• The derby tweet. Atletico complains about arbitration

At the end of the match against Betis on the second day, the official English account of Barcelona tweeted a photo of Junior Firpo with the five fingers extended and the phrase «Junior knows», referring to the handyman (5- 2) that the Catalans had just endorsed the Sevillians. Immediately, storm. Nearly 2,000 answers, most outrageous. The next day, Barça apologized. «It was an exaggeration, I was not offended. During the week, in our networks we joke that Messi could not play and it is normal for them to respond. Give and take. But on Twitter there is a state of permanent indignation. We live with it, ”explains José Antonio Peinado, head of digital content at Betis.

Times have changed in the management of official social networks of football clubs. What were previously only institutional messages and sponsored content, which barely generated reactions in the amateur, is now a mixture of jokes, videos and emoticons that have multiplied the famous engagement (involvement and commitment of the user) while placing the community managers (CM), until recently an anecdote within the press departments, as the visible face of companies with millions of followers. A much more relaxed face to which Spanish football was not accustomed.

«The accounts of the clubs begin to use the language of the street and the bar, which is what defines football. Junior's tweet is the joke you make to your Betis friend taking a cane. And it doesn't bother him because he will return it to you in two days. That's what networks are about. But there is risk, because the error has a huge and immediate impact that is not fixed even with an apology. That dedramatization of football is positive and it is important that clubs allow their CM to be wrong, because it is necessary in a process of change for the better, ”says David Álvarez, analyst and social media consultant.

Revolution 'Buenrollista'

Error and tone are the two keys to this revolution in club communication. The first, because it is inevitable in a transformation to which the teams have been up and running. «We are all self-taught. We were in the communication departments and, little by little, we were learning until now everything has exploded: from being something secondary to becoming the main communication channel of the clubs. Neither webs nor teles or spokespersons: the networks » , recalls Peinado. And the second because the clubs have changed their strategy: as they point out from Barça, the interaction and engagement matter more than the number of followers. But even this Buenrollista revolution creates controversy, of course. This is football. This is social networks.

«To function, networks demand naturalness and sense of humor. Football is not a war or a drama, no matter how often it is treated that way. It's party, friendship, laughs ... The way a club has to capture that fundamental part of football is through the networks and people understand it ... in general. But you have to be careful because you are exposed to infinite sensitivity, ”says Víctor Marín, director of Leganés, the most daring club in networks, who sets his latest viral as an example. A few weeks ago, the flood in Madrid monopolized the talk on Twitter and Lega reacted quickly with a video announcing his last signing: Aitor Menta. A harmless joke, right? Not on Twitter «Before taking it out, we looked to see if something serious had happened and we saw only minor material damage. It didn't matter. They criticized us laughing at something serious. It always offends someone. Always". Hairstyle reinforces that idea: «The line between being funny and offending is very fine. And it is because in Spain football is granted a tragic component that is too high. In that England takes us a lot of advantage. Here, football lacks a sense of humor ».

More prudence in the big

But the phenomenon is unstoppable because the reward is tremendous. The most watched game of Betis last season was his visit to Camp Nou with 1.2 million spectators. The video with which he announced in networks the signing of the Japanese Inui in June 2018, with references to classic manga series such as Doraemon or Champions , had 3.5 million views. Every time Joaquin lends himself to a viral joke, Betis is news. «The ability to create a brand through networks is incredible for clubs such as Leganés, Betis or Mallorca. The corset has been removed. Although, in general, the bigger the club, the less dare, ”says Alvarez.

The accounts of Madrid, Barça (Junior case on the sidelines) or Atlético support that theory. «Our philosophy is clear: better to sin for prudent. We cannot skid, because a mistake causes damage to the image of the club that does not compensate. That does not mean that we have not adapted the language to what the networks require: colloquial, emoticons, audiovisual material and campaigns with other clubs, but always agreed to detail. We avoid any puddle ”, they recognize from the Communication direction of the rojiblanco club.

Interestingly, one of the few times that Atleti left the script there was a mess. After the penultimate league derby, he published a tweet in which he accompanied three photos of possible arbitration errors with a thoughtful emoji . Do you give up? «I will not go into assessing specific cases, but we have ten people dedicated to networks and, although there is no written user manual, there is a rule: you do not jump without a network. Any tweet is meditated and approved institutionally ». The tweet had 65,000 likes and achieved its goal: create community and guide the debate. That is today the power of community managers , the new voices of football.

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