Day #206: Real Madrid’s Instagram Secrets
A detailed look at the strategy of the first sports team worldwide to reach the milestone of more than 100 million Instagram followers.
According to Facebook's CrowdTangle data, Real Madrid is the first sports team worldwide to reach the milestone of having more than 100 million Instagram followers. 12 million+ followers added during the 2020/21 season window!
Especially Reels – the fancy short videos like we all know from TikTok – helped the club to enter the winning road.
Three inspirational pieces of advice that I've learned reading a lot about the Spain-based professional soccer organization's achievements can help you with your fan engagement on Social Media in general and Instagram in special.
I. Reach people that do not currently follow you
With Reels, the club increased its distribution on the platform. Due to the algorithm and internal focus on the new Reels-format of Instagram, users that do not currently follow your account still see your videos a lot. As Reels and TikTok work quite similarly my additional advice is to publish the same content on both channels to reach the maximum of new potential followers. By using this type of content it’s almost like a guaranteed way to secure higher video views when posting.
II. Be fresher, snappier, and focus on the format
Creating one content and distribute them on all your social media channels will never work. Keep the given format specifications first! Talking about Reels, it's important that the video can be viewed comfortably in the vertical 9x16 format. For Real Madrid, it's also key that the 'main action' of the Reel can be viewed inside the 4x5 'window' that appears for users in their Feed. Meticulous detail work is in place.
After fulfilling the technical specifications, the content that tells your story is important. Reels and TikTok allow you to create fresher and snappier content than your usual videos on your social media feeds. A best practice is player selfie messages combined with creative or graphic elements.
III. Edit your existing content new
Instagram Reels and TikTok provide you with a new way to publish match or training footage. You don't have to set up a new production anytime you plan content for this type of content. Tapes of your matches and training sessions include real treasures for these fancy videos. Cut them out and start reaching new users with the same existing footage.
Do you need an example? Here you have two of them:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CRoPCQEo0kx/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CP8cqaro5kZ/
Go #BeyondVictories with the new generation of social media content.
Signing off for today,

Christian Dreier
cd mediateam Est.