Look At What La Liga Clubs Are Doing On YouTube

With close to two billion monthly active YouTube users, any business can see the appeal of the video sharing platform. But creating a large and loyal following is a challenge that still evades many of them.

For football clubs, the soaring popularity of online video has demanded a refreshed approach towards communications. Particularly, one that revolves around entertainment content.

FC Barcelona, Sevilla FC, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona and Athletic Club have placed a much greater emphasis on entertaining fans through YouTube. Directors from each of these clubs explained why YouTube is so important and the resulting impact this is having on international followings.

As one of the biggest clubs in the world, FC Barcelona has a global reputation and YouTube has become a prime resource to express its identity. The approach has been so successful that the club now ranks among the very top football teams on the platform in terms of followers and the number of views, with 271 million views in 2018 alone.

Rather than consider YouTube as a club mouthpiece, FC Barcelona understands that viewers turn to the platform for leisure.

“More than a communication channel, we see YouTube as an entertainment platform related to the day-to-day of the club,” explained Digital Content Manager David Saura. “It’s a key part of our entertainment content strategy for medium-long-term content.”

Reflecting its global nature, a remarkable 91.5% of the club’s YouTube channel subscribers come from outside of Spain. For this reason, English and has become a priority language for the club, which publishes content directly in English or with subtitles. Exclusive preview programmes are also produced, with English commentary provided for its league games.

Read more and see a great selection of this online content from around LaLiga in Global Fútbol.