Shamrock Rovers Make Biggest Impact Through Social Media in Airtricity Premier League

Shamrock Rovers account for more than a third of Airtricity Premier League facebook fans and over 20 per cent of twitter followers of the twelve club’s official social media channels, ask according for a new report by Sport for Business.

With teams and players back in pre season training the numbers are sure to rise but already League fans number just short of those who follow the Guinness Irish rugby Challenge on facebook.

The results are published today by Sport for Business. This is the first in a series on social media and sport in Ireland by the new professional network for leaders in sport and business.

“Sports fans are ahead of the game in harvesting information though social media,” said Sport for Business CEO Rob Hartnett.  “These channels are a critical part of any clubs engagement with those they hope to attract through the turnstiles or into the merchandising net.”

On a global scale the ability of Man United and Barcelona to enhance loyalty and make themselves more attractive to investors and commercial partners means their sites run to millions of followers.  United have 22 million fans, Real Madrid 24 million and Barcelona 26 million. 

“In Ireland things are obviously at a more modest scale but over the coming months we will see more clubs and sporting organisations tapping into the digital media of today and tomorrow,” added Hartnett.  “They need to build value with commercial partners who will look on these numbers as an indicator of the fan engagement.” 

“In the Airtricity Premier League, Shamrock Rovers are sitting at the top of the charts in many ways.  Reigning Champions with the largest crowds and biggest supporter base, they have worked this through to social media through having more than three times the number of fans as their nearest rivals Sligo Rovers.” 

“In terms of Twitter followers the gap is slightly smaller but the number of tweets gives a clear indication of how hard the club is willing to work at building and maintaining the loyalty of its 5,620 followers.” 

“The Tweet count of 13,355 is impressive and compares to a mere 90 tweets from Drogheda united whose twitter fan base is the smallest in the League.” 

“UCD’s numbers have perhaps the greatest potential to grow, given the likely student base of support and familiarity with the media.  Their numbers will be interesting to watch in the coming months as they seek to climb out of the Social Media relegation spots in our league table.”

by Ismail Uddin

Club		Facebook Likes		Twitter Followers		Tweets
Shamrock Rovers		21738		5620		13355
Sligo Rovers		6502		2973		5239
Cork City		6282		3539		4714
Bray Wanderers		4551		1064		312
Derry city		4116		2798		3383
Bohemians		4103		1109		470
Drogheda United		3034		551		90
Dundalk		2946		2058		6016
St Patricks Athletic		2865		1546		2641
Shelbourne		2094		1087		2804
UCD		1473		822		901
Monaghan United		106		975		1918