November 2020 saw a return to Level 5 restrictions, and despite the undoubted frustration for sporting organisations, they once again stepped up to provide excellent content across social media for their fans and followers.

Olytico analysed the performance of 31 members of Sport for Business and collectively, they published over 8,600 posts across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The 8,664 posts analysed was the highest monthly figure for 2020, and an increase of 9 per cent on October.  They generated over 2.98 million engagements in the form of likes, shares, comments, and retweets.

Whilst this represents an 8 per cent decrease on October, it should be viewed in the context of October’s record-breaking figures.

November’s engagement levels are still the second-highest seen in 2020, and an impressive 41 per cent higher than September which was the third-highest month for engagements.

The fall in total engagements is directly linked to the IRFU and FAI Instagram accounts who were 15 per cent less active than in October.

Coupled with this, the analysis reveals only 8 out of the 31 members increased their average engagement per post on Instagram in November.

22 organisations* including the FAI and the four provincial rugby accounts, (five major players who have traditionally thrived on the platform), all showed a decrease in their average engagements per post. The coming months will show if October was an anomaly, or if Instagram has potentially reached saturation point.

November 2020 saw the number of tweets increase 11 per cent compared to October (to just under 5,000), with Facebook posts increasing 9 per cent (over 2,600 in total) and Instagram increasing by a modest 1 per cent to 1,078 posts.

Twitter’s share of posts increased by 1 percentage point to 57 per cent overall. Facebook’s share of posts at 30 per cent has levelled off after three months of decline, whilst November saw the first fall in Instagram’s share of posts in three months (down 2 per cent to 12 per cent).

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.

*(excluding Irish Sailing who have only joined the report this month)

 

 

November 2020 Highlights on Twitter

 

Over 4,900 tweets were sent by member organisations in November, up 11 per cent on October, and a significant increase in activity on the platform for the fifth month in a row.

Overall engagements on Twitter fell 2% (from 325,010 to 317,700), the first decrease in over 3 months.

As we come to the conclusion of their season, the GAA were the most active organisation on Twitter for the 8th month in a row. With over 1,000 tweets in November.  This represents an increase of 26 per cent on the previous month.

The organisation commemorated the 14 lives lost on Bloody Sunday 100 years ago with a specially commissioned video tribute which has been viewed over 50,000 times to date.

The GAA were joined in the top three by Ladies Football whose 753 tweets more than doubled their October output, and Leinster Rugby, who despite increasing their numbers from October by 23 per cent slipped down to 3rd.

It’s the third impressive month in a row for the Ladies Football account who launched their #LearntoLead Female Leadership programme in conjunction with Sport Ireland.

Swim Ireland re-entered the top 10 with 125 tweets (a 25 per cent increase on October) as they held time trials ahead of next year’s Olympics and congratulated Shane Ryan on his excellent form and performances in the International Swimming League.

Basketball Ireland continues to create engaging social content, and November saw the launch of their ‘Behind the Ball’ interview series in support of #20×20, the campaign kicking off with Rachel Vanderwal, one of Irish Basketball’s greatest imports. The series continues across Basketball Ireland’s social media channels every Thursday at 5 pm.

Once again, the FAI held off strong competition from their oval ball counterparts to top the Twitter engagement stakes for November.

With an average of 388 engagements per post, this was nearly double that of second-placed IRFU (176).

Reflecting their activity levels, the GAA entered the top three for the first time in 2020 with 73 average engagements per post – Joe Canning’s sublime skill in the All Ireland Hurling Semi-Final proving to be their most engaged with content with over 70,000 views to date reminding us of how real-time highlights resonate with Irish sports fans.

 

The Golfing Union of Ireland and Irish Ladies Golf accounts doubled their average engagements per post in November (27 and 25 average engagements per post respectively). The Golfing Union of Ireland rose to 10th place overall, their highest position since July, as they continued to push for the return to golf courses post lockdown.

The FAI claimed the top spot on the podium for Twitter engagement content during November with their tribute to Argentinian football Legend Diego Maradona who passed away last week. Their tribute, featuring Maradona in action against the Republic of Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 1980 generated over 6,000 likes and 500 retweets.

