As football fans get ready for the new season, the game is bigger than ever on Twitter. Premier League clubs now have more than 30M Twitter followers — up by more than 10M on this time last year.
Players too have seen their follower numbers swell as fans flock to connect to their favourite stars whose Tweets can be shared thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of times.
Next week, @Chelsea and @Arsenal meet in the FA Community Shield as the clock counts down to the start of the new season. The game brings to an end the long summer wait during which clubs have kept fans up to the minute with tournament updates and breaking news of signings:
The 2015/16 season officially begins on Saturday August 8th, marking the start of one of the most exciting periods in the football calendar. Following the opening weekend of the Premier League, the drama of #DeadlineDay will unfold on 31 August, before the UEFA Champions League resumes with the group stages on 15 September.
Until then here are a few numbers to consider when it comes to your brand, Twitter and football in the season ahead.
Five stats to know about Twitter and football
- 2/3 of users in the UK use Twitter for something related to football [i]
Football isn’t just an interest for many Twitter users; it’s their passion. Twitter is where those fans come together to connect and share their passion, whether that is with the club they support, breaking news or debating with other fans — or for all three.
- 72% of football fans on Twitter use Twitter at least once a day [ii].
Once the football season is underway, there is always football-related news and activity on Twitter from amazing goals, match analysis and anticipation of the next match. Football fans don’t like to miss out and the majority are on Twitter daily checking for the latest updates.
- 85% of football fans on Twitter watch two-plus hours of football every week [ii].
Twitter users in the UK watch more than two hours of football every week and, when they do, the vast majority are on Twitter. That time affords a great opportunity to connect TV and Twitter advertising for greater effectiveness. For telecoms for example, the cost per incremental acquisition from TV advertising has been shown to be 36% lower when Promoted Tweets are run alongside TV ads, as opposed to TV alone.
- 81% of Twitter users say that they Tweet or follow Tweets whilst watching sport on TV [iii].
This stat, paired with the one prior, highlights how Twitter + TV makes a perfect partnership. When football fans are watching the game unfold, they are also navigating the football conversation on their mobile devices and laptops. The dual screen has become the norm for modern fans watching football on TV.
- 55% say football news breaks on Twitter [i].
Football news breaks on Twitter all the time. It is increasingly becoming the de facto place for clubs to make their big announcements and and reveal new player signings.
i. Source | GlobalWebIndex, 2014
ii. Source | Twitter #Birdsignals 2015
iii. Source | Birdsignals, Twitter & Vision Critical 2014