While the presence of sports clubs on social media continues to grow and grow, the demand for captivating content is evolving also, while once there existed a place for surprise announcements, the day of quick and simple statements have arrived.
Recently, following the signing of Felipe Anderson from Lazio, West Ham posted the following well put together video:
While colourful nonetheless, containing imagery of the West London area that could be mistaken for the samba streets of Brazil, the content was specific to this player with a content strategy including:
-Quizzes
- Twitter reactions
-Images & gifs
-Seven things you did not know about the player
-First interview
-Breaking article announcement
While every base was covered regarding follow up media, the video included above sparked engagement amongst other fan bases with one Liverpool account wishing their club would produce content of similar quality.
However, while the special effects of the video were of high quality, the vast amount of content produced fails in proportion to what Liverpool's digital media team have produced even as recently as their latest signing of Xherdan Shaqiri.
The tweet that first announced the signing of the Swiss international was a minimalist creation, with the video itself containing a simple blur focus coupled with the 'outro' in fitting of the club's style guide for the 2018-19 season as seen below:
Liverpool with a much higher fanbase of 10.1m compared to West Ham's 1.3m created over five times the amount of likes and retweets with their opening content pitch, followed by an image and interview attachment minutes later.
The Merseyside club have adopted an announcement approach that fits their aesthetic rather than one off videos, but while this is relevant for their social media output, their digital and broadcast output shows how West Ham pale in comparison.
Liverpool are just one of few clubs to have their own television channel (LFCTV) and will look to drip feed content on their digital streams to entice audiences to connect with their content through either official websites or content platforms.
Specialising in multi-camera behind the scenes productions, The Reds have tapped into the market of 'access all areas', meaning a heavy presence in revealing the curtain of the club and which has saw content spread out for a higher engagement rate across all outlets rather than a one off video production.
With full-length signing videos including how a medical is conducted, Liverpool have allowed fans to be part of the player's journey and create a unique sense of realism away from the special effects.
Shaqiri's announcement sparked 15 posts specifically on Twitter while also incorporating Instagram stories before a full sit down interview video the following day, all of this while promoting a pre-season fixture against Bury.
What Liverpool have done well is promoting when it is right, and having content ready to go, as 24 hours post signing, there were links to cross platforms where fans could share content:
While boasting a highly efficient social media and digital team, Liverpool have often looked at the bigger picture regarding breaking news and placed one egg at a time rather than placing them all in the same basket.
Why are there so few big announcement videos?
With a large media team including job specific editors, producers, camera operators, Liverpool have more than enough of a workforce to produce whatever style of video they wish - however, their content is created/limited with the restriction of their aesthetic which is updated season after season.
This style guide should be something each industry looks to adhere to, creating a different fresh look in fitting of uniform advertises a change in aim and term but this is just one reason why clubs have become so hesitant to produce over the top videos.
Liverpool's postponed signing of Nabil Fekir from Lyon seemed at one stage all set and done, with interviews conducted, pictures taken and content ready to be published, until the negotiations took a turn and halted any further plans.
This delayed announcement of a huge player, by industry standard, would look far worse/embarrassing if the club had spent days producing an elaborate highly specific video, similar to Alexis Sanchez's signing for Manchester United.
The Red Devils however had their announcement mocked by Motherwell who signed Peter Hartley in the same month, as their over the top announcement including a piano and dramatic music although captivating at first publication, quickly turned into cringeworthy days later.
So, while well produced and edited videos can work, they can be a double edged sword, until a deal is 100% their creation cannot be justified and the balance between tasteful and awkward is too hard to find.
What should be more important is a sports clubs identity and ethos through online platforms with an attempt to keep content in fitting of their aesthetic which can often play a vital part in brand affiliation.
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