#SportOnSocial 2019 report

As more people access and are influenced by social media, International Sports Federations (IFs) have the potential to engage, excite and inspire more people than ever before through innovative and engaging social media communications.

At REDTORCH, we’re passionate about the positive impact sport can have on people and communities worldwide. The annual #SportOnSocial report is our way of encouraging IFs to innovate, improve their performance on social media, and subsequently positively influence more people.

2019 #SportOnSocial Overview

• 224k posts were analysed across four social media platforms.
• Over half of all content came from Twitter (53%), with many IFs using the platform to create conversations and provide live updates from events.
• All pages analysed had a combined 136.8 million fans.
• Instagram accounted for only 14.4% of all fans but had the second highest absolute growth (8.7m) and the fastest growth rate (47%). Will Instagram overtake Twitter in the next 12 months?

Rankings Overview

Headlines

FIFA topped the 2019 #SportOnSocial Overall Rankings Table, climbing 9 places from 2018. FIFA had significant success across all platforms – ranking #1 on both Instagram and YouTube, where performance in all metrics spiked during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

FIBA climbed to #2 overall, one place higher than 2018, having made significant improvements on YouTube as well as ranking #1 on Facebook. FIBA’s social media success can be attributed to international events, including the FIBA 3x3 World Cup and the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

BWF and ITF were the joint highest climbers; they both jumped 14 places to #12 and #20 respectively.

ISU remained the highest ranked winter IF as a result of ranking #2 on Twitter. The ISU Figure Skating channel saw substantial growth and engagement during the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships in March and the 2018–19 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in December.

Huge congratulations to all IFs for stepping up their social media game this year.

As Nelson Mandela famously said, “Sport has the power to change the world”.

Collectively, IFs can use social media to accelerate the positive impact sport can have on people and communities worldwide.

Be sure to download the full #SportOnSocial report for fascinating insights and platform breakdowns.