It’s finally here.
After four years of roster decisions, qualifying matches, and international friendlies, it’s finally time to find out which country boasts the best soccer team in the world.
Yes, the 2014 World Cup has arrived, and with it, a deluge of social media activity from players and fans alike. Back in 2010, the World Cup created the largest period of activity in Twitter’s history to that point. According to Twitter, there have already been more posts about the 2014 World Cup than that record-breaking event in 2010, and the games haven’t even started.
At the forefront of that conversation is FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, which has launched a new social account, improved its mobile applications, and developed a new social hub to handle what will likely be the most talked about sporting event in recent memory.
Preparation for the 2014 World Cup actually began in 2010, when FIFA President Sepp Blatter sent out a tweet in response to overwhelming social media activity about the use of vuvuzelas. FIFA researched the social media activity from that World Cup, including the conversation and sentiment about the notorious vuvuzelas, and used the data to develop a strategy for this year’s event.
Much of that strategy revolves around introducing soccer, and the World Cup in particular, to new and increasingly diverse audiences that are likely to follow FIFA and the World Cup for the first time over the next month. “We want to make sure we paint a representative picture of the tournament for our followers on social media and make them feel part of the action,” said a FIFA spokesperson to SportTechie.
FIFA plans to paint that representative picture through a balanced combination of social media, their free FIFA mobile app, and the newly created Global Stadium, a social, online, and mobile hub for the World Cup. “The Global Stadium hub will allow fans to follow the action live, minute-by-minute, and engage with friends, players, coaches, and fellow fans across the globe while supporting their favorite teams at the tournament,” according to FIFA.
On social media, FIFA will rely on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to give fans behind-the-scenes information from the tournament. FIFA joined Facebook in 2013, and currently has 12 pages that together reached over 280 million users in April 2014 alone. FIFA joined Twitter in mid-2010, and boasts over seven million followers. Staying true to the global nature of soccer, FIFA tweets in six different languages, a logistical challenge but necessary feature, according to a FIFA spokesperson. “It’s hugely important for us to communicate the football message in six languages. Content for all platforms originates in the source language, and it’s important for us to stay close to the game at the local level.”
Conversely, FIFA’s official Instagram account, @FIFAWorldCup, was just created this week in the build up for the 2014 World Cup. The account – it accumulated over 28,000 followers in its first 18 hours – will share behind-the-scenes imagery from all 12 stadiums in Brazil as well as content from the cities, beaches, and fans in Brazil during the tournament.
FIFA will use three primary hashtags on social media across those six languages to create and monitor social conversation around the World Cup. On Facebook and Twitter, #JoinIn, #WorldCup, and #GlobalStadium will be used to by the organization, while on Instagram, they will also promote #myworldcup to encourage fans to upload photos showing how they watch the tournament. Those photos will be shared on FIFA.com’s social hub. Additionally, each match during the tournament will feature its own hashtag.
The unique nature of the World Cup introduces several challenges to FIFA’s social media staff, none bigger than the fact that games are played simultaneously at several different venues across Brazil. It’s a logistical challenge that FIFA addresses by staying disciplined, playing to its strengths, and remembering its brand message, which is to bring fans together around the common love of soccer. “Communication is crucial during the event,” says FIFA. “Everyone has clear roles within the team and the games and events will drive the messaging agenda.”
Additionally, there is an intense pressure to post the perfect type of content to the right platform, especially at an event where a social media manager’s next opportunity won’t come for another four years. Does that action shot of a game-winning goal go on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Where does a short video interview with a country’s star player go? How does a team prepare for the spontaneous content opportunities that develop during a live sporting event? For FIFA, preparation is key. “We have rehearsed many scenarios and how to manage messages through social media that might develop through the tournament,” says FIFA. “The question of ‘what goes where’ and ensuring we share different content on different platforms has been debated at length during our brainstorming process.”
To follow the social media action during the 2014 World Cup, follow FIFA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Global Stadium opens on June 12th, but the conversation has already started.
