'If the fans are there, we'll go there' - Arsenal social media producer on the challenges of keeping up with emerging social platforms
“I wouldn’t say traditional media is dead, but it is very interesting the way social media is so widely consumed and how important it is in trying to reach people,” remarked Michael Antwi, social media producer at Arsenal Football Club and judge at this year’s Social Buzz Awards.
With mobile phones increasingly becoming an extension of consumers’ lives Antwi told The Drum, for a brand like Arsenal, a strong presence on social media is vital to keep fan engagement high.
“We use social media for a variety of reasons but first and foremost it’s about engagement, it’s about bringing our fans closer to the club and what’s happening. It’s also a driver for CRM to help funnel people onto our own platforms and essentially commercialise them for advertising,” he said.
Facebook and Twitter, unsurprisingly, are big hitters for the club with active profiles on YouTube, Instagram, Soundcloud and Pinterest also part of the mix. “We’re in talks with other platforms that we haven’t officially launched,” he revealed, adding “we’re always keeping a watchful eye.”
As new platforms emerge at pace Antwi claimed “if the fans are there we’ll go there” citing YouTube as a prime example of this mentality. “We weren’t sure if fans wanted us to be on there at first and there were a lot of considerations, would they [fans] use it? Would they consume our content?” he explained.
“We ran a couple of tests and we saw we we’re getting the views. We want to give our fans as much access to the club as we can, it’s the Arsenal way and the Arsenal culture, if it’s where our audience are and we can use it effectively that’s where we’ll be.”
Worldwide Arsenal boasts 124 officially recognised supporters’ clubs in more than 62 countries, with another 20 countries currently in the process of submitting applications, and catering to the global fanbase embraced rather than feared according to Antwi.
“We see it as something positive,” he said. “From an Arsenal perspective I’ve encouraged localisation not just translation, I don’t want us just to translate what’s on our UK page into another language but rather understand what the culture is and how we can integrate.”
Of social content Antwi explained that the emergence and importance of online video has had a major impact this year alone, with the club reaping the benefits of adding video content to its Facebook page.
“We’ve seen Twitter add video and apps like Periscope and Meerkat built around engaging content that’s not traditional media. You Tube are also having conversations about how it can enable people to watch videos in areas where they don’t have great reception, which speaks volumes for the importance of video in this market,” he added.
As a judge at this year’s Social Buzz Awards Antwi said he was eager to see “how other industries use social media to engage their fans” as well as “creativity and innovation from those who may not have the biggest budgets”.
“One thing I don’t like personally is brands that use social media for social media’s sake,” he warned. “There has to be a clear aim with social media part of an overall plan, not just because it’s cool.”
The Deadline for entries to the Social Buzz Awards is Friday 14 August with an awards ceremony set for Wednesday 25 November at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in London.