Written by Benson Chukwueke Benson Chukwueke's is a Sport Marketing Consultant and CEO, GreenHunters Sports International. He is also the Host of Sports Marketing Roundtable.
Fans engagement is at the core of football business, because without fans football is nothing. The League Management Company (LMC) should put in substantial investment in growing large following for Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), if they want the league to become a money spinning venture.
The social media is where this generation of football fans spend most of their time, so LMC should reach and engage them online. Tik Tok and Snapchat provide an innovative platform to engage football fans in a special way. Something so unique and most entertaining, different from what traditional media offers.
Today's fans don’t only want to watch the game, they want the whole experience that goes with it. Pre and post match commentaries, virtual fans reactions, inside and outside stadium flex and funs...and all these can be delivered on Tik Tok and Snapchat.
This is the best way to grow fans interest and to turn them to loyal followers of NPFL. It may sound Idealistic, but many football leagues and other sports are already post their contents on Tik Tok and Snapchat to grow unbelievable following 👣.
TikTok
For Instance, while the world marked the closing of UEFA EURO 2020 on 11 July 2021, TikTok, together with its users, continues to celebrate those WOW moments that left ever-lasting impressions on the fans.
The platform connected close to five billion fans across the world to the games through full-screen, sound-on virtual experience and has been living up to its promise of inspiring creativity and bringing joy to its community.
From live score updates to #FootballCelebrations and conversations about the latest game; soccer fans on TikTok had a community to be part of, and many amazing activities to get involved in on the platform that kept their soccer fever in high spirits.
As a vibrant hub of sports, TikTok is a place where popular players, teams and fans connect with one another, and during the UEFA Euro 2020, it was the go-to place for fans to show their love of the game.
This was evident via the popularity of the official #EURO2020 hashtag which is sitting at nearly 5 billion views. Under the hashtag, fans were able to find not-to-be-missed on-the-field moments, game highlights shared by the official EURO2020 TikTok page as well as humorous videos from fans.
Snapchat
It is the whole experience or nothing! Snapchatters from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia have asked that the players have microphones to hear their viewpoints on the game as well as virtual fan sections. The ability to hear players and see virtual fans helps viewers gain a little nostalgia from the modern way of watching football games.
At the moment, fans are making the social media platform a second-screen destination while watching sport. In the Nigeria, for example, 29% of users send snapchats to their group chats while they watch a match. Some, 28% to be precise, watch their friends’ stories, and 20% make their own stories. The highlights of the Discover page are in use by 26% of users.
More than ever before, fans want to improve their experience, which is why they prefer Snapchat as their channel for football events. Over a third of all users of Snapchat want football league and teams to use Snapchat as a vessel for more content. For example, a behind-the-scenes experience of events or the opportunity to experience certain stadiums through augmented reality.
Using Snapchat as a way to watch and learn more about football events or other sports is a perfect opportunity for a sports club. Fans would like to see and hear more about them! This platform would allow clubs to increase their interaction with current fans and allow more potential fans to discover them.
Sporting fans are going to Tik Tok and Snapchat to engage, so why wouldn’t leagues like NPFL and their clubs use it to their advantage? Tik Tok attracts over 1 billion users per month, while Snapchat has recorded over 293 million daily active users and you don't want to ignore such massive platforms.
