In May 2019, the 25 organisations analysed as part of the monthly Sport for Business / Olytico analysis, all members of Sport for Business, published over 6,700 social media posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, an increase of 16% on April.
The 6,771 posts generated over 1.1 million engagements in the form of likes, shares, comments and retweets – an increase of 38% compared to the 800,000 in April.
Activity increased across all three platforms from April levels, with content published on Facebook rising the most, 22% month on month.
This was followed by Instagram, with 14% more posts in May, and Twitter, which increased by 13%, albeit off a larger baseline.
Across all three platforms, there were over 900 more posts when compared to April.
Instagram had the biggest impact once again in terms of engagement, with over 750,000 likes and comments generated – representing 69% of the total engagement across all three platforms (unchanged from April).
In May, Cricket Ireland took the top spot on Facebook – the first time a sporting organisation outside of the big three (Irish Rugby, FAI and GAA) has topped the table. This was due to packed ODI schedule, including matches against England, Afghanistan and the 2019 Walton ODI Tri-Series.
For the sixth month in a row, the FAI was at the top of the engagements chart on Twitter, with a birthday tweet to a former Irish manager being one of its best pieces of content.
The GAA retained top spot on Instagram for the second month in a row.
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.
May 2019 Highlights on Twitter
The FAI continued to top the charts when it came to engagement levels on Twitter in May with an average engagement rate of 148.
This included the most engaged with piece of Twitter content in May – a tweet wishing former Ireland manager Jack Charlton a happy 84th birthday, with over 4,531 likes and close to 350 retweets.
Cricket Ireland jumped from fifth to third most engaged with organisation on Twitter – and mirroring the trend on Facebook, their top post (over 1,700 likes and almost 100 retweets) was a tweet congratulating Bangladesh on their win at the 2019 Walton ODI Tri-Series.
Other notable moves came from new Sport for Business member Ireland Lacrosse who entered the Top 5 Most Engaged list (5th), and the GAA and Ladies Football who swapped places in the most active charts (1st and 3rd respectively).
May 2019 Highlights on Facebook
Cricket Ireland’s steady climb up the charts saw them jump from second most engaged-with organisation in April to the top spot in May with almost 400 likes, shares or comments on average per post.
The organisation shared a total of 155 posts during the month, including the most engaging piece of content from any of the 25 organisations – congratulating the Bangladesh team following their 2019 Walton ODI Tri-Series.
The post generated 3,391 likes, 160 comments and 83 shares.
It was followed closely in second place by a video shared by Go Racing showing the moment jockey Ruby Walsh announced his retirement from the sport, shortly after winning the Coral Punchestown Gold Cup. In addition to 113,000 views on Facebook, the video received 2,580 likes, 136 comments and 726 shares.
The GAA continue to be the most active organisation on Facebook with a total of 439 posts – an increase of 47% on April.
May 2019 Highlights on Instagram
The GAA maintained top spot as the most engaged with organisation on Instagram in May, their 15 posts generating an average engagement of over 5,800.
Popular posts from The GAA in May included a goal from Cork hurler Patrick Horgan, as well as a welcome post for the King and Queen of Sweden, who were visiting Croke Park.
Engagement with posts from the FAI increased by 33% month on month, lifting them into second place, as Irish Rugby dropped into third spot.
However, Irish Rugby continue to produce the top individual post each month.
In May, it was the announcement of Joe Schmidt’s 44-man Ireland training squad for the Rugby World Cup pre-season. The post generated over 16,000 likes and 174 comments.
The Ladies Gaelic Football Association kept its top spot for most active Instagram account with over 90 posts in May – a 26% increase from April.
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 more detailed analysis of your social media activity, contact stephen@olytico.com