 

November 2020 Highlights on Facebook

 

 

Facebook activity increased from October with a 9 per cent rise in the number of posts from 2,410 to 2,628.  However, this was not reflected in engagements, as they fell 2 per cent from 394,775 to 388,443 engagements, the first monthly decrease since August.

The GAA created 698 posts, an increase of 33 per cent on October, and Leinster Rugby with 311 posts, an increase of 22 per cent, were the most active organisations on Facebook for the second month in a row and were joined in the top three by Ladies Gaelic Football whose 186 posts were an increase of 52 per cent on October, securing their highest position since May 2020.

Camogie continues to rise, jumping to 4th place overall with 145 posts during October.  Cavan’s victory over Tyrone in the Nancy Murray Cup Final and the trophy lift proving to be their most engaged with post this past month.

Mirroring a successful month on Twitter, Gymnastics Ireland Facebook account climbed to 15th place overall in the activity stakes (48 posts, an increase of 200 per cent on October) which is their highest position in 2020 to date.

Their 48 Facebook posts generated over 800 reactions, 200+ comments and 200+ shares; their annual #GymStart Challenge Takeover proving to be very popular with their members once again.

Irish Rugby rose to the top spot for Facebook engagements for the first time since March 2020, their average of 686 engagements per post (an increase of 7 per cent on October) can be attributed to the return to action in the Autumn Nations Cup.

The FAI (432 engagements per post, a decrease of 41% on the previous month) and Ulster Rugby (303 average engagements per post, an increase of 4% on October) completed the top three places.

Irish Rugby’s full-time post after the Autumn Nations Cup victory against Wales was the most popular Facebook content across the Sport For Business Membership during November enjoying over 6,600 reactions, 350+ comments with the post being shared on more than 700 occasions.

 

November 2020 Highlights on Instagram

 

 

Whilst the platform couldn’t replicate October’s incredible growth in engagements, Instagram still provides an impressive 76 per cent of total engagements across the three main channels.

A small increase in posts compared to October (1 per cent from 1,072 to 1,078) still generated 2.29 million likes and comments; and whilst engagements were down 9 per cent on the previous month, it is relative and should be viewed in the context of a phenomenal October.

The analysis saw the first fall in market share of posts the platform has seen in 3 months (down 2 per cent), and this alongside a record October explains the overall 2 per cent drop in the share of engagements

Leinster Rugby reclaimed their top spot from the Irish Rugby account, increasing their activity 18 per cent from October (from 137 to 161 posts).

November 8th  was their busiest day on the channel, posting on 14 occasions to keep fans up to date with the latest from the game away to the Ospreys in Swansea.

It was their post celebrating James Lowe’s debut for Ireland which resonated most with their fans though, generating close to 13,000 interactions (likes and comments) showing the impact the winger has had during his time in Ireland.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby)

Second and third respectively, Irish Rugby and the FAI both saw a decrease in activity on Instagram; Irish Rugby activity fell 15 per cent (from 156 to 133 posts) and FAI activity fell 16 per cent (from 113 to 95 posts).

Badminton Ireland had their most active month for 2020, their 54 posts (an increase of 54 per cent on October) saw them rise to their highest ever position of 6th in the Instagram activity charts.

Regular posts from the Portuguese International fixture culminated in their highest engaged post as Rachael Darragh and Sara Boyle claimed a silver medal, generating over 180 interactions (likes and comments).

Gymnastics Ireland completed a successful month across the three main social media channels, rising to 14th in the Instagram activity charts, their highest position to date.

Generating close to 4,000 likes which can be attributed in the main to their #GymStart Takeover Challenge activation, it shows the added value and amplification campaigns can have if activated consistently across the three main channels.

In a noticeable change of strategy, the Camogie Association posted on 9 occasions, increasing their output with content from the Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals.

Whilst their output decreased, the IRFU topped the engagement table with an average of 6,954 interactions per post (an increase of 12 per cent on October). They were joined by the GAA (with an average of 4,645 interactions per post) and the FAI (4,263 interactions per post) in the top 3.

The FAI’s post thanking David McGoldrick for his service as he announced his retirement from international football claimed the top spot for engagement on Instagram for November October with over 24,000 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

 

Sport for Business Partners