24 Social Media: Research

The Soccer Social:Terrace Talk Goes Digital

hile the football establishment isreluctant to embrace technology on thepitch, off it, fans have been much more

enthusiastic according to the findings of the new“Soccer Social” report from the Football Fans Census.

The modern football fan has embraced the rise of the internetand social media and both have become important parts ofthe average fans football landscape.

According to the survey, which talked to over a thousand fansup and down the league pyramid, 53% of fans visit their club’sofficial website at least every other day, while 54% visitFacebook just as frequently, a staggering statistic whichhighlights how significantly Facebook has established itself.

According to Tim Gentles, MD of Football Fans Census,“Social networks are relatively new phenomena, yet it’s clearthat they have already become as important as moretraditional channels for the modern football fan”

The expansion of social media looks set to have an even moredramatic effect on the way that fans enjoy their football.According to the survey, 77% of football fans have an activeaccount with at least one social networking site, and a quarterof fans in the survey already use social networks to engagewith other fans on match days, with 67% of them citingFacebook as their social network of choice for match dayengagement.

Whereas face to face contact was historically the biggestsource of gossip, information and banter on match days,increasingly social media is fuelling the match day experience.Or, as Gentles puts it “Traditionally the pre and post matchpint in the local pub turned the match day into a socialoccasion and now Twitter, Facebook and many other networksare extending the duration and reach of the big match to aglobal community”

It would seem that this technology is not the sole preserve ofthe young fan either. According to the survey, 97% of fansaged between 15-24, and 94% aged between 25-34 have atleast one social network account. Moving up the age rangethe numbers fall but are nonetheless still healthy: 77% of fansaged 35-44 subscribe to social networks, as do 53% of over55s.

Crucially, this represents a new opportunity for clubs andbrands seeking to reach football fans, and one that is, as yet,largely untapped. While official website stats look healthy, itseems that a lot of clubs are not yet riding the social networkwave: Only 9% of fans agreed that their club has been quickto utilise the full potential of social networks.

Of all the fans in the survey, 77% didn’t know whether or nottheir club had an official presence on Twitter, and almost halfof regular Twitter users were unsure of their clubs presence.Clubs fared little better on Facebook; 67% of all fans in the

By Jon Busk

W

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25Social Media: Research

survey and 58% of Facebook users were unaware as towhether their clubs had an official presence, yet 58% of allFacebook users surveyed followed unofficial social sites ormedia related to their club on the network.

As Gentles puts it: “For big corporate brands, social media isstill very much in its infancy as a marketing lever, but isincreasingly becoming a key consideration in the marketing

mix. Looking at these results, very few football clubs haveofficial visibility in this medium…but it’s an opportunity thatthe most media-savvy clubs can’t ignore for long.”

Clearly the match day experience for fans is undergoing a seachange. Not so long ago it was a couple of pints in plasticglasses, a pie and the back page of a tabloid. Twitter,Facebook and their ilk extend and augment the experience, tothe benefit of a significant number of fans, but the majority ofclubs are still lagging behind. Those who figure out how toexploit this transformation are going to be pinchingthemselves an extra, critical few yards… For clubs and fansalike, as one mobile phone company once put, the future’sbright indeed.

The full report is available from www.TheSoccerSocial.com

Football Fans CensusThe Media Centre19 Bolsover StreetLondonW1W 5NAContact: Tim GentlesEmail: tim@footballfanscensus.comPhone +44 (0) 207 665 4127Web www.footballfanscensus.com

“According to the survey, which talked to over a thousandfans up and down the league pyramid, 53% of fans visit

their club’s official website at least every other day, while54% visit Facebook just as frequently.”

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