It's nothing new that social media has a huge impact on soccer. The last 10 to 15 years have brought fans, players and teams closer together than ever before, at least on the surface. From the early days of Twitter, there were posts such as Wayne Rooney's “Mr. Bean.'' Interestingly, watching more recent behind-the-scenes videos produced by the club gives us a window into a world that has hitherto been behind closed doors.
But while social media presence has long been important for clubs, the way they operate in the digital space continues to evolve. TikTok in particular has become a place where normal rules don't apply. Teams have become more bold in the type of content they post, sometimes even posting about opposing teams and their players.
One example made headlines last month. After Fulham defeated Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford. Fulham's TikTok account has made fun of United captain Bruno Fernandes, who claimed he was fouled by falling to the ground…
@fulhamfc I'm so glad he's okay… 🙄 #fulhamfc #premierleague #brunofernandes ♬ Sonido Original – ♫ ♪ 𝒴𝒶𝓃𝒿𝓊𝓁𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓉 ♫ ♪
The video has been viewed over 2 million times, received over 165,000 likes, over 6,000 comments, and has been favorited over 8,000 times.
Despite a very good performance, United manager Erik ten Hag was not happy when this was brought to his attention. “I didn't know this, but if they did, I would say it's wrong,” Ten Hag said. “It's absolutely not right for the club to make a statement like this because it's totally out of order and you're in the wrong. So they should apologize for this.”
Fulham did not apologize, but reiterated that there was no offensive intent.
It was clear from the seriousness of his reaction that Ten Hag did not know about the video until he was asked about it. But that kind of posting is par for the course on TikTok. These have been posted before and continue to be posted for weeks afterward.
Arsenal's Kai Havertz posted a suggestive video of himself falling to the ground in the penalty area after Brentford lost 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, just one of many this month alone. .
@brentfordfc😳♬ Original song – *ੈ✩‧₊˚
Another recent example is when League One side Wycombe Wanderers made fun of Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Sam Tickle scoring an own goal, with the footage accompanied by Mr Tickle's Mr Men-esque narration. One example is that there are One division above, Leeds United also used a clip of Eric Cartman from South Park to celebrate their 3-2 win over Norwich City from 2-0 down at half-time in October. was equally playful.
Those who consume content via social media may be hard-pressed to look away, but why do clubs use TikTok so differently than other platforms, and why does it feel liberating to do so? Why?
Sports organizations contacted The Athletic In this article, we explained how the demographics of your TikTok followers are an important factor. Those viewers tended to be 60 percent between 18 and 24 years old, 75 percent to 85 percent male, and 85 percent under 34 years old.
This generation has grown up with social media, and it is felt that followers of that generation have different expectations of what content they will see compared to, for example, regular users of a club's official website. Masu. It makes sense to serve that audience in a way that is tailored to them.
Sanjit Sarkar, sports strategic partner manager at TikTok UK, said: “Several clubs have identified teams dedicated to creating exclusive content for our platform.” The Athletic.
“The most successful clubs on the platform have a TikTok-first strategy that blends official highlights with exclusive behind-the-scenes content. The Bruno Fernandes video is one example of this. It's a playful and fun approach that builds genuine connections with the TikTok community.”
Given that TikTok's algorithm leans toward a curated “For You Page” rather than focusing on who users follow, sports organizations are not necessarily involved on a daily basis. The more you can reach users, the more likely you are to have a bigger impact.
“On TikTok, most of the people who see our stuff aren't following us,” said Sandro Gasparro, director of content for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. The Athletic. “When you look at high-performing posts, 98% of the views come from non-followers. They don’t see the context of what’s going on, so you have to package your team’s content differently. there is.”
The best-performing videos often reach 200-400% more people than those who already follow your team's account.
That's why the Nets basketball team and some football clubs have chosen to post less about in-game moments and more about relevance to a broader TikTok audience.
One example is the “real” movement that has taken TikTok by storm in recent years, leading to posts like this one from Nets. The post received over 763,000 views and over 121,000 likes within 16 hours. Meanwhile, his video below by Juventus, the leading Italian soccer club, has been viewed 1.7 million times and received over 335,300 likes.
@juventus #Juventus #sad #reality ♬ Listen to your heart – Melodia Simples
As a result, the Nets added their own “meme” playlist to their TikTok account.
“There's a cliché that when you do post-basketball content, people say, 'Wow, the Nets finally posted basketball,'” Gasparro said. “We have a reputation for showing up in these unexpected ways, but we're just kidding. Some of the reactions are, 'I can't believe this is the Nets,' and some are like, 'Wow, this is really real.' There is also a reaction. Nets management is running a “GOAT” (short for Greatest Of All Time). It's a combination of support and fun embarrassment, because TikTok is supposed to be fun after all. ”
“Relevance plays a key role in the success of your content on TikTok.” Sarkar says. “Clubs have embraced this in recent years, particularly when it comes to following trends and creating content beyond official highlights. Our community comes to TikTok for more than goals and assists. They want to know their team and players on a personal level.
“Although seemingly simple, this type of content effectively breaks down barriers between users and superstars and fosters a more personal connection. This encourages higher levels of engagement.”
Iker Casillas, Juventus, Champions League and many other accounts are cashing in on the recent trend of 'muing' below.
@ikercasillas Jueves de #mewing 🤫😎 #deportesentiktok #ikercasillas ♬ Sonido Original – Iker Casillas
Casillas' post had 46.2 million views and 4.2 million likes, Juventus' post had 20.4 million views and 1.9 million likes, and the Champions League had 5.3 million views. It received over 680,000 likes.
Despite these efforts, the question is how much backlash clubs could receive if they post content that is riskier and closer to triggering attacks than before.
In English football, players usually notice when something is posted about them, whether it's from another club or their own.
Some people turn to their club's social media team if they have a problem with a post about themselves, but this can happen by chance on a number of levels. It could be a video of a teammate putting a positive spin on him after he makes a mistake, or the TikTok response to Napoli's Victor Osimhen last year and how it affected his position with the Italian champions. It could be something more serious.
Posts like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this article don't cause too many problems between clubs.
From social team to social team, there is a growing understanding that everyone is on equal footing at TikTok. At best, social teams will log when posts about them get attention and consider responding the next time they play if a match goes their way. is. Problems primarily arise when people at the club outside of the social/media team notice posts that are a bit edgy, as they may not be used to the tone that can be taken on the platform.
But that doesn't happen as often, as there's a general understanding that TikTok is a place to be more playful and bold. While the players may know what's on the app, club football staff (usually older) don't tend to use the app, so they naturally don't care as much. This situation is also seen in the United States.
“It's a completely different place than Instagram or Twitter,” Gasparro said. “I've had staff members come up to me and say, 'My 14-year-old cousin loves your TikTok.' That's the age group we've cultivated for our audience. Exactly. , it's teenagers who are into internet culture. It might not be someone on our staff who's paying attention to our TikTok, it might be a relative.”
TikTok itself interacts with the sports organizations that use its platform, but not in a way that moderates their content. Communication is usually about strategy, giving updates on products or discussing collaboration opportunities.
Considering all of this, it's hard to imagine that the types of content clubs post on TikTok will move further from the “red line.” For the most part, people who use the platform accept that it's part of an ecosystem.
Not only that, but behind-the-scenes club content and fan-created video compilations/compilations are also very prominent, but are arguably the most eye-catching element of how sports organizations use TikTok. .
(Top photo: Getty Images, Design: Eamonn Dalton)
