An eclectic and eccentric view of football, business and management by media entrepreneur Chris Ingram.
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Shortly before Christmas, Manchester United announced that they were starting their own social network. Yes, under their own auspices, not on the back of Facebook!
“Typical bloody arrogance!” was the response of several people I spoke to. But that’s unsurprising in the world of sport where everything is in black and white: you either hate it or love it! But this is worth more analysis. Putting the hat back on that I used to wear as a Media Planner and with the help of my colleague at Sports Revolution, Josh Robinson, I asked myself 5 key questions:
1. Do they have a sufficiently large audience to justify the effort?
The answer is `Yes’. They claim over 300 million fans and from my travels I can well believe it. After all, this is a club that, when they go to Asia, 45,000 turn up to watch them train! And just as important, this is not a disparate group, it is an audience united by one distinct passion.
2. Do they have sufficient content?
To someone not interested in football, it’s difficult to believe they have but in the nutty, rabid world of football, fans feed on any bit of information – or gossip – and are happy to speculate endlessly about it. In principle, they definitely do have sufficient content.
[The average Facebook user spends around 55 minutes a day on Facebook, dipping in and out of many different interests. It will be fascinating to see the numbers on Man United’s network. Will the time spent be less, because there is less variety, or more because it’s driven by such a passion?] By going big in social media, Man United are committing themselves to going big with content but this is not just about volume.
Which brings me on to the next, very much linked question.
3. Is it `must have’ content? Will visitors be engaged? Will they hang around? Will the Club (and Sponsors) have the chance to sell them stuff?
Yes, indeed! So, thinking about opportunities to connect, let’s take you through the actions of a fan remembering that I’m of the generation that’s between paper and digital, not wholly digital.
So, before you say it, I am a typical Man United supporter, who doesn’t even go to the games! (“Ah, you’re a Man United fan eh? Live inside the M25 do you?!” etc etc.) But this time, that’s the point; 76,000 in a stadium is impressive but the audience outside is over 3,000 times bigger. And that’s the audience they’re going to be selling.
I read anything about the team in advance of the game, during the game and after it. In advance of the game – in my newspaper; on their website; and yes, on Football FanCast. I have a text service which, at 24p a pop, sends me texts on my mobile on injuries, suspensions; contract negotiations beforehand and then on the day, the team; goals scored as they go in; half time and full time summary. Or I might be seeing the match live on Sky, then definitely on Match of the Day; then I will read the Sunday and Monday reports. Yes, they’re all telling me the same thing but from a slightly different angle.
So, the pattern I described above, which is nowhere near as frenetic and `digitised’ as younger fans, amounts to over TWENTY different connections in a week, every week!
“Shortly before Christmas, Manchester United announced that they were starting their own social network.”
You do know that the total opposite of that happened, right? United actually released a statement on Manutd.com to deny they’re creating a new social network.
http://www.sportspromedia.com/notes_and_insights/manchester_untied_denies_reports_of_ambitious_expansion_plans/
“Further to reports about the Club appointing an agency to create a social media platform, this story is completely inaccurate. There has been no such agency appointment.”
And shortly after the story broke United rubbished it. With more than 20m ‘likes’ on Facebook the club really has no need to set up an alternative, and it won’t be.