From previous posts on this site we have seen that the top clubs in Europe also do well in terms of connecting with fans via social media, but how well do they actually do if you compare with their estimated fan bases? Introducing the Social Media Fanbase Penetration (SMFP) which is defined as the ratio between likes on Facebook and the fan bases of the clubs*. Below are the top European football clubs in terms of European fan bases – and their respective SMFPs:
FC Barcelona (4.317/57.800) = 7.5%
Real Madrid (3.480/31.300) = 11.1%
Manchester United (2.313/30.600) = 7.6%
Chelsea (1.518/21.400) = 7.1%
Although Real Madrid scores slightly higher than the rest, the four clubs don’t differ significantly in relation to their SMFPs.
Looking at SMFPs for other European top clubs, the picture becomes a bit more divided. FC Bayern Munchen, for example, has an estimated 20.7 million fans in Europe and connects with 182.000 fans on Facebook, which gives them a SMFB of less than 1%. More than being a negative thing, however, it shows that Bayern Munchen can (and will) see significant growth online in the future.
At the other end of the SMFP scale we find two Turkish clubs:
Galatasaray (4.477/6.800) = 66%
Fenerbahçe (2.990/6.100) = 49%
Would it be premature to jump to the conclusion that the European football (top 20) SMFPs at this point in time range from 1% to a staggering 66%?
I personally think so and there are several reasons for that. One is that Facebook should not be used as the only benchmark tool as clubs have adopted different social media strategies. In addition, the fan base numbers used here cover the clubs’ European fan bases only and as such can’t be fully compared with Facebook and its global reach. The biggest contributor to the big differences in SMFP, however, can be found in the estimates of the fan bases of the clubs and/or the actual defintion of a fan. I, for example, question if Galatasaray “only” has 6.8 million fans.
One thing is certain, with the increased focus by sports clubs on international exposure and growth (bigger media right deals, new sponsoring opportunities, more merchandise sales) there will be more emphasis put on the area of knowing the exact fanbases (and changes in these) moving forward. The fan definition challenge will remain a challenge, however, as clubs will use the definition they see fit to their own advantage. A look at Benfica’s website, for example, shows that the club has 5.5 million fans in Europe and 14.3 worldwide. One source has Arsenal at a global fan base of 27 million fans while another source shows Manchester United with 330 million fans worldwide. For now, however, we are left with different definitions, different publications and different “clever” calculations (such as the SMFP introduced in this article haha) to help us get an overview.
If anyone has found or are working on a complete overview of fan bases (worldwide), please leave a comment. Please also leave a comment if you have a great definition of how a fan should be defined in these social media times.
* Source used for fan base sizes is Sport+Markt’s recent and highly interesting “Football Top 20 2010″
In addition to all the variables you take into considerations above, you might want to also judge whether there are any cultural differences preventing high SMFP.
Also technology might play a role with internet penetration differing from country to country and even between regions inside a country.
Jakob brings up an excellent point about technology. I was about to chime in and say that beyond using social media to connect with fans, the clubs who truly connect with fans are those who are effectively using mobile marketing. Technology is changing the world, and clubs who use mobile marketing are not only able to use mobile apps as promotional tools, but as a legitimate communication device that enables a one-on-one experience that benefits both the fan and the club, thereby increasing “Loyalsticity.”
Great post, by the way, and great to connect with you via Twitter. I have found your thinking to be quite insightful as I explore new media and sports.
Christy reminded me that different technologies can be put into play (also literally) to further connect with fans.
Still, rather than focusing on individual technologies, wouldn’t clubs benefit more from re-thinking how you weave technology around the game to provide a more immersed pre-, during, and post-game experience? I’m talking leading up to the game with mobile and less mobile technology alike. Social and non-social. During the game on the mobile and in the stadium connected throughout inside and outside the stadium. Post-game using previously mentioned technologies.
Who knows – it might change the game.
How for instance about a game where the public is the 5th referee and can instantly vote for or against whether the ball was over the line or not…?
Jakob and Christy, thanks for your comments. Agree with you that new technology should/can be used to facilitate new and creative concepts enabling clubs to engage further with fans (both during as well as between games). This strengthens the relationships with existing fans but also reaches out to new/potential fans. How “interactive” clubs want to become remains to be seen but there are endless scenarios which can benefit small and big clubs. I am personally also interested in how different sports adopt and use new technology as I am sure we will see a very different lanscape in relation to the popularity of different sports in the future. Rather than focusing on changing the rules of the game/sport, I believe creativity in relation to fan engagement could be the main driver.
Great discussion and food for thought. I’ve been researching social media & football for a few years now and agree wholeheartedly with the last point that creativity in fan engagement is key to success. The opportunities for interactivity are only limited by what clubs can do with the resources (mainly people) available to them. We’re sure to see some great testing of various concepts as they try reading out to fans in the coming months/years.
Thanks for the comment Jeff – would be very interested in reading or hearing more about your research if that is possible. You are spot on with your point about endless opportunities but that clubs are limited by their resources. This also means that the “right” decisions must be made. I personally think that one of the pitfalls we could see clubs fall into is trying to do too much….
[...] Fanbase Penetration” is (still) not who you might think… In the fall of 2010 a blog post here at Loyalsticity introduced the concept “Social Media Fanbase Penetration” (SMFP) in [...]