manchester United, who stated,

“There will be no official Twitter site until we have satisfied ourselves that we have determined a role for Twitter.”

That being said, United fans have long asked for a Twitter account – some to engage with the club better, some simply out of sheer rivalry (as generally Manchester City are viewed as being hotshots at Football Social Media presently). Undoubtedly United have taken their time to formulate a business case and strategy for the channel – which of course is sensible.

But, one has to question why it’s taken them nearly 3 or 4 years to get with the trend, potentially missing out on engagement (and driving traffic to their website) from EPL, Champions League and Cup match days. Furthermore, the lack of an official and verified Twitter account has lead to much confusion as unofficial fan accounts have taken the opportunity to build significant followings in their place.

Have United been planning this for over a year?

Last year we reported a story found tucked away in the Manchester Evening News that suggested United might be looking to start using Twitter. In a comment which has subsequently been removed since the story was posted, the MEN said they understood that United would,

‘ensure commercial partners were happy before they launch an account’

This perhaps suggests that United wanted to make a real business case for the channel and try integrate a commercial element into their Social Media strategy with advertising opportunities for sponsors. A clever move, and something we have seen all to often in recent months in the US, as established sporting brands now look to try monetize their channels (as we predicted earlier this year in our 2013 Sports Social Media predictions).

Why have they chosen to launch it now?

Perhaps the recent Social Media noise around Sir Alex Ferguson‘s departure (which generated nearly 1.8 million tweets in 24 hours) was a sign that the club was missing an opportunity to utilise Social Media. Certainly  the Mancunian side have been keen to promote hashtags for #SirAlexThankYou and #UnitedContinued on their website, around the stadium and in marketing collateral in recent weeks.

However, things are clearly still in development stage as United also showed some of the hazards that can come with Social Media, when they accidentally jumped the gun and announced the appointment of David Moyes as the new manager on Facebook prematurely.

Nevertheless, it’s a positive sign to see United finally join Twitter and it will be exciting to see them take on other European clubs Social Media activity – particularly if they have a sizable budget behind them.

The post Manchester United finally join Twitter – Why did it take so long? appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

The news article, swiftly deleted by the Premier League, stated,

“Jose Mourinho has returned to Stamford Bridge after agreeing to take over as Chelsea manager for the second time.”

Clearly not knowing the contractual terms, the article simply states that the “Portuguese coach is back at Stamford Bridge after signing a x-x year contract”.

This isn’t the first time this month that an online department has jumped the gun in releasing content before it should’ve been. The announcement of David Moyes as Manchester United’s new manager was leaked before the club could break the news, when the Press Office Twitter account accidentally tweeted a link to a ‘still-in-development’ Facebook Page welcoming the new manager.

Both incidents go to show the danger that Social Media can cause in a remarkably short amount of time. The speed at which both stories swept across Social Media, with screenshots of the gaffes as both tried to delete their errors, meant that there was very little both the Premier League and United could actually do. As channels like Twitter become more and more credible and readily accepted as platforms to “break the news” – the importance of ensuring content is not released prematurely has only become more important.

Football clubs and governing bodies alike have to understand the shrewd and skilled nature of fans who will do anything to try find out a little more – even if that means scouting an entire website to find any unpublished stories. Furthermore, there has to be a rigorous procedure for publish releases, especially as a mistake such as this can cause problems to potentially months of PR planning and budget going down the drain.

The post PremierLeague.com Mourinho gaffe shows peril of mistakes online appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

The tweet and the Facebook tab were deleted incredibly quickly, perhaps less than a minute – but this wasn’t fast enough to stop Twitter going into a fury as the news continues to spread online.

The slip up just goes to show the sheer speed and power of Social Media and particularly it is notable that Social Media is becoming the primary source for breaking news over television for such events.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement caused a buzz on Twitter yesterday with over 1.75 million tweets being sent out in relation to the news, again demonstrating how close Football and Social Media are entwined. However, it also shows how important it is on Social Media to make sure information is kept private and no Social Media managers “jump the gun”.

The news was also tweeted by @FIFAcom, who deleted the tweet just as quickly.

As of yet, there has been no official confirmation (well, that hasn’t been deleted!) from the club.

The post Man United accidentally announce Moyes as new manager on Facebook appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

As a long standing advocate of Connected Stadium’s, we are absolutely delighted to see yet another football club realise the potential of   having a 21st century stadium that will actually allow fans to connect, learn and share information directly from their tablet or mobile devices. Last month, we highlighted that the value isn’t just in offering better WiFi to fans so they are encouraged to connect with Social Media more, but also integrated the online world physically into the stadium.

City have long been using video and Twitter to pull in tweets from fans across the globe into the stadium concourse. Clearly this pilot has worked as they have invested in bring Cisco’s Stadium Vision Mobile into the Etihad.

