THE RAPID RISE OF UNOFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA FANBASES...AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SPONSORSHIP.

The above trend is by no means restricted to Premiership football in the UK.  Take a look across the sports spectrum and you'll see that unofficial social media fanbases eclipse their official counterparts in size.

By official, we mean facebook and twitter accounts created and managed by the rights holder.  By unofficial, we're talking about forums, facebook and twitter accounts run by passionate fans.

The sheer number of unofficial 'hosts' is partly responsible for the big difference in size of total fanbase.  Just google 'Manchester United Forum' and you'll quickly find yourself on a journey across numerous fan communities, both big and small, from Manchester to Mumbai.

Do fans want official content or authentic content?

The difference in content between official and unofficial fanbases has a role to play too.  Official fanbases have the federal integrity that comes with, well being official.  However, the unofficial fanbases' have a secret weapon: authenticity.  These communities are run by fans, for fans.  Sports fans, just like people, like to be amongst likeminded others who think like them, act like them and care about the same things as them.   Being a member of an unofficial fan community is more like a trip to the pub than an hour in the boardroom.  

Two take outs for sponsorship players:

1. For rights holders, there's an increasing and pressing need to gather, nurture and grow an official fanbase that is fed with official content.  This requires rights holders to better understand what their fanbase wants and when they want it.  This is the solid base for a more active social media strategy that will stimulate fanbase growth and retention.

2. For sponsors, unofficial fanbases are rich territory.  Depending on your brand strategy, which may or may not require the 'official' stamp of the rights holder, they're an attractive proposition: big, active and authentic communities of passionate fans.  However, unofficial fanbases are sacred turf.  When dealing with these communities of arguably more 'real fans', sponsors must really add value to earn the right to join the family.  Badging and PR stunts will get you nowhere.

In each case, quality of content and commitment to the community counts.

Keep listening and keep helping if you want to grow a bigger, more engaged fanbase. 

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SOCIAL MEDIA GETS YOUR SPONSORSHIP ASSETS WORKING MUCH HARDER

Brands often find themselves in the position where their Sponsorship assets no longer deliver for their business. Whether your business has grown tired of a particular Sponsorship, your objectives have changed, or the contract of rights you signed for X years no longer appears to be relevant, Social Media offers a compelling opportunity to strengthen your Sponsorship strategy.  

Over 70% of Social Media usage is driven by people’s interests (Source: November 2010 Robinson Pincus with 2CV - 501 respondents) with likeminded individuals coming together in tribes for shared experiences around shared passions. These tribes are not elusive clouds of faceless followers but physical networks of content-hungry consumers that are of huge value to brands: a hotbed of raw data, inspirational insight and creative energy.

We access these tribes and draw out their insights.  We pinpoint passionate, vocal leaders and new potential audiences that watch from the outskirts of passion-powered communities.  We explore their behaviour and answer valuable questions that inform better Sponsorship platforms: how do they like to consume content? What do they like to share?  Where would they appreciate help in getting more of their passions? etc.

Combine this insight with a brand’s desire to engage and grow a bigger consumer base (through content that is shared) and you have a very powerful new approach to Sponsorship.  An approach that reconnects your brand with your assets and opens up a richer brand-consumer relationship with a big, targeted audience.

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