Manchester United Launch Twitter & Sina Weibo Accounts

After many months of wondering when it will happen, the day is finally here.  For Manchester United fans like myself it has been a matter of waiting and knowing that it was when, rather than if, it would be launched.

The delay has been frustrating for some but understandable as well.  For such a massive global brand you do not just just onto the nearest platform and then try and decide what you want to do on it.  The recent expansion of the social media team at the club, with UK Athletics Nicola Turner joining back in April and a recent advert for another social media marketer, has marked an upshift in the push into social media.

The experimentation seemed to take place using the clubs Press Office account, now rebranded @MU_Spokesperson, as it played a major part in the recent retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.  This confidence and the planning behind the scenes has led to todays announcement.

So now they have two Twitter accounts, @ManUtd @MU_Spokesperson and a Sina Weibo account as they continue to push into the Chinese market.

The emphasis from a press point of view will be the growth in the account.  Will it get to 1m fans quicker than Charlie Sheen managed? (25 hours). And how long before they become the most followed football club on Twitter, battling for supremacy with Real Madrid and Barcelona as they do on Facebook.

But its more about the content for me.  No matter how many fans they have can they deliver the right content that’s going to make it worthwhile for me to follow?  The Facebook page has made significant strides forward in the last few months and I’m expecting some great behind-the-scenes access, breaking news and hopefully some new innovations as well.

So far they have posted 4 tweets and gained over 110,000 followers in the last hour or so.  At this rate it will be 1m by lunchtime!

Whatever happens, welcome to Twitter and Sina Weibo Manchester United!

New era, same spirit. The season starts here. Let's do this. #mufc

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2013

Iconic imagery… pic.twitter.com/BEew6C2Z2N

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2013

Unparalleled access, exclusive content…we've got it all. pic.twitter.com/XHzpWkfjTr

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2013

David Moyes: "I’m hungry to win trophies and driven to do it." #mufc pic.twitter.com/yg5UzXYzBu

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2013