How Wimbledon Aced Their Twitter Coverage This Year

By Jessica Smith On July 11, 2016 In Twitter with 2 Comments

Working in social media and sports is a rare beast. There’s a strong need to prep and plan ahead, even though outcomes are unpredictable. When a team or league does plan ahead of time though, it shines through in stellar coverage. Wimbledon’s 2016 coverage is a great example of this.

Wimbledon was exciting on the court this year, but it might have been even more exciting to follow on Twitter. From their partnership with Twitter to and live coverage (for the first time in sports) to the dynamic content, the tournament was not only easy to follow on the platform, but it gave fans the best front row seat around. Below are just a few ways they aced their coverage on Twitter this year.

 

1- Unique, original content.

Social media and sports is an extremely crowded space. Between teams, leagues, media, brands and even fans, there is a lot of content and noise. Standing out means upping your original content game. Long gone are they days when pop culture GIFS and static photos are enough to stand out; people crave original, dynamic and interesting content.

Wimbledon won with their original content game. They caught fans attention and created content they wanted to share, whether it was unique illustrations for weather updates to on-brand GIFS. Below are a few of the highlights.

Take a page out of Wimbledon’s book. Plan ahead of time and build a team that turn around unique and interesting content quickly and efficiently.

 

2- Smart use of live video.

We all know that the industry is buzzing around the power of live. And even though live is all the rage right now, it doesn’t mean that everything should be streamed and Periscoped. It’s important to use live video/Periscope at moments when intimate access and live perspective makes sense.

Wimbledon did a great job leveraging Periscope. They didn’t abuse it, but instead took to streaming strategically and sparingly. From Andy Murray taking in the court by himself to engraving winners’ names on the trophy, they used Periscope in a way that was impactful, interesting and relevant.

Don’t just stream to stream. Think about what exactly the power of live means and leverage it that way.

 

3- Easy + consumable graphics.

Stats and interesting facts are an important component to game and tournament coverage, but we shouldn’t try to cram a ton of information on our fans. Wimbledon did a fantastic job of making their graphics easy and consumable. They didn’t overdo the graphics; they kept a consistent look and feel; and they designed for mobile.

Use stats to tell a story, but understand that fans don’t need to know everything in your media guide. Keep the stats and graphics simple, clean and concise.

 

4- Clean and dynamic GIFS.

Similar to their easy and consumable stat graphics, Wimbledon’s “moving on” GIFS tapped into the power of simplicity. They were clean but dynamic enough to stand out from the noise.

 

5- Focus on consumer engagement.

All too often we focus on what’s going on at the event and we don’t take time to bring in our fans at home. Wimbledon did a good job of encouraging their fans to engage with them, even if they couldn’t attend Wimbledon.

On Twitter they hosted a simple but fun UGC campaign that celebrated Wimbledon Weekend. They put together a guide on how to celebrate Finals Weekend the Wimbledon Way and asked fans to share their celebration using the hashtag #WimbledonWeekend. Not only did they have a strong CTA, but they created a great mini-series of content that showcased the proper way to celebrate with friends and really brought the concept to life.

In addition to the #WimbledonWeekend campaign, they did a good job of asking questions and encouraging other fan reactions.

 

6- Strong use of video storytelling.

All too often in sports we focus on the scores, the outcome and not enough on the emotion of the journey. But sporting events lend themselves to strong emotion and storytelling well beyond the scores. Wimbledon not only told great stories, but they did so with variety and depth. Wimbledon told their story in great fashion from hype match videos to behind-the-scenes content and unique event preparation.

As Wimbledon proves, it’s not about the length of the story, but the content. Tap into the emotion of sports/your brand, find the unique angle and understand why your consumer would care. Stick to those things you’ll create video content that wins.

 

7- Leveraged a bit of humor.

Because this little tweet was too good to resist and we all know a little humor wins.

 

 

 

What stood out to you about Wimbledon’s coverage? Share your thoughts below. 

 

Thanks for reading!

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2 comments.

  2. As someