March 2026 was the most active month on record for Sport for Business members on social.

Over 17,000 posts were published across X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok in March, producing 7.7 million engagements and an incredible 27.1 million TikTok views, with rugby and football driving engagement via the Irish Men’s Triple Crown, and the pursuit of a place in the FIFA World Cup.

March 2026 saw strong momentum across all of the major social platforms, with engagement growth outpacing content output as organisations delivered effective, story-driven content.

TikTok led the charge with record-breaking increases in views and interactions, while Instagram generated the highest overall engagement volume.

X and Facebook continued to play key roles in real-time and community engagement, respectively. Success was driven by major sporting moments and the strategic reuse of content across platforms.

In the infographics below, we have ranked each organisation across a range of metrics for each network, including the most active, the most engaged, the most engaging content, and, where possible, engagements per 1,000 followers.

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

Today, we focus on X and Facebook, with Instagram and TikTok to follow tomorrow.

 

March 2026 Highlights on X

 

 

Overview

Activity on X rose 28% in March with 5,819 posts published. This was accompanied by a 55% increase in engagements to 283,817 in month-on-month comparisons.

Comparison with the same period in 2025 shows a small dip in engagements, down from 296,911, driven by 6,349 posts.

This fall in engagement had been accelerating, but this month marks a slowdown in the decline from the 2024 high. Going further back to March 2022, when the platform was still known as Twitter but had just been acquired by Elon Musk, the number of engagements reached 413,199.

 

Highlights

 

The League of Ireland (770 posts, +18%) led activity on X as Max Mata’s late header won the match for St Pats against Shelbourne at Tolka Park.

 


In second, the NIFL (739, +9%) saw Linfield FC claim the BetMcLean Cup.

 


 

In third the GAA (658, +9%) showcased this outrageous 2-pointer off the deck from Kerry’s Sean O’Shea.

 


Gymnastics Ireland (28, +833%) brought home two medals from the Antalya World Cup as Rhys McClenaghan won gold, with teammate James Hickey winning a bronze.

 


The LOI Women’s account (259, +825%) kicked off their season with this top-notch finish from Treaty FC’s Katie Lawlee.

 


Horse Racing Ireland (130, +103%) took us behind the scenes as Envoi Allen prepared for Cheltenham with some flat work.

 


Irish Rugby recorded the highest average engagements per post on X at 435 (+17%), followed by Ireland Football (422, +68%) and Cricket Ireland (141, +18%).  Each of these figures also represented a substantial increase in the engagement per post from a year ago, when the figures were 312, 306 and 22, respectively, for each of the three bodies.  That is a strong positive and indicates the channel’s increasing focus on live second screening.

Ireland Football topped the average engagements per 1,000 followers metric (335).

Irish Rugby generated the most engaged with content on X in March as the Guinness Men’s Six Nations culminated on Super Saturday and a Triple Crown for the Irish Men’s team – the post has generated over 5,000 public engagements to date.

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

Image Credit: Sport for Business
If you would like to be part of the Sport for Business community and see your organisation in our content, on our stages, and in the conversation happening every day around the commercial world of Irish Sport, email us today and let’s see what is possible.

Image Credit: Sport for Business

 

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