StadiumVision Mobile is capable of delivering  live video and relevant event information to fans’ mobile devices with minimal delay and can offer multiple channels of unique content, which could include a replay channel, an alternate angle view channel, and a dynamic data channel (for stats, trivia contests and multi-player games).

Tom Glick, Chief Commercial & Operating Officer for Manchester City Football Club, told Digital-Football.com:

“As a Club that is passionate about innovation and prides itself on constantly looking for ways to enhance our supporters’ experience at the Etihad Stadium, we feel we have found the perfect solution with O2 and Cisco.

Live games and concerts are highly enjoyable social events and we are delighted to be able to offer supporters a system that allows them to better utilise their own mobile devices when at the Stadium.”

It will be interesting to note if both Liverpool and Manchester City see a growth in the next few months from more fans interacting on Social Media during matchdays – as currently most fans are in the digital dark as stadiums struggle to cope with signal/WiFi demand.

The post Man City Connected Stadium: Adds high speed WiFi & Video appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

Since 1st January 2013, Chelsea have received 783,722 retweets and 565,442 mentions on Twitter. 104 days into the year, this equates to an average of 7,532 retweets and 5,436 mentions on a daily basis – making the role of Chelsea’s Social Media Manager quite a time-consuming task!

Chelsea have been quite active in the Social Media space this season and have had some highs and lows in their Social Media strategy – including their Enhanced Twitter Account, their use of Google+ hangouts and the Ashley Cole #BunchOfTwats debacle.

Trailing Chelsea is Liverpool FC who have amassed 695,795 retweets and 502,057 mentions, followed by the EPL’s largest Twitter team Arsenal with 548,924 retweets and 342,287 mentions.

However, metrics such as retweets and mentions don’t necessarily qualify quality, as displayed by Manchester City who sit fourth with 270,801 retweets and 195,483 mentions. Arguably, the current Champions are also the champions of Social Media – particularly for their creativity, innovation and delivery of Social Media content.

At the other end of the spectrum, relegation battlers Wigan are the club’s least engaging club with just 10,574 retweets and 5,745 mentions.

The post Chelsea FC – most retweeted & mentioned EPL team in 2013 appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

What is the Connected Stadium?

The Connected Stadium is a concept where sporting arenas are improved technically and digitally to ensure that the audience within,

• a) Is encouraged to interact online from within the stadium
• b) Can interact with the online web whether via tablet or mobile devices.

With the rise of the smartphone in the last 5 years mobile devices and Social Media have become more and more entwined. As such, football fans are heading to stadiums armed with their phone – ready to tweet, share, Like and snap photos. Connected Stadium’s often involve having to improve 3G/4G connectivity or offering fans WiFi (either free of charge or monetised) so that they can connect and engage from the stadium without slow/non-existent connections.

Why is important to have a Connected Stadium?

Stadiums have previously been incredibly poor for phone signal/online connectivity. If you can imagine the sheer consumption and overload caused by 60,000 people trying to check in on their Facebook app, you might be sympathetic to the providers who have to deal with sudden surges in activity pre, mid and post-match. Connected Stadiums are important to football clubs in particular as they have their customers (the fans) captivated and all in one area where they can influence the thought process.

Furthermore, a Connected Stadium is conducive to Social Media, especially when you consider that in sports, the stadium is often the heart of all life, history and activity. With this being the case, it is absolutely crucial that fans can share, engage, monitor and create Social Media engagement in the right places at the right times.

In a Connected Stadium, fans can tweet their opinions, Instagram and share their photos, Like official club status updates, check in to the stadium – and ultimately but perhaps further down the line, purchase goods. Connected Stadiums should allow clubs to maximise on matchdays and improve their engagement levels. Furthermore, it should help improve other aspects of the club – international brand, merchandise, marketing, PR and even customer services.

Is it just giving fans WiFi?

No. Improving connectivity isn’t the only ingredient of a Connected Stadium – it’s a huge part of it but not the only element. Clubs need to ensure that fans have visibility first off – which means signage, programme materials, stickers on back of seats informing them how to properly access the WiFi and what the Social Media channels actually are! Secondly, they need to incentivise fans into actually using the system – this means offering discounts/prizes for geo-location check-ins, running matchday competitions, offering hashtags and even perhaps – as Manchester City have done so – moderate and promote selected tweets onto screens in the stadium to encourage further tweeting.

Club Social Media campaigns need to be integrated into the stadium itself with offline call to actions, clever use of geo-locations tools and services and a strategy that facilitates match day content and spreads this to fans who can’t be in the stadium.

If it’s so good, why are there so few doing it?

The key problem that nearly all football clubs face is the sheer amount of investment that is required to physically buy, install and maintain an enterprise level WiFi system. The logistics behind undertaking this task only grows as the stadium capacity increase, so when you consider Wembley has 90,000 seats, trying to potentially cater for 90,000 individual mobile devices uploading an image of perhaps 3MB during a halftime period of 15 minutes – is quite demanding.

