December 2020 saw a number of major sporting moments in Ireland, not least the culminations of the GAA season in Croke Park. As tighter Level 5 restrictions were introduced, Sport for Business member organisations used their social media accounts to inform the public on what is now permitted, and kept their followers involved and engaged with innovative content across multiple platforms.
Olytico analysed the performance of 31 members of Sport for Business and collectively, they published over 6,500 posts across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The 6,525 posts analysed (a decrease of 25% on November) generated over 1.82 million engagements in the form of likes, shares, comments, and retweets. Whilst this represents a 39% decrease on November, it should be viewed in the context of the decrease in overall posts, a reduction in activity due to Covid restrictions and the festive period.
As a point of comparison, the previous two years both saw a larger relative decline (31 % in 2019) and the growth of social media’s importance can be seen from the year on year numbers for the month rising by 20% in terms of numbers of posts and by 30% in terms of engagements.
December 2020 saw a significant reduction in activity across all three of the main platforms.
Twitter saw the largest decrease, with the number of tweets falling 29% compared to November (to just over 3,500), Facebook posts fell 21% (just over 2,000 in total), and whilst Instagram activity fell by the smallest percentage (-13% vs November), it was the platform’s least active month since August 2020.
Twitter share of posts fell 3% (the platform’s first fall since July 2020), but it remains the most used platform accounting for 54% of all social activity from the 31 Sport for Business members analysed. Facebook increased their share of activity month on month for the first time since June 2020 (up 2% to 32% overall) and Instagram saw a similar 2% increase (up to 14% overall)
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 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.
<strong>December 2020 Highlights on Twitter</strong>
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Over 3,500 tweets were sent by member organisations in December, down 29% on the previous month; this fall in activity resulted in a 53% decrease in engagements on the platform compared to November.
December saw Twitter’s overall share of engagement fall 3% to 8% overall, the platform’s lowest monthly share in 2020.
There was no change in the top three most active accounts on Twitter. The GAA completed 2020, (and a 10 month stretch at the top of the activity charts) with 647 posts, followed by Ladies Football’s 345 posts and Leinster Rugby with 323 posts. Twitter activity from these top three accounts was down on average by over 50%, which was in line with the majority of the organisations analysed.
However, there were some notable exceptions: Connacht Rugby in 6th place (275 posts, an increase of 81% on November), Swim Ireland in 9th following their #IrishWinterMeet coverage (150 posts, an increase of 20% on November) and Athletics Ireland in 11th thanks to their series of 2020 flashbacks (106 posts, an increase of 19% on November).
Horse racing was to the fore in the time between Christmas and New Year when the Leopardstown Racing Festival generated enough content to have Horse Racing Ireland’s account secure fifth place in the activity chart and a Top 10 place in engagement.
Special mention to Rowing Ireland who doubled their output from November (from 31 to 63 tweets), providing clear communication on the impact of level 5 restrictions to the sport and the promotion of their ‘Big Strong Girls’ Webinar with the Irish Senior Women’s Rowing Team.
The FAI completed an impressive 12 months in the top 3 of the Twitter engagement tables, finishing the year in first place for the ninth month in a row. With an average of 222 engagements per tweet, they held off Irish Rugby (with an average of 122 engagements per tweet) and Munster Rugby (averaging 104 engagements per tweet).
However, it was Munster Rugby’s tweet celebrating a famous comeback victory against Clermont Auvergne in the Champions Cup which took the prize for most engaged with Twitter content in December. The tweet celebrating the incredible 39-31 victory generated over 2,700 likes and was retweeted on more than 340 occasions.
<strong>December 2020 Highlights on Facebook</strong>
Facebook activity decreased from November with a 21% reduction in posts (from 2,228 to 2,065) and this was reflected in a 40% fall in engagements (from 388,443 to 232,165 engagements), the second monthly decrease in a row.
As with Twitter, there was no change in the top three most active organisations on Facebook from November to December. The rankings complete an impressive couple of months for the GAA, Leinster Rugby and Ladies Football social media teams. The GAA (452 posts), Leinster Rugby (242 posts) and Ladies Gaelic Football (124 posts) were the most active organisations on Facebook for the second month in a row.
Ireland Lacrosse rose to 24th place, and as highlighted in September’s analysis their selfless act in favour of the Iroquois Nationals resulted in them receiving a Musial Award, the first honouree from outside North America.
Irish Rugby kept their top spot for Facebook engagements, with an average of 541 engagements per post, the FAI (336 engagements per post) and Connacht Rugby (220 average engagements per post) completed the top three places.
Irish Rugby’s full-time post after the Autumn Nations Cup 31-16 victory against Scotland was the most popular Facebook content across the Sport for Business Members during December enjoying over 5,200 reactions, 460+ comments with the post being shared on more than 400 occasions.
<strong>December 2020 Highlights on Instagram</strong>
Whilst we have seen a reduction in engagements for the second month in a row, Instagram still accounts for 79% of all engagements across the three main social media channels. A 13% decrease in posts compared to November (1,078 to 943 posts) led to a significant 37% decrease in engagements (in real terms this equates to a decrease of 845,000 engagements month on month).
The Leinster Rugby, Irish Rugby and Munster Rugby accounts claimed a clean sweep for Rugby Union in the activity stakes, and whilst all three accounts saw a reduction in activity when compared to November (15%, 1% and 39% respectively) it was enough to keep them above three accounts that actually increased their output month on month – Athletics Ireland (71 posts, an increase of 20%), Connacht Rugby (59 posts, nearly doubling their output from November) and Horse Racing Ireland (52 posts, an increase of 30%).
Both Horse Racing Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland had impressive months on Instagram, with traditional Christmas racing and the inaugural Horse Sport Ireland Masters providing plenty of content opportunities.
For the first time since Olytico have been compiling the analysis for the Sport for Business community, there has been no change to the top three based on average Instagram engagements.
Irish Rugby led the way (5,583 engagements per post) closely followed by the GAA (5,479 engagements per post) with the FAI in third place (2,800 engagements per post). Significantly, out of the top three, only the GAA saw an increase in their month-on-month engagements, (up 18% on November’s figures) thanks to the rescheduled All-Ireland Finals.
Their post at the final whistle of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final, congratulating Limerick on their win was the most engaged with content for December, generating over 14,000 interactions.
Rugby accounts continue to dominate the top ten, filling five out of the top seven places. However, with fewer international fixtures, the opportunity for engagement decreased – with the notable exception of Munster, whose performances on the pitch were mirrored by an increase in average engagements compared to November.
The IRFU ’s post congratulating Brian O’Driscoll on his inclusion in the World Rugby Men’s 15s Team of the Decade claimed the clean sweep for Rugby this month and the top spot for engagement on Instagram for December, with close to 25,000 interactions to date.
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
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