So, Twitter. Pretty much everyone will have heard of it by now. It's one of the fastest growing websites on the internet and the current Silicon Valley darling.
It's the favourite weapon in the arsenal of many a social media 'guru', celebrities love it and even the American president has an account.
And as with anything popular, you will always have decenting voices. Such as psychologists, looking for new patients no doubt, claiming the Twitter lovers lack a sense of identity, are insecure and still live in their parents basement. Have a look at this pearl of wisdom as example:
"Twittering stems from a lack of identity. It's a constant update of who you are, what you are, where you are. Nobody would Twitter if they had a strong sense of identity." -- clinical psychologist Oliver James
In short, Twitter is a bit of a big deal.
So it came as a pleasant suprise to see the message below as I was reading the latest news articles on my favourite football team's website.
With both personal and professional interest in Twitter I obviously had to check out what they were doing. And again, I was pleasantly surprised with the way they have approached Twitter. This post will analyse how Liverpool FC are utilising Twitter, why it makes sense to take this approach and what points of improval still remain.
No Glorified RSS Feed
Many mainstream news outlets utilise Twitter as a push mechanism by pushing their RSS feed through their Twitter account. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with that and can actually be beneficial to users, it is a missed opportunity.
Twitter enables to give companies (and I hate myself for looking at Liverpool as a company *spit*) the chance to get closer to their consumers. Especially when it comes to football fans, who are both the most loyal as well as fickle consumer (again, *spit*!) out there. Most football fans want to know everything that is going on at the club and whilst not everything can be shared for obvious reasons, the LFC Twitter account gives a glimpse of what staff are doing behind the scenes.
A Look In the Kitchen
By following Liverpool FC on Twitter you really get a sense of what is happening behind the scenes. Various members of staff working on the website and content have been given access to the account and give regular updates of what they are working on.
It's interesting, it's relevant and it's exactly the kind of stuff fans are looking for.
How To Improve
Their approach to Twitter is still very one directional, instead of conversational. They have over 2,000 followers and they are following most of them back, but there has not been a single @reply in their 54 tweets so far.
It's all push and very inward focussed. A quick search shows that various people are trying to communicate with LFCTV, but are not getting a response. With the number of people involved with the account (I counted 7 different people just on the first page of Tweets) you would have thought that between them they could have answered some of these queries or have a bit of banter with the fans.
It's unreasonable to expect them to answer every question, but I do think they should get more involved with the community.
Furthermore, they often refer to interviews or content on the site without actually providing links. This could be part of the strategy, to come across as conversational rather than pushy, but as long as the links and content are relevant I don't think this should hold them back. It's annoying to see they have done an interview with a player, but make you search for it because they didn't share the link.
Why Being on Twitter Makes Sense
Marketing is becoming a lot more conversational. The cracks are starting to show in the push model and people are expecting more honesty and involvment from companies. Twitter offers companies to do this, It enables you to build direct relationships with your consumers. It provides companies with a platform to share their content, but also have one-to-one conversations with individuals.
Why is this important? Because people are more likely to talk about things they feel connected with. They'll help you spread your content, which will drive more traffic to the site, which in turn will increase the number of people who can be driven down the sales funnel - eventually ending up with them buying from the club shop or signign up for an E-season ticket (subscription to premium content).
After having seen Liverpool FC's attempt to tackle Twitter I got curious to see how other Premier League teams were doing. Below is a brief analysis of all Twitter accounts of the 20 teams in the Premier League.
Liverpool FC: (official)
Followers/Following 2045/1755
Updates: 56
Summary:
One way 'conversational'. They offer a glimpse behind the scenes, without really getting involved with their followers.
Aston Villa: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 563/594
Updates: 4866
Summary:
An unofficial news feed with automatic updates from various sources reporting about the club.
Arsenal: (presumed unofficial)
Followers/Following 671/1
Updates: 9
Summary:
There are too few replies to make a accurate judgement, but it seems to be set up by a fan sharing stories that he or she has found.
Blackburn Rovers: (official)
Followers/Following 21/6
Updates: 13
Summary:
The only other verifiably official Twitter account.
An unautomated, push account. The account is used to deliver messages and push content. Missed opportunity.
Bolton Wanderers: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 105/4
Updates: 3218
Summary:
An unofficial news feed with automatic updates from various sources reporting about the club.
Chelsea FC: (official?)
Followers/Following 907/2
Updates: 5254
Summary:
It's an automated RSS feed form the official Chelsea FC website, although it strangely enough does not provide any links. It is unclear whether or not this account was set up by the club or a fan.
Everton: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 288/2
Updates: 303
Summary:
One of the many FootyTweet accounts. FootyTweet aggregates various news sources reporting about the club and pushes them through the Twitter feed as an RSS feed.
Fulham: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 94/2
Updates: 197
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Hull City: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 76/2
Updates: 196
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Manchester City: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 159/2
Updates: 348
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Manchester United: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 584/2
Updates: 424
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Middlesbrough: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 83/2
Updates: 206
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Newcastle United: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 191/2
Updates: 264
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Portsmouth: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 94/2
Updates: 336
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Stoke City: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 113/2
Updates: 198
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Tottenham Hotspur: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 500/3
Updates: 322
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
West Bromwich Albion: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 91/2
Updates: 173
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
West Ham United: (unofficial)
Followers/Following 104/2
Updates: 230
Summary:
Another FootyTweet account.
Wigan Athletic: (official?)
Followers/Following 1/0
Updates: 1
Summary:
The profile claims to be the official Wigan Twitter account, but without any actual Tweets or followers it's hard to establish this is true. It could be they have set up the account to make sure no one could claim their club name 'Twitter squat' them.
What's The Point of FootyTweets?
It's clear from the analysis that most accounts are run by FootyTweets. These accounts seem to have been generated through aggregated RSS feeds, fed into Twitter by Twitterfeed.
It's a site created by an English web developer called Ollie Parsley. With no ads on the site and no monetisation strategy in sight on the Twitter accounts it simply seems to be a way for him to showcase his ability as web developer, as well as enabling fans to get the latest news of their teams on Twitter.
Conclusion
Liverpool FC at the moment are the only team who anywhere near using Twitter in the way it is intended and a way that could be profitable. The fact they are putting more effort in then other teams is clear by their far higher number of followers. Whilst sharing your content on Twitter can certainly be of value to users, that's not the only thing they are looking for in a corporate Twitter account.
Whilst Liverpool certainly have areas they can approve on, they are far ahead of the competition when it comes to Twitter. And with all these accounts combined adding up to well over 6,000 followers it's clear there is a large audience on Twitter for the Premier League.