–

What would you like to see in stadiums to help improve fan engagement? Are Connected Stadiums worth the investment?

The post The Connected Football Stadium: WiFi, Twitter screens & mobile appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

With the foundations of Football Social Media already set, what does 2013 mean for the 1,551 football clubs currently using Twitter and even more on Facebook?

1. Blogger Outreach

As the power of influence continues to shift towards the blogger-sphere from the traditional press (And note, I’m not saying bloggers have more influencer, just more than they used to!) – clubs must start to take notice of the opportunity that influential fan bloggers hold. Football clubs will begin to develop deeper relationships with bloggers as a way of changing fan perceptions, improving fan engagements and help generate Social Media noise. This will come in the form of blogger match invites, bloggers at press conferences and providing bloggers with behind the scenes content. Fans will always trust their fellow fans over club communications (Which are often perceived to have a commercial agenda).

2. Curated Tweets for media publications

Fan tweets are increasingly becoming the go-to device for measuring fan opinions. Very slowly, we’ve seen fan and player tweets appear in sports TV shows and print media as a way of representing the thoughts of a fanbase on a particular issue or incident. If clubs are savvy enough, they will look to promote their own Social Media and brand by encouraging fans to tweet more often. Clubs can do this by curating the best and most influential tweets from fans and players into their offline and online media. Whether this via projecting tweets throughout stadium concourses as Manchester City have done or including them in website match reports – it’s a great way of involving fans with content production.

3. More use of “Datatainment” in club media

No longer a new concept, the aptly named “Datatainment” ideology is the process of using big data as a way to entertain and engage with fans. A fantastic example of this has been Arsenal’s Stats Zone content on their website before playing opposition.

The London giants use performance data such as pass completion, goals scored, clean sheets, team form etc. as a way to predict the outcome of the match and help entertain fans by giving them some insight before the game. This has to be adopted by more clubs as data – or stats – fits the psyche of a football fan perfectly. Datatainment content is a great way for clubs to build excitement around football matches, help bust myths about player performances and generate substantial levels of Social Media noise with engaging and visual content.

4. Bigger fines, harsher punishments for player Twitter mischief

In 2012 we finally saw footballing bodies like the FA and the Premier League issue Social Media guidelines for football players in the UK. We’ve also learnt that many clubs are internally training and educating players around good and bad practice as players have become more active on Social Media channels like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Still in it’s early stages, we can expect clubs to develop these pieces of governance and regulation further – so expect to see tougher and harsher punishments for football players making mistakes on Twitter in the future. Club Brand and PR can take huge hits in the mainstream press from negative tweets – so ensuring players don’t portray the club in a bad light will be a priority for every Social Media manager at football clubs this year.

5. Monetization of Social Media channels

Last but certainly not least, finding a way to make money from Social Media will be perhaps the most important issues football clubs face in 2013. If 2012, was the year clubs got to grip using Social Media and showing how influential it is, 2013 will be the year clubs will have to prove it’s worth the investment to their board of directors. Expect football clubs to be inventive in ways of trying to monetize their Social Media – this might be through making more content to sell match day tickets, more tie-ins with partner sponsors and better use of Social Media to help aid merchandise sales.

So there you have it – our official predictions for 2013. After getting a decent number of our Football Social Media predictions right for 2012, hopefully we can continue our good track record and continue to bring you the most exclusive and very latest news about how football clubs are using Social Media.

The post 5 Predictions for Football Clubs on Social Media in 2013 appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.

Cole tweeted out the offensive tweet at Friday lunchtime to his 382,000 Twitter followers and within it’s first hour attracted over 17,000 retweets – including many messages of disgust from former players and journalists.

UPDATE: Cole has since deleted the tweet but even though it was deleted just after 1 hour, it hasn’t stopped the story reaching major media.

Less than 3 months ago we reported a leaked document from The FA outlining the new Social Media guidelines and rules that would be enforced regarding bad behavior on Social Media.

The official document (which presumably Ashley Cole never read), states:

“Any comments which are improper, bring the game into disrepute or are threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting may lead to disciplinary action”

And just in case Cole thinks an apology on Twitter or deleting his tweet will help his chances at avoiding punishment, the rule list states:

“Deleting or apologizing publicly for an improper posting  whilst advisable, will not prevent disciplinary action being taken”

Whilst most football players have been better behaved in the past 12 months, this is still a real problem and our advice that clubs should properly educate players about the consequences of bad social media – rather than just giving them rules – is still very relevant. Perhaps Ashley Cole will take a note out of Joey Barton’s book – who famously used Promoted Tweets as a way of apologizing to the wider audience for his tweets in a desperate attempt to claw back some PR credibility?

The post Ashley Cole calls The FA “#BunchOfTwats” – 17k retweets appeared first on Digital-Football.com - Football Social Media & Digital Sports news.