Excellent examples of communication on social from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sweden showed us how might the future of digital communication look like. I know, these are a couple of unusual situations that happened and nobody guarantees something like this will happen again in future, but if it does, I am sure it will be interesting.
Clubs will sign contracts with players that will include Digital media rights. That means clubs will tell players what they must post on social media, and this will give club’s sponsors even more content. Any post by a player is worth much more then any post by a club.
But, what will happen if Ronaldo tells the club ‘I don’t want to sign this contract because I have a contract with Nike, and you signed with Adidas?’ This is one of the questions that I usually ask myself.
Swedish referee starts a Facebook page to explain game calls
Mohammed Al-Hakim, one of the most promising officials in the Swedish football, launched his page in July with an admission that he should have given a penalty in the game between IFK Norrkoping and AIK and has been praised for his willingness to discuss contentious decisions.
The main idea was that he wanted to create interest, and he thought the football family can gain from getting a better insight and understanding of a referee’s situation. Great idea, isn’t it?
Players already have pages, some coaches also, and it’s a matter of time when we will have officials on social media. “Whatever the status quo is, changing it gives you the opportunity to be remarkable”, said Seth Godin, famous marketing expert. It’s true in this case. He made a breakthrough and it’s only the matter of time when others will follow.
In the meantime, Mohammed shut down his Facebook page. But, he started a new way of communication for officials.
Coaches using Facebook
Great example comes from Andre Villas Boas, Manager at FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. He is using Facebook for communication with fans, he shares ‘exclusive content’ from the dressing room, and he is being cool on social!
Andre even showed how lunchtime at Zenit actually looks like! We are in digital age, everyone is online. And just like everone else, professional players are also on mobile phones and on social networks.
XXI century communication #fczenit #throwbackthursday #belektrainingcamp
Geplaatst door André Villas Boas op Donderdag 30 april 2015
I like Andre’s social media presence. He is also using Instagram and communicating with fans, and he is creating his own brand. He is the coach from the (near) future, and other will follow, soon enough.
Andre leads the way of communication on social media. A few names come to mind when I think about which coaches I would like to see on social. Would you follow a young and modern West Ham manager Slaven Bilić? Would you follow the charismatic Jose Mourinho? I am sure they have great content to share with us. I am also sure that I would follow them immediately.
Football club in BiH fired their coach over Facebook
Bosnian top flight club Drina Zvornik have sacked their manager by – posting it on Facebook. The manager was among the first to ‘like’ it. The sacked Drina manager replied to club’s post on FB, relieving him of his duties: “Thanks for the notice“
What do you think about this way of sacking? It’s strange and interesting in the same time. Is this the future of social media in sports? Do you know what is the future of digital communication in sports marketing?
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