In November 2019, the 29 organisations analysed as part of the monthly Sport for Business / Olytico analysis, all members of Sport for Business, published over 7,800 social media posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, an increase of 7% on October.
In addition, the 7,887 posts analysed generated almost 2.2 million engagements in the form of likes, shares, comments and retweets – a decrease on October, but in line with November 2018.
Activity increased across all three networks from October levels.
Instagram continues to be the main driver of engagement, with just under 1.6 million likes and comments generated – representing 71 per cent of the total engagement across all three platforms, the same as it was in October.
After months of domination by Irish Rugby, November represented a change in the top-performing organisations on both the engagement rankings and most engaged with posts across all three networks.
Despite challenges off the pitch, the FAI were the most engaged with organisation on Twitter, while on Instagram they were the most active organisation and their new jersey launch was the single most engaged with post.
Elsewhere, Irish Rugby, GAA, Ladies Football and Irish Hockey all featured prominently in November.
In the infographics below, we have ranked each of the organisations across a range of metrics on each network, including the most active, the most engaged and the most engaging content.
It’s important to note that this analysis is based on publicly available data. It doesn’t include any analysis or insight on paid or promoted content.
November 2019 Highlights on Twitter
The FAI jumped from second to the top spot in terms of engagement per post on Twitter, but there was also a major move from Irish Hockey, who took the second spot.
This was helped in no small part by the qualification of the Irish Senior Women who secured their qualification for the Olympics next year.
A single tweet after the penalty shoot-out success – “We’re going to Tokyo” – was the most engaged with post published by any of the 29 organisations on Twitter in November – with over 900 retweets and almost 7,000 likes.
A busy month of Super League action saw Basketball Ireland continue to feature prominently in the most active organisations on Twitter in November, although they were pipped for the top spot by Ladies Football with both the All-Ireland Club Finals and the TG4 All-Star Awards giving the organisation plenty to talk about.
Read the thoughts of the LGFA’s Social Media Maven Jackie Cahill in our new series
October 2019 Highlights on Facebook
While their engagements per post average dropped significantly on October figures on Facebook, Irish Rugby continued to set a new standard on the platform.
Their 68 posts generated over 44,000 engagements in the form of likes, shares and comments.
This included the single most engaged with post on Facebook in November – the announcement of the 2020 November International series in the Aviva Stadium, including a game against the newly crowned World Cup champions, South Africa.
The GAA remained the most active organisation on Facebook in November, with Leinster Rugby and Basketball Ireland making up the Top Three.
October 2019 Highlights on Instagram
Despite only posting 14 times throughout the month on Instagram, the GAA jumped from third to first in the Engagement ranking on the channel. They generated almost 5,300 likes or comments on average over the course of the month – a 59 increase on last month.
The FAI and Irish Rugby ranked second and third, and they were once again followed by the four Irish provincial rugby teams.
As we predicted last month, the Liberty Insurance All-Star trip to New York provided The Camogie Association with an excellent opportunity to meet the demand from their fans for content on Instagram.
They doubled their output month on month while maintaining over 1,000 engagements per post on average, suggesting the increased quantity resulted in no less quality in the eyes of their fans and followers.
The FAI was the most active organisation on Instagram in November – by a distance – with 100 posts in the month. This included the single most engaged with post on the network, announcing their new jersey.
The design was warmly greeted by fans, as evidenced in the 18,000 likes the image generated on Instagram.
If you would like to be part of the Sport for Business community and be added to the list, email us today and let’s see what is possible.
If you would like a more detailed analysis of your social media activity, contact stephen@olytico.com
Sport for Business, Olytico and Twitter hosted the best part of 150 professionals from across the Sport for Business network in October 2019 at our first Irish Sport on Social Media Conference. The feedback was great and we are certainly looking at making this into an annual event. You can see a short highlights reel from the day below.
We have also started a short series highlighting the work of some of our Social Media Mavens across our sports and business membership.
Those that we feature will come together for a springtime Members Round Table looking to encourage even greater excellence in what we do.
Image credit: Sport for Business
