Whether you call it football or soccer, chances are you’re one of the forecast 3.5 billion viewers from 200 countries following the 2018 FIFA World Cup. More and more, people are choosing to connect with the event digitally. For the final match in 2014, one billion people watched the game online. From sponsored content to players with Twitter swag, this World Cup is a massive digital event.

Live from Russia

This year, Russia is the World Cup host and all games will be played in the country between June 14 and July 15. There are thirty-two national teams vying for the championship. During the 2014 tournament in Brazil, social media made its mark with an estimated 280 million people watching on mobile devices or online. This year, numbers are expected to be even higher. Total viewership, online or otherwise, is expected to reach 3.4 billion—nearly half of the world population!

Why Online Works

Moscow, Russia is seven hours ahead of EST in North America. This means work may interfere with viewing time, depending on where you live and when a match is being played. With games taking place during the day, social media is a good solution. It’s a quick and easy way to watch highlights and check in on the action.

In anticipation of this World Cup, FIFA was on point with its social media game. FIFA has over 12 million followers on Twitter, 3.8 million followers on Facebook and another 3.8 million subscribers to their FIFATV YouTube channel. Using these platforms, as well as Instagram and LinkedIn, the association kept followers informed about the Tournament.  Speaking of YouTube, sports content on this platform is growing faster than music and entertainment genres. And Twitter has seen a 140 per cent year-over-year increase in the number of soccer-related videos being shared. #WorldCup was featured on 672 million tweets during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. All this adds up to social media as a major player in the World Cup.

World Cup Sponsorship Mania

FIFA itself has twelve official sponsors for the 2018 World Cup, including Coca-Cola, Adidas and Budweiser. Eight different clothing sponsors are literally covering the thirty-two teams involved, from Adidas and Nike to Errea and Umbro. Brands are also promoting sponsored video content online with access to an enormous audience. Marquee players Luis Suarez, Gabriel Jesus and Lionel Messi have each teamed up with Gatorade during the Tournament. Messi’s Heart of a Lio has over seven million views on YouTube.

Players on Social Media

The top players pull in huge numbers on social media. Team Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo uses social media to earn his sponsors big bucks. For example, he promoted lifetime sponsor Nike 215 times on his social media channels, which was an earned media value of $392M. As a team, Mexico has the most Twitter followers in the Tournament and 14,812,206 virtual fans.

Digital Media Marketing

There’s no denying that video content is pulling in big advertising numbers with eighty-seven percent of online marketers using the format. Key West Video can create videos tailored for online use. Call us today for a free quote and don’t forget to follow us online!