Original content is now a must when announcing a signing on social

With the possibility of reaching millions of impressions and interactions, are new signing announcements the new challenge for clubs on social media?

This week has been marked by the agreement between Manchester United and Arsenal for the straight swap of Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. On social media, this deal generated incredible interest thanks to this announcement from the Red Devils:

A unique video to announce Alexis Sanchez’s arrival featuring humour and the club’s DNA which reached high figures: +7 million views on Twitter and +11 million views on Facebook.

This post from Manchester United illustrates a new era of social content to announce a signing where originality is king. For clubs, a new player announcement becomes like a performance to create a buzz and quality content.

We saw already in the last months different cases to Manchester United’s where clubs used key factors for success on social media to make their announcement a hit:

  • Parody: like Motherwell FC on Alexis’s video
  • Social users behavior: like Liverpool FC’s reaction on #SalahAnnounced
  • Follow party: like FC Barcelona with Coutinho
  • Players’ culture: like PSG with Neymar Jr
  • Players’ career: like Orlando Pride with Alex Morgan
  • Teasing: like Arsenal FC with Alexandre Lacazette
  • Social interactions: like Aston Villa FC waiting for retweets
  • Players themselves: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (of course)

Clearly, a signing announcement is now the opportunity for clubs to reach an unusual audience and engagement being the most original. Fans are waiting for more than a visual with player’s name. They need to see breaking news and entertainment in the same post.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the next deals will be announced by clubs in the coming months based on social media usage and new technologies: VR/AR with a special app, messaging apps, more videos with a storyline… For example in Ligue 1, FC Nantes experimented with a riddle on Messenger via a chatbot.

A lot of possibilities are offered to clubs these days, so let’s see what will happen this summer!

About author

Adrien Danjou
Adrien Danjou 140 posts

Adrien is a Digital Marketing Manager in France and a Digital Sport lover. Follow him on Twitter: @Adrien_DH

You might also like

The seven essentials for achieving successful sports branding

By Daniela McVicker When it comes to sports, great branding is a must. Your brand influences how people see your company or team. It helps you to forge connections with

Live Chat: A New Social Experience in Sports

Article written by John S. Kim, CEO and co-founder of global API company SendBird Social media rose to prominence throughout the world due to its potential for connection. Social channels provided the

Snack Media’s Football Content Campaign’s Review: February

By Mike Constanti This series, in partnership with Snack Media, will look at the best football campaigns from advertising to social media on a monthly basis, as Digital Sport evaluates how