Olytico’s analysis for May 2025 encompasses over 14,500 posts, 4.6 million engagements and close to 24 million views of Sport for Business member organisations’ content on TikTok.

The last three months (March, April and May 2025) were the busiest months on record since Olytico’s analysis began.

May saw impressive engagement figures for Facebook (+20%), highlighting that whilst platforms may see fluctuations in popularity and prominence throughout the sporting year, they all still play a vital role in sport’s digital communications landscape.

It was a busy month for the League of Ireland which is reflected in their impressive standings in the ‘engagements per thousand followers metric’ and the United Rugby Championship deserve special recognition for their staggering 13 million views on TikTok during May – a figure we expect to see broken when it comes to June’s analysis thanks to their Play-Off series content, and a home final for Leinster at Croke Park.

Katie McCabe’s success with Arsenal delivered success for the Ireland Football accounts, and McCabe featured in the top five posts for the organisation on X, and Facebook, three of the top five posts on Instagram, and the top three posts on TikTok.

Throughout this week’s coverage, we have ranked each organisation across a range of metrics on each network, including the most active, the most engaged with, and the most engaging content, as well as engagements per 1,000 followers where possible.

It is important to note that this analysis is based on publicly available data. It does not include any analysis or insight on paid or promoted content. When % figures are used (unless otherwise stated), they refer to the previous month’s figures.

Here is how our monthly report coverage will shape up during the week.

X Analysis – Monday
Facebook Analysis – Tuesday
Instagram Analysis – Wednesday
TikTok Analysis – Thursday

 

May 2025 Highlights on X

 

 

Activity on X fell by 4% in May, though the 6,299 posts published on the platform did generate 212,194 engagements, an increase of five percent on last month.

Last year the numbers were 6,600 and 258,941 respectively.

Dublin GAA (858, -1%) topped the X activity charts for the second month in a row as Tom Lahiff’s last gasp point sealed the win for their Senior Footballers against Galway. In second, the League of Ireland (855, +7%) showcased this finish from Mason Melia in the Dublin Derby and in third, the GAA (599, -1%) saw the Delaney Cup heading back to county Louth.

 

 

 

 

Rowing Ireland (87, +156%) claimed a Bronze with Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia in the A Final of the Men’s Double Sculls at the 2025 European Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, andSquash Ireland (50, +100%) celebrated as Sam Buckley (World #116) took down the World #7 Marwan Elshorbagy in a five game thriller.

The Ireland Football account (368, +130%) topped the X average engagements per post metric, and they were followed by Irish Rugby (150, +76%) and the GPA (113, +319%).

The Ireland Football account number is double what it was a year ago.

Athletics Ireland (108, +192%) showed us the post-race scenes as the 4x400m team qualified for the World Championships.

 

 

The League of Ireland (364) topped the average engagements per 1,000 followers metric, ahead of Athletics Ireland and Shamrock Rovers.

 

 

The most engaged with content on X in May came from the Ireland Football account, as the team welcomed Katie McCabe back into camp after winning the Champions League with Arsenal, to date this content has close to 10,000 public engagements and has had over 600,00 views

 

X Analysis – Monday
Facebook Analysis – Tuesday
Instagram Analysis – Wednesday
TikTok Analysis – Thursday

 

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 ross@olytico.com

 

Digital Infrastructure Event

 

 

An event with leaders in the field looking at how Irish sporting organisations and sponsors can play at the top of their game in the Digital world. Scheduled for August 29th.  Let us know below if you are interested and we will be in touch.

 

The Latest Sport for Business Podcast

 

Further Reading for Sport for Business members:

Check out more of our Sport for Business coverage of Social Media

 

 

SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE

There are some positive signs this month that a recent drop of engagement numbers on X is beginning to level off.  And more to come over the rest of the week.

MEMBERSHIP AND EVENTS

All the sporting organisations listed in this analysis are full members of the Sport for Business community.

Find out more about becoming a member today.

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

Each of the other Social Media Channels will be covered over the next three days.

Sport for Business is in planning for major events bringing together leaders in Irish Sport and Business across a range of subjects in the second half of the year.

On Thursday, August 29th we will host a special event looking at Digital infrastructure including the use of AI in sport..

Register your interest in joining us for this event above

Find out More about Our Sport for Business Events Programme Here

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