Premier League runners-up Liverpool have become the latest European football side to launch on social media video-sharing platform TikTok.

Recently, we’ve seen the likes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund take to the platform and the Premier League giants have joined the party by creating their own official account. The Chinese video-sharing platform took Asia by storm upon its launch and it is fast becoming popular around the world.

TikTok’s partnership manager Normanno Pisani told SportsPro, “Liverpool has always created incredible content to connect with its fans around the world. With TikTok’s unique format, we believe fans will be able to enjoy this content in a fun and engaging way.”

While there is always a concerted effort from clubs to expand their social media reach as much as possible – both for commercial and fan engagement reasons – it’s just as important for the platforms themselves to ensure they’re sitting prettily at the front of mind of the social media managers working for sport’s biggest brands.

And that’s because players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, or superclubs Real Madrid and Barcelona have transcended their traditional place in the landscape and are now some of the most recognisable brands in the world. Boosted by the immediacy and worldwide reach of social media and the power of global brands like Nike and Adidas, they are some of the world’s biggest influencers. Every time they post, people take notice and newspaper articles are written.

Live sport is only half the story now, indeed maybe even less than that; to many people, sport is above all a form of entertainment. It is always on, and it something to dip in and out of during the day: no longer just a distraction for two hours when the game is on. Social media is a crucial part of the sports media landscape, but the ubiquitous nature of sports news make that sport itself a crucial part of social media’s popularity.

Indeed, top clubs are now incredibly good at using social media as a tool to get reactions from fans: likes, shares and impressions are a big part of the appeal to sponsors, who recognise that a large portion of the social media audience follows some sort of sportsperson, celebrity or sporting organisation.

But rather than jump on the bandwagon, many top clubs are wise to take stock before jumping into a new platform like TikTok with both feet.

Some will inevitably feel the fomo and want to make sure they’re the first, but most will keep their powder dry until they can see a reason to go for it.

For established platforms like Twitter and Instagram, the clubs aren’t going anywhere, but new sites like TikTok appear to be taking an active interest in attracting football clubs to set up an account. They know that if they do, there’s a loyal and engaged audience waiting to be entertained.