Top 20 Teams Social Media Engagement

Top 20 Teams In Social Media  Activ8Social  “Like” Activ8Social on Facebook  Follow @Activ8Social on Twitter

 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
• Only official accounts were considered for the Top 20 Teams In Social Media, meaning the
organization has direct affiliation with the property

• Teams from all professional sports and countries were eligible for consideration

• Each team’s social media properties were rated* on the following criteria on a scale of 1-10,
with the highest total score winning:

Audience: Total number of fans** across social media properties***
Frequency: Appropriate regularity of communication based on channel
Engagement: Quality and quantity of team/fan interaction****
Promotion: Sponsor activation, fan contests, rewards, and team marketing
Content: Authenticity, variety, originality, and quality of social communication

• Google+, YouTube, and Tumblr numbers are not listed for the purpose of brevity; however,
they were factored into the “Audience” rating

*Tiebreakers given to team with the larger “Audience”
**Profile data current as of May 30, 2012
***Special weight given to teams with a social fan base disproportionate to sport or league reach
****Engagement was assessed by calculating ratios of update metrics to audience size


#1 Los Angeles Lakers
Sport: Basketball

Facebook: 13,407,129 “Likes”
Twitter: 2,564,695 Followers
Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: 240,195 Followers
Pinterest: N/A

Notable Marketing: Although the Lakers have
never run a groundbreaking campaign, they take
home first place for consistent messaging and
audience size (impressive for a team outside of the
world’s most popular sport) combined with special
recognition for their trailblazing marketing on
Instagram. The Lakers clearly understand the old
adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”!

TOTAL
Audience Frequency Engagement Promotion Content
9 9 6 5 9 38


#2 Manchester City F.C.
Sport: Soccer (Football)

Twitter: 359,616 Followers
Foursquare: 23,357 Followers
Pinterest: 288 Followers

Notable Marketing: Fans who attended Man
City’s match against Tottenham were invited to tag
themselves in a 360-degree panorama view of the
stadium and challenged to spot avatars of players.
Other promos include live streaming of training
sessions on Facebook, an augmented reality
experience, interactive interviews on Twitter, and a
Foursquare contest at Etihad stadium.

TOTAL
8 8 7 6 9 38


#3 San Francisco Giants
Sport: Baseball


Notable Marketing: YouTube sensation Keenan
Cahill and the Giants created a viral video with
Cody Ross, Brian Wilson, and the mascot, which
generated 2M views. Their recent custom app for
tablet devices gives users an advanced tour of
AT&T Park. According to Ampyourstat.com, they’re
the most socially engaged team in the MLB, with
over 20,000 tweets posted to their Twitter page.

TOTAL
6 7 9 7 8 37


#4 New York Giants
Sport: Football

Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: N/A
Pinterest: 1,342 Followers

Notable Marketing: Their “Tweetup” connects
fans, players, and even the Lombardi trophy in a
creative way. 50 lucky fans who signed up online
and who follow the @Giants and @PepsiMax on
Twitter were randomly selected to attend the
event. The Giants’ Tolly Cam, on their timeline,
features exclusive content that gets unlocked after
their page reaches a certain number of likes.

TOTAL
5 7 9 8 8 37


#5 St. Louis Cardinals
Sport: Baseball

Instagram: N/A

Notable Marketing: The Cards’ Louisville Slugger
Scavenger Hunt, which took place after their World
Series victory, not only promoted their sponsor and
own organization, but also the city of St. Louis.
They dedicate a section on their website to social
media campaigns including tagging yourself in a
panoramic photo taken at Busch Stadium, a twitter
roster, and unique Facebook cover photos.

TOTAL
6 6 9 8 7 36


#6 Phoenix Suns
Sport: Basketball

Facebook: 717,347 “Likes”
Pinterest: N/A

Notable Marketing: The Suns have a social
media sideline reporter to keep fans up to date.
They are also active on Foursquare, LinkedIn, and
Google+. The “show us your game face” campaign
allowed fans to upload photos of themselves
cheering for a chance to win tickets. Phoenix is
among the most innovative teams in social media,
consistently pushing the envelope before others.

TOTAL
5 8 6 9 8 36


#7 Liverpool F.C.

Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: N/A
Pinterest: 2,378 Followers

Notable Marketing: Liverpool’s mobile app, LFC
Connect, allows users to link up with the various
Liverpool social media accounts as well as with its
own social network, the Kop. The club is engaging
fans on an even higher level by asking fans to
design the background for their Twitter page.
Liverpool’s Twitter feed won a Shorty Award for
best use of Twitter by a sports team!

TOTAL
9 6 7 6 7 35


#8 Miami Heat
Sport: Basketball

Foursquare: N/A

Notable Marketing: The Heat ran a “Hot Heat
Fan” playoff contest that asked fans to upload a
photo of themselves, dressed in white Heat gear
and holding a sign, to enter to win the opportunity
to be in the Heat’s playoffs video. Like the Lakers,
the Heat understand how to use Instagram. They
also have a mobile app with social integration and
a Miami Heat Browser theme.

TOTAL
8 7 6 8 7 35


#9 Los Angeles Kings
Sport: Hockey


Notable Marketing: The Kings have thrown the
social media etiquette guide aside, opting for an
unapologetically biased and comedic approach to
engaging fans. From poking fun at opposing teams
to sending The Office’s Rainn Wilson Jell-O encased
post-season tix, their unique style has led to 60k
new Twitter followers since April. They also ran an
effective 250K Strong campaign on Facebook.

TOTAL
5 8 9 6 7 35


#10 New Jersey Devils
Sport: Hockey

Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: 203 Followers

Notable Marketing: The Devils may lack the
social media following of other teams, but their
Mission Control Center makes the Prudential Center
one of the most digitally interactive arenas. They
are first to use Doodle.ly, a social sketch site, in a
campaign to find a new rally towel design for the
Stanley Cup playoffs. The Devils’ fan engagement
ranks first among top social media teams.

