4 social media platforms for sports video content in 2018
Within the sports industry, everyone from rights holders to broadcasters and sponsors is focusing attention on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Justifiably so, as the big three are market leading social media platforms attracting huge audiences, and natural places to find the best streaming and hosting features.
But there’s life beyond these three platforms. Why not consider a different social channel as an ace up your sleeve? Before we delve in to which channels you might choose, let’s explore some background.
The rise of new channels and video
While traditional television has been at the fore of mass sports coverage for years, the world continues to change drastically. The flexibility of the internet has caused havoc in the stiff world of linear TV in recent years. Social media has only deepened a sense of impending crisis.
You may also be interested in the essential read if you’ve ever wondered how to make traditional TV cool again!
One of the latest trends on social media has been the shift towards short, clipped videos – a major point of difference when compared to traditional TV’s long-form formats. It all started with Snapchat, then Instagram and their stories. Nowadays, each social platform favours video – it’s the most engaging and most consumed[1] type of content. So, even if TV is not now number one, video definitely is!
Let’s see what social media platforms are worth checking and considering as a home for your sports video content and more.
Snap that authenticity!
Yes, yes! We all know that Snapchat is extremely popular and that it’s a medium mostly for Gen Zers. While not every brand needs to be there, you should consider it as an option if you’re looking to reach younger audiences.
Snapchat is remarkably well suited to sports. Short, dynamic and unedited sports clips are perfect for this platform that favours ephemeral video content. Short video clips give Snapchat a feeling of freshness and authenticity, which might be easily killed off by the perfect-looking, over-produced clips that you see on Facebook or Twitter.
If you want to try something really cool, check Snapchat Spectacles – digital glasses that can record videos for Snapchat, but also publish them on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. How cool is that! Check it out yourself:
Insta-everything
You may view Instagram as a place for food and holiday photos and that’s… correct! But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to bring some of your cool sports videos over to the platform. Especially when Instagram is able to attract a greater mix of audiences that you might want to connect with.
Another positive aspect to Instagram is its own Snapchat-like feature – Instagram Stories – that heavily involves video. While it is Snapchat that brought the video-story format to life, it’s Instagram’s Stories that get better results. Why? Because while Snapchat has die-hard fans that are using the platform for better or worse; Instagram has a couple of huge advantages in a bigger user base and Facebook integration under the hood.
Furthermore, Instagram Stories and its features present videos very professionally, making them look slicker (if that’s what you want). Alongside Stories, you can also publish a varied mix of pictures, raw and spontaneous videos, and professionally produced clips. It’s your call!
Giphy, because we all love GIFs
Not exactly a social network, Giphy is an online database and search engine for animated GIFs. It’s used in one of two ways: users can search for cool animations in an online library, or through third party apps like Facebook Messenger for example.
Giphy is going from strength to strength, recently signing partnerships with big brands to promote content. These partnerships mean that users can now find and use animated GIFs created by Calvin Klein, Disney, General Electric, NASA or Paramount Pictures. As part of the deal, companies get their own profiles on Giphy, which users can search to look for the best GIFs.
Giphy will soon start rolling out sponsored GIFs. According to Techcrunch[5], brands will have the chance to buy a presence in Giphy’s top search results with their branded animations. If you’re a sports brand or broadcaster, this sounds pretty tempting, right?
Tumblr for the brave
The truth is that not every brand fits Tumblr and its spirit. Some say that this pretty well-worn platform is not a good place for brands to be. The reality is complex.
However, Tumblr can be great if your brand has a young audience made up of people who don’t take things too seriously, have a quirky sense of humour and are really open minded.
One of the advantages of Tumblr is how it can be used in many different ways. It’s a good for pictures, GIFs and videos, while you can also use it as an effective microblogging platform too. However, most brands keep it strictly for visual content, which can work really well for sports. Check out Vans for compelling extreme sports shots.
Explore lesser known territories
While it’s important to maintain your presence on mainstream social media networks, you should also pay attention to other platforms. Lesser known platforms can offer something different and deliver good gains, such as better visibility when targeting younger demographic groups, like Gen Zers through Snapchat for example.
Besides, with the popularity of short video clips and animated GIFs at a colossal level, it seems a good time to take advantage of the social platforms where these formats are heavily consumed.
Make that leap and get your live video content onto social media
One of humankind’s greatest ever achievements – landing on the moon – was widely televised. It was a giant leap for humankind. But how will we all tune in when someone first walks on Mars? Most likely live via social media and on different devices – from smartphones to tablets and VRs.
But before we go that far, let’s get back to Earth for a second, and let the numbers talk!
The rise of live video content online
By 2019 video will be responsible for 80% of global internet traffic. Live video alone will consume 13% of internet video traffic by 2021. At the same time, in the United States, TV audiences dropped by 11% between 2010 and 2016.
Most predictions suggest a continued decline in traditional TV viewing, just as new viewing habits appear to be unstoppable. Audiences increasingly look for live video content online.
But while live video on social media is already huge, it’s not even close to saturation. With millennials and generation Z at the helm, the future of live video content looks bright and promising. Here are some steps you can take to get your live video onto social media.
Create a multi-channel strategy
The very first step to jumping on the social video bandwagon is to create a multi-channel strategy for your brand, incorporating the right channels for you.
When it comes to live video, Facebook is number one among social networks. It holds 45% of the social media streaming market share. Without doubt, Facebook is going to be a major platform for social media broadcasters for a long time.
“People spend more than 3x more time watching a Facebook Live video on average compared to a video that’s no longer live”[1]
The second most popular platform for live video content is YouTube, with 44% of video market share. It is rightly a natural place for live content, so when planning your presence on social media, don’t forget to consider Google’s flagship video platform.
Other significant social media broadcasting players are Instagram and Snapchat with 28% and 19% market share respectively.
Go multi-channel for the win
The importance of social media doesn’t mean it’s time to simply ditch traditional broadcasting platforms. It’s not about moving your business to the internet entirely. Rather, it’s about implementing a multi-channel strategy as soon as possible. One that will enable you to capture and engage with the huge audiences that exist online.
What the stats tell us, is that demand is huge. This is partly due to people’s preference for watching videos over reading text online (nearly two thirds of people on the internet prefer it this way). Other sources also point out that if you consider all videos on Facebook, including live broadcasts, that these are being viewed around 64 billion times daily! That’s a staggering amount of views, right?
What these stats mean is that the internet is full of people eager to watch live video broadcasts, as far as it’s related to their passions and interests.
Keep an eye on this fast-evolving environment
Today the MVPs may well be Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. But tomorrow – who knows?
One thing is for sure. If you can adapt the channels you use to get live video to your audiences as they want it, then you will succeed when it comes to social media.
As you can see, the above numbers speak for themselves. So why not make that leap and get your live video onto social media today!
[1] https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/03/news-feed-fyi-taking-into-account-live-video-when-ranking-feed/
