A study released by IMG Consulting has revealed the increasing importance that social media plays in the daily life of football fans, highlighted this week by the England World Cup team announcement, which was instantly relayed across social media long before the official squad announcement at 2pm.
According to the report, 16-29 year olds proved the most likely to use social media sites to engage with sports brands, while 35% of UK football supporters on Twitter are now following their team, athletes or media more closely than before they joined a social media network.
63% were found to have liked a brand on Facebook with 44% following on Twitter, which Alex Coulson, Director, PR and Social Media at IMG Consulting, says emphasises the importance of the medium and the opportunity for brands to connect with consumers.
Coulson said of the study: ‘Social media has opened up opportunities for rights-holders and brands to talk directly with fans, but even more so with younger audiences whose engagement with their teams was previously limited, maybe by high ticket prices or access to pay-TV.’
He added: ‘Digital communication with the athletes, teams, brands and journalists breaks down these barriers, especially for supporters at the younger end of the spectrum and the opportunity for brands to facilitate and be part of that connection is huge.’
The study found that levels of engagement amongst those aged between 50-64 year olds were much lower with only 34% on Facebook and 15% on Twitter.
The study also highlighted the importance of social media on match day. UK fans check Twitter more than any other social media network on the day their team is playing, looking at their timeline on average 8.4 times per day for sports related content, whilst more than 40% of fans with social media accounts use them to follow scores and statistics during the game.
The study also highlighted the continued significance of traditional media outlets, with 80% of UK sports fans who use social media receiving information through official newspaper and broadcast profiles.
Rob Mason, Senior Vice President at IMG, commented: ‘Social media evolves rapidly so that strategic planning can be challenging, but there are clear trends and nuances and our study aims to identify or confirm some of them. Our clients, both brands and rights-owners, are welcoming the additional insights we can bring in this arena which we are adding to our unparalleled ability to create and produce great content with the resources of IMG Media behind us.’
The IMG Consulting Fan Engagement study was the first commissioned in the UK, following its launch in the US in 2010 as an annual insight into the relationship between sports and digital media use. The study was fielded by REPUCOM and collected data from more than 2,100 fans aged between 16 and 64. – See more at: http://www.sportindustry.biz/news/view/13216/img-study-shows-social-media-value#sthash.0Cmsvi1e.dpuf