TOTAL
4 9 9 7 6 35


#11 FC Barcelona

Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: N/A

Notable Marketing: Barcelona is well aware of
its presence in China, launching a nationwide
contest on Weibo that will give three lucky winners
the opportunity to go to El Clasico and receive a
guided tour of Barcelona. The FCB Alert app on
Facebook allows users from all over the world to
receive a unique experience that is tailored to their
demographic or geographical identity.

TOTAL
10 8 4 5 7 34


#12 Tampa Bay Lightning
Sport: Hockey

Foursquare: N/A

Notable Marketing: The Lightning’s Be the
Thunder campaign allowed fans to tweet head-to-
head against The Lightning’s on ice opponent
instantly making fans more involved in the game.
Tampa Bay has the first comprehensive social
media rewards program designed for a single major
national sporting event as well as the first RFID-
based loyalty program.

TOTAL
4 7 7 9 7 34


#13 Arsenal F.C.

Facebook: 10,223,465 ”Likes”
Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: N/A
Pinterest: N/A

Notable Marketing: Arsenal has a number of
features on their page, including a Match Day Live
app with a 360 panorama view from the stadium.
As a thank you to their fans for passing the
monumental 10 million “Likes” mark on Facebook,
the Gunners are running a contest that offers fans
tickets, gear, and even a special video message
from one of the players.

TOTAL
9 8 4 5 7 33


#14 New York Jets
Sport: Football


Notable Marketing: The Jets launched a
#JetsHunt, which used social media outlets to give
fans clues and the chance to win tickets. In
addition, the Jets put up a Social Media Hot Spot
tent at their 2011 training camp, making it one of
the most ambitious social media-oriented NFL
training camps. Not much of a surprise considering
the Jets’ propensity for ambitious chit-chat.

TOTAL
5 7 7 7 7 33


#15 Real Madrid C.F.

Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: N/A
Pinterest: N/A

Notable Marketing: Madrid has plans to outfit
Santiago Bernabeu arena with technologically
advanced systems to support social media activity.
This will make Real Madrid the first soccer club in
Europe to deploy the Cisco Connected Stadium Wi-
Fi solution, and it will make their arena one of the
most digitally advanced in the world. This club may
soon find themselves climbing the rankings.

TOTAL
10 8 4 4 6 32


#16 Seattle Sounders


Notable Marketing: The Sounders have a sleek,
fan-centric website, and their Are You Sounders
Ready? Facebook app allows users to engage on a
higher level with the club’s timeline, offering a
game schedule, video, Foursquare badges, and a
list of Seattle pubs where fans can watch games.
The Sounders get special recognition for actively
marketing on all 5 social platforms assessed.

TOTAL
7 5 6 6 8 32


#17 Cleveland Indians
Sport: Baseball

Foursquare: 645 Followers
Instagram: N/A

Notable Marketing: The ‘Social Suite’ at
Progressive Field is dedicated to writers, bloggers,
and social media enthusiasts. Their “Tribevibe” and
“Step into the Home” blogs provide fans with a
behind-the-scenes look at the organization. These
blogs also help promote special ticket offers and
opportunities to meet Indian alumni as well as
members of the organization’s front office.

TOTAL
4 8 8 6 6 32


#18 Boston Bruins
Sport: Hockey

Foursquare: N/A
Pinterest: N/A

Notable Marketing: The Bruins’ mobile app
provides real time stats, instant goal alerts,
breaking news, schedules, up-to-date player stats,
league standings, exclusive videos, and a fantasy
game. The Bruins have launched “DEN” (Digital
Entertainment Network), which integrates their
mobile, digital, and social assets into one network
and reaches more than 2.5 million fans per month.

TOTAL
6 8 6 4 7 31


#19 Manchester United F.C.

Foursquare: N/A
Instagram: N/A
Pinterest: N/A

Notable Marketing: In an effort to tap into
their global online fan base, Man U partnered with
SapientNitro to create their own social network
called Manutdnetwork.com. The club’s recent
Facebook Goal Challenge offered fans unique
interactive content that featured club superstars
Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Nani, Chris
Smalling, and Edwin van der Sar.

TOTAL
9 7 4 3 7 30


#20 Golden State Warriors
Sport: Basketball

Foursquare: 794 Followers

Notable Marketing: The Warriors currently rank
first in the NBA in in-arena mobile check-ins,
averaging more than 1,800 check-ins per game.
Their Home Court Advantage sweeps, similar to
their Dub the Vote contest, allows fans to send in
content and win a chance to play Nate Robinson in
the Warrior’s practice facility. Golden State knows
how to give back to it’s fans.

TOTAL
4 4 7 8 6 29


X FIRST TEAMS OUT
• Montreal Canadiens
 The Canadiens acknowledge their online fan base daily with a social media fan of the day.
Habs fans are encouraged to submit content that explains why they deserve to be the fan
of the day. The storied NHL franchise also maintains a Pinterest account and a mobile app
to help rally additional fan support.

• New England Patriots
 The Patriots are running a “Gronking” photo contest where fans submit their most creative
imitation with a chance to win a signed Gronkowski jersey. The Patriots also have a huge
Pinterest following.

• Vancouver Canucks
 The Canucks’ mobile app features full player bios and stats, league standings, full
broadcast schedule and all stories, photo galleries, and video features from Canucks.com.
In addition, the Canucks were the first NHL team to launch a Foursquare badge.

• New York Yankees
 The Derek Jeter fan vote feature on their timeline is sleek, featuring athlete video clips and
voting functions that allow fans to vote their favorite home runs from Jeter’s career.


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