Guest Post: Emily Barker (1984_emily) is a Junior Account Executive at global digital sport consultancy NineteenEightyFour.

When it comes to digital, Liverpool FC are cracking it. Their website and Pinterest page are the most popular in the Premier League, and they also rank in the top four on Facebook and Twitter. Realising just how switched on Liverpool FC are, NineteenEightyFour decided to delve deeper and identify what makes them an online winner.

Catering to the international Fans

Liverpool FC are very much in touch with their international fans. Their website is available in 22 different languages; with China, Indonesia and Thailand even having their own stand-alone sites.

Separate Liverpool FC Facebook pages are available for Portuguese, Thai, Indonesian, Indian, Brazilian and Australian fans, with obvious benefits. More than just translating existing content, the club tailors it to the local market. Engaging fans in topics that are relevant to them specifically personalises Liverpool FC’s brand, and makes engaging with the content far more attractive to fans.

And, on Twitter, Liverpool FC are present in even more territories than on Facebook, with pages for the Middle East, France, Greece, Malaysia, Norway, Pakistan, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the USA. A whopping 17 different accounts to handle, not including the UK-based accounts!

On top of all this, Liverpool FC are also well established in China on Sina Weibo, WeChat and Tencent – unchartered territory for many Premier League clubs.

Speaking at The Nolan Partners Sport Industry Breakfast Club in London, Reds Managing Director Ian Ayre said “Liverpool FC wants to show its commitment to bringing the club closer to fans, whatever age they are, wherever they may live”.

However, despite having numerous market-specific accounts Liverpool FC still post in multiple languages on their UK page. And whilst the posts do receive good interaction from international fans, it’s not content tailored for the page’s intended market. So, for the international pages to really flourish, it may be more beneficial to signpost fans through to the respective market specific page.

Second-screen

With roughly four in five smartphone owners now using their devices while watching TV, the second-screen market is one everybody wants to tap into. Liverpool FC’s answer to this is a “King of the Kop” app. The app lets users predict what happens next in Liverpool FC’s matches, with correct predictions earning credits, credits contributing to a user league, and users at the top of the league winning prizes. Available on PC, tablet, smartphone and Facebook, and also allowing the user to play against friends, the app certainly covers all the bases.

In addition, Liverpool FC have their own fantasy football league “LFC Fantasy Manager”, which can be played on Facebook, tablet and smartphone. Whilst not a second-screen app exactly, it still gives fans a different level of interaction during the matches; getting their transfers in pre-match, and nervously waiting to see how their selections fared against their friends and Reds management.

Enough digital content to last a fan a lifetime

As already mentioned Liverpool FC has umpteen websites, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages, a Fantasy Football game and a Liverpool FC app. And in addition to this, there’s LFC TV, LFC mobile zone (wallpapers, news, videos and ringtones), Kop Kids and “The Kop” community fan forum.

And on social media, Liverpool FC have a YouTube channel with nearly 25million video views; and Google+, Instagram and Vine pages. And admittedly access to all is very easily signposted on their website.

However, although LFC’s social media sites are highly visible on their website, on the platforms themselves content isn’t cross linked. There’s very little video on Facebook, and given video is one of the most engaging medias and LFC’s YouTube channel is so popular,  some may see as a flaw in Liverpool FC’s social strategy. Furthermore, Vine and Instagram aren’t linked to on the Facebook and Twitter accounts, and considering the majority of people only have Facebook and Twitter, fans are missing out on some great content.

The magic ingredient

So, having looked that bit closer we can reveal the secret to Liverpool FC’s winning strategy is… doting on international fans, mastering the second-screen experience and having all social media corners covered.