Social Content Opportunities For the Football Audience on Facebook in Q2 2023

Purpose of This Research

• ‍Identify white space content opportunities‍
• ‍Identify replicable production elements (formats, editing techniques, etc) that contribute to those content opportunities‍
• ‍Identify content themes that are not performing well and may be avoided

In order to drive the most effective possible Facebook content strategy possible to resonate with the Football audience.

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Top Facebook content themes in the Football space.

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Excellent Facebook content themes in the Football space.

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Okay Facebook content themes in the Football space.

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Poor Facebook content themes in the Football space.

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Compilation Videos

What are Compilation videos?

Compilation videos combine popular and entertaining themes from various forms of content to create engaging and captivating videos.

Production Elements From Top Performing Posts

• ‍4 minutes in duration on average.
• ‍15 videos were compiled together into one. 
• Videos with a common theme such as “worst shots” saw +172% more engagement than videos with no theme.
• Entertaining non-football-related content is mixed in with football content in some compilations.
• Add an extra layer of variety for viewer by incorporating non-football-related content  such as videos from a variety of sports showcasing exceptional athletic performances.

Examples

Views 241M | Engagements 2M

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Views 75M | Engagements 938K

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Views 50M | Engagements 532K

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Life Off The Field

What are Life Off The Field Videos?

Videos provide a unique perspective for fans to experience the multifaceted aspects of an athlete’s life off the field, such as Messi being a loving father and devoted husband. 

Production Elements From Top Performing Posts

• ‍4 minutes and 40 seconds in duration on average.
• ‍Story-telling captions are added to each video to help the viewer understand the context quickly and keep the viewer engaged.
• Videos are taken from Messi and his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo’s Instagram and compiled together to tell a story. 
• Accompany each video with story-telling captions and source videos from athletes' organic posts and stories. This approach offers fans an intimate glimpse into the life of an athlete outside the field.

Examples

Views 52M | Engagements 2.5M

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Views 45M | Engagements 4.3M

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Views 56M | Engagements 2.2M

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Athlete’s Personality

What are Athlete’s Personality videos?

These videos effectively capture an athlete's personality by highlighting their playful interactions with teammates on the field, showcasing their family life off the field, and featuring engaging interviews like the 7 second challenge. 

Production Elements From Top Performing Posts

• The video that shows his role as a father saw +88% more engagement than videos without his children. Ronaldo and Georgina frequently post about their family on social media and on Georgina’s Netflix docu-series.
• Create fun challenges that showcase the personality of athletes such as the 7 second challenge where two football players are asked to answer questions such as “5 strikers who have played for Barca” in 7 seconds.
• Go beyond the game and provide glimpses into an athlete’s personality. In the caption space, make sure to highlight the top three standout moments featured in the video. 

Examples

Views 63M | Engagements 4.5M

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Views 47M | Engagements 1.6M

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Views 1.7M | Engagements 132K

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Football Kids

What are Football Kids videos?

Videos featuring exceptionally talented children playing football, as well as athletes like Karim Benzema sharing heartwarming moments with his children.

Production Elements From Top Performing Posts

• ‍Under 1 minute in duration on average.
• Young children with exceptional talent are filmed from the sidelines. These videos demonstrate a level of proficiency that goes beyond their age and leave the viewer inspired and in awe of their abilities. 
• In this instance, low-quality organic videos can be more effective as they create a sense of authenticity and naturalness that resonates with the platform's native content. 
• Focus on awe-inspiring content that showcases impressive football talents, regardless of video quality, to captivate and inspire viewers.

Examples

Views 45M | Engagements 738K

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Views 26M | Engagements 207K

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Views 16M | Engagements 1.3M

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Viral Outliers

Viral Outlier posts exceed the average view and engagement benchmark for their content theme by 3x.

Football Kids

A storytelling video that revolves around Arat, an Instagram-famous 8-year-old child with extraordinary football skills. The video showcases Arat's impressive abilities and highlights his rise to fame in the world of football. 

Views 71M | Engagements 3M

Player Rivalry

This compilation of fan-created videos role-plays Messi and Ronaldo's intense competition. This captivating video brings together the passion and creativity of fans and highlights the rivalry between these two football legends. 

Views 51M | Engagements 519K‍

Dressing Room

Experience the jubilant celebrations of the Argentinian national football team after their World Cup victory through a captivating video that compiles a collection of Instagram stories and posts from the athletes.

Views 47M | Engagements 3M

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Viral Outliers

Viral Outlier posts exceed the average view and engagement benchmark for their content theme by 3x.

Cartoon Recap

A recap of the 2022 World Cup series is delivered through a light-hearted and comical take on the memorable moments, highlights, and humorous incidents that unfolded on the grandest stage of football.

Views 22M | Engagements 1M

Soccer Challenge

The athlete that scores the most points against not just one, but eight goalies guarding the net wins a $2000 prize. This long-form video captures the engaging and storytelling essence of YouTube videos, but  tailored specifically for the Facebook platform.

Views 9M | Engagements 104K

Soccer Challenge

The goalie who successfully stops the most balls takes home the $500 prize. This video doesn’t utilize any additional background music.

Views 7M | Engagements 60K

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Content Theme Definitions

• ‍Compilation Videos: Compilation videos combine popular and entertaining themes from various forms of content to create engaging and captivating videos.
• Life Off The Field:  Videos provide a unique perspective for fans to experience the multifaceted aspects of an athlete’s life off the field, such as Messi being a loving father and devoted husband. 
• Athlete’s Personality: These videos effectively capture an athlete's personality by highlighting their playful interactions with teammates on the field, showcasing their family life off the field, and featuring engaging interviews.
• Football Kids:  Videos featuring exceptionally talented children playing football, as well as athletes like Karim Benzema sharing heartwarming moments with his children.
• Cartoon Recap: Animated cartoons created by Bleacher Report Football that summarize recent events in football in a fun, light-hearted, and entertaining way,
• Throwback: Taking fans down memory lane to relive unforgettable plays that have left a lasting impact on the world of football.
• Game Highlights: Videos that help fans relive the most exciting moments in a condensed format. Featuring the top moments from specific matches, with an average duration of 3 minutes. 
• Soccer Challenge:  A series by Tiitanes that challenges amateur football players to compete in a football challenge to win a cash prize.
• Relatable Comedy: Skits packed full of insider humor that revolves around the world of football that fans will appreciate.
• Soccer Tips: Instructional guide videos that teaches football enthusiasts how to master specific maneuvers on the field.

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Facebook Accounts Included in the Analysis

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*For videos in this content category. View + Engagement data collected via direct social media platform API.

*Measured by Average Views + Engagements