By Paul Nicholson
May 4 – Leicester City’s meteoric rise from the Premier League’s relegation zone to championship winners over the past 45 games has seen a similar rise in the club’s social media, propelling it into the big league of social media engagement.
Taking the combined numbers of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Leicester City (LCFC) had a total of 736,554 followers in August 2015. By April 2016 this had leapt to 4,566,411 and the club had jumped from 18th position in the social media table below, to seventh.
This is a social following growth rate of 519%. Compare this to the to 17.9% growth for Spurs who have also had a powerful season, or the 16.3% for Arsenal. Obviously LCFC started the journey at a lower base but nevertheless the new volumes are a mind-boggling opportunity for the club.
LCFC still has a very long way to go to challenge the top six social media giants of the Premier League and Manchester United in particular who are in a social league of their own. But Leicester’s rise nevertheless propels them into a new commercial game that will allow the club to develop global-local partnerships in international markets.
Breaking down where the growth has come from, Charlie Beall from LCFC’s social media agency Seven League, points to:
- The Mahrez effect: LCFC fans in Algeria grow 1,884% (that’s 18% of LCFC’s total growth)
- Thailand showed 107% growth (the Srivaddhanaprabha family link)
- Fans from Italy have grown by 2,219% in the last 6 months (Ranieri is Italy’s new national treasure)
- LCFC can now place themselves against some heritage football brands, including AS Monaco and FC Porto
So what next for Leicester City and its newly built digital world? The club may have more than 100 years of league history but it is a brand the international market having forced its way to the top table with its results. Sustaining that performance will likely dictate the future speed of growth. But there is more to it than just counting the numbers off the back of winning matches.
“The real skill in digital lies in converting and retaining all those ‘likes’ into loyal fans and dare we say it, customers. Whatever the numbers, the Leicester City brand is a new one to many people: the club will need to invest in its digital channels to embed its stories in its new fan communities to turn awareness into loyalty,” says Beall.
Read Beall’s blog at http://sevenleague.co.uk/2016/05/03/leicester-citys-digital-growth-unprecedented-premier-league-win/
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1714190015labto1714190015ofdlr1714190015owedi1714190015sni@n1714190015osloh1714190015cin.l1714190015uap1714190015