Manchester City win Premier League title (for best social media strategy)
Manchester City have been crowned champions of social media, following research into the social media strategies of all the clubs in the Barclays Premier League.
Manchester City have been crowned champions of social media, following research into the social media strategies of all the clubs in the Barclays Premier League.
While City may be battling it out for the Premier League title with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, they already lead the way in terms of social media performance according to Accepted Socially, a marketing research and insights consultancy, which has adjudged their social media as the pick of the clubs in the division.
In the report each club was assessed on four performance areas – relevance, engagement, commercialisation and creativity, and City scored maximum points in all but one area.
City took spot ahead of Everton in second and Southampton in third. Meanwhile City’s neighbours Manchester United find themselves in an identical position to where they currently sit in the real league table, in seventh place.
The assessment was carried out at the end of January and start of February, a period when all teams played at home and away and the transfer deadline window drew to a close.
“It would be easy to suggest that with its deep pockets, it should be leading the way but while such resources may contribute, City’s considered approach, creative flair, outstanding use of content, and ongoing desire to engage and involve fans through its channels are the drivers behind its success,” commented Matthew Carlton, Accepted Socially’s founder and lead analyst on the report.
The report finds that the majority of the clubs understand social media, are creative with content and are willing to embrace new platforms. However, one of the teams to really disappoint is Newcastle United, which uses its social channels in an overtly commercial manner, continually highlighting promotions to fans.
“As we were putting the finishing touches to the report we heard how it had relaunched its Twitter page and was set to use the channel to engage more with fans. It certainly needs to as this platform – and in particular Facebook – seem to simply be sales vehicles to push Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct empire. Newcastle fans deserve better and will look at the way other clubs use social media enviously”, said Carlton.
