European Football Finds Global Success on Facebook

The use of video and making use of athletes and talent is key to getting fans engaged

Ronan Joyce, manager of Facebook EMEA partnerships, took to the stage at the SVG Europe Football Summit last month to offer some tips and strategies for getting the most out of Facebook and Instagram. The good news? If you are involved in sports, especially football content creation, the popularity of the sport on a global level has pretty much set you up for social-media success.

Facebook’s Ronan Joyce advised, “Content needs to be authentic, engaging, and shareable because, when people get engaged, that drives greater distribution in the news feed.”

The use of video is an increasingly important part of the Facebook and Instagram experience, driving more-meaningful engagement. He said that content creators should experiment with new production techniques, like using drones or even 360 video.

“Use it to excite and engage a mobile audience that can be different across the platforms,” he advised. “Use it to build buzz and excitement.”

Among his top tips are using social media during the broadcast window to drive viewership and keep fans engaged during commercial breaks, get the athletes and talent involved as much as possible because they are important drivers of connections (“tapping into them can go a long way”), use branded content to drive revenue, and think video first and have a consistent posting strategy with engaging content.

“Live production in and around the broadcast window really produces results,” Joyce said. “If you aren’t doing it, someone else will, and that is a [missed] opportunity to drive people back to your broadcast.”

For example, 80% of Facebook users say they engage with Facebook while watching TV.

“When a commercial break happens, the audience for the broadcast dips, but, at the same time, the Facebook conversations go up,” he said. “So Facebook can help drive the audience back to the broadcast when the commercial is over. Investing in content creation during that window drives people back.”

In terms of monetization, Facebook can boost tune-in for subscription services, PPV events, and ticket sales and give branded content more exposure.

“Video is the content type most users want to see, as it is more real and in the moment,” said Joyce. “Posting frequency and keeping the quality high is the key, as the newsfeed is very competitive. But content needs to be authentic, engaging, and shareable because, when people get engaged, that drives greater distribution in the news feed.”