Collingwood taps social media

Facebook is the most popular social network platform with one in four businesses having a Facebook presence, according to a recent study.

First 5000 member, the AFL’s Collingwood Football Club became active on Facebook and Twitter in early 2009, initially using them as tools to drive users back to the club’s website.

“Now the club views those tools as equally as important as the website and is more than happy for the user to consume content outside of the website via these channels,” a Collingwood spokesperson said.

“If the content is of a premium quality, we need to make sure that it’s easy for our supporters to access it. We need to be where they are.”

The Nielsen-Community Engine 2011 Social Media Business Benchmarking Study found businesses have shifted from using social media for branding to customer relationships with 43 per cent seeing social media as a way to build a relationship with customers and stakeholders. Meanwhile 33 per cent use it for branding, a significant drop from 61 per cent in 2009.

“Social media gives the club the ability to effectively create and stream content for very little cost,” a Collingwood spokesperson added.

“It provides a forum for a two-way discussion between the club, its players and fans and it creates interest and relevance among the younger generation of fans in particular who will be the future of the club.

“Collingwood’s intent in the online space is to serve as a news outlet, providing up-to-date information/behind-the-scenes look at what is happening at the club. There is no doubt that its relevance will only continue to increase.

“We are also careful to respect that space and to ensure not it doesn’t bombard users with advertising but instead focuses on providing supporters with what they want.”

As part of the 2011 social media strategy, Collingwood decided to provide match highlights via YouTube immediately following the match.

“This decision came as a result of supporter feedback gathered over the preseason about what they wanted to see online.  More than 60 per cent of views are now match highlights with more than 700,000 viewers over the past ten weeks.”