The upheaval in social media over the past week is something we will be exploring in terms of its impact on Irish sport and sporting organisations.

For the moment though, the past month proved to be another winner across the platforms.

As the Women’s National Team qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2023, and with the climax of the domestic soccer seasons, medals in the boxing ring, and Finals on the Gymnastics floor, October’s Sport for Business analysis covers a plethora of exceptional Irish sporting success.

With 9,944 posts (up three percent on September) and 2.76 million engagements (an increase of 32 percent on the previous month) Olytico’s analysis uncovers the stories behind October’s Irish Sport on Social Media.

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 with, and the most engaging content as well as 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 on paid or promoted content. When percentage figures are used (unless otherwise stated), they refer to the previous month’s figures.

 

October 2022 Highlights on Twitter

 

 

Activity on Twitter increased for the first time in three months, with October’s 5,566 tweets a small four percent increase on September. Engagements on the platform saw a marked increase of 27 percent rising to 380,889.

Eight out of the top ten accounts ranked by activity increased their output in October.

As their season concluded, the SSE Airtricity League account topped these charts for the second month in a row, their 610 posts a 17 percent increase on September – Shamrock Rover’s Jack Byrne’s finish against Sligo proving to be their top content for the month, generating more than 65,000 views to date.

 


In second, the Ladies Football account (378, +39 percent) announced Michelle Davoren of Kilmacud Crokes as the LGFA Player of the Month, and in third Leinster Rugby (368, +45 percent) said farewell and thank you to Mick Dawson, their CEO of 21 years.

 

 

In tenth place, the GAA (234, +111 per cent) announced their PWC All-Star Hurling and Football Teams of the Year which featured seven Limerick and Kerry players respectively.

Swim Ireland (54, +54 per cent) recognised Dave Malone as the Performance Coach of the Year at their 2022 Awards and Gymnastics Ireland (28, +17 percent) reported on Rhys McClenaghan qualifying in 1st place for the Pommel Final at the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool.

For the second month in a row, the FAI topped the Twitter engagement charts, with an average of 460 engagements per tweet, up 54 percent on the previous month.

In second, Cricket Ireland (249, +820 percent) kept fans up to date with all the latest from the T20 World Cup in Australia, including a rain-affected victory against England (link).

 


In third, Irish Rugby (145, -32 percent) reported from the successful #EmergingIreland tour to South Africa; whilst closer to home Munster Rugby in seventh (67, +42 percent) remembered Anthony Foley, six years after his tragic passing.

The Women’s National League account topped the ‘average engagements per 1,000 followers’ metrics with an average of 646 engagements, an increase of 46 percent on their previous month’s output – their top content included this tweet which visualised the permutations and potential drama heading into the final day of the season which ultimately resulted in Shelbourne FC being crowned Champions.

 


The FAI took the engagement crown for October thanks to the success of the Women’s National Team as they qualified for the 2023 FIFA World Cup with victory over Scotland.

To date, the tweet has generated close to 23,000 public engagements in the form of likes and retweets, and is the second month in a row that the WNT has generated the top content on Twitter.

 

October 2022 Highlights on Facebook

 

 

Facebook activity rose a marginal one percent from the previous month to 2,935 posts, however, engagements on the platform rose an incredible 76 percent to 815,250.

The League of Ireland topped the activity charts for the second month in a row with 417 posts, an increase of 24 percent on the previous month’s output. They were followed in second by the Ladies Gaelic Football account (287, +17 percent) the top content for both accounts featured congratulations to the Women’s National Football team on their World Cup Qualification.

 

In third, Leinster Rugby (196, +21 percent) celebrated new caps for Tadgh McElroy, Charlie Tector, and Ben Brownlee as they debuted against the Scarlets.

Special mention to Irish Sailing (37, +28 percent) who crowned Ger Owens as the winner of the 2022 Irish Sailing Champions’ Cup.

The FAI topped the engagement charts for the first time in 2022 with an average of 2,750 engagements per post, an increase of 371 percent on the previous month.

In second, were Irish Rugby (994, +80 percent), and in third Cricket Ireland (938, +705 percent).

Paralympics Ireland (210, +262 percent) congratulated Katie O’Brien who was named The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Month for September after she won gold at the World Championships in the four-boat PR2 single sculls, beating the reigning world champion Kathryn Ross.

Badminton Ireland (71, +29 percent) had reason to celebrate themselves as Rachael Darragh caused a massive upset when she defeated number 3 seed, Julie Dawall Jakobsen, to progress to the last 16 of the Dutch Open.

With an average of 892 engagements per 1,000 followers and an increase of 317 percent on September, the FAI topped this metric, with the League of Ireland (810) and Connacht Rugby (335) in second and third, respectively.

Top Facebook content for October came from the FAI , as they showcased some stunning play that led to Jack Douglas’ first international goal – the post has generated over 180,000 engagements and an incredible 2.4 million views to date.

  

October 2022 Highlights on Instagram

 

 

After a disappointing September, Instagram activity continued to fall very slightly with a one percent decrease to 1,443 posts; however, engagements on the platform bounced back strongly, the 1.57 million engagements a 27 percent increase on the previous month’s 1.33 million.

For the fourth month in a row, the League of Ireland topped the Instagram activity charts, their 337 posts a 10 percent increase on their output the previous month as they crowned Shamrock Rovers the SSE Airtricity Champions for 2022 (link).

 


In second, Leinster Rugby (91, +44 per cent) celebrated a hard-fought victory against the Cell C Sharks, a game in which the BKT URC (in fifth place with 75 posts, +six percent) saw an early Try of the Season contender from the Sharks.

In 11th place, the Gaelic Players Association account (36, +414 percent) remembered Damian Casey as he was named the Nickey Rackard Cup Player of the Year for 2022.

 


Irish Rugby returned to the top of the Instagram engagement table with an average of 5,745 engagements per post, a 157 percent increase on the previous month.

Top content for the account in October came as Andy Farrell named his squad for the Bank of Ireland Nations Series games against South Africa, Fiji and Australia. The FAI (4,239, +24 percent) finished in second with the BKT URC (2,839, +26percent) in third, their highest finish to date.

The Northern Ireland national team (1,735, +54 percent) discovered who they would be facing in their Euro 2024 Qualification group, Cricket Ireland (1,088, +152 percent) celebrated Andrew Balbirnie’s Player of the Match performance against England and Team Ireland (468, +61 percent) celebrated three Golds, 2 Silvers and 1 Bronze at the Elite European Women’s Boxing Championships.

 

 

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For the second month in a row the League of Ireland topped the ‘Average Engagements per 1,000 followers’ table with 3,901, an increase of 31 percent on their performance last month, the Women’s National League (1,818, +161 percent) reached the top three for the first time as they crowned DLR Waves as the EA Sports U19 National League of Ireland Champions and Connacht Rugby (1,153, + 354 percent) hosted a fixture for the first time on the new and improved Sportsground playing surface.

The top Instagram content for October came from the FAI as they celebrated ‘The Historical Moment’ as Amber Barrett secured the WNT’s place in the 2023 World Cup. The goal footage has generated close to 27,000 public engagements to date.

 

October 2022 Engagement Per 1,000 Followers

 

 

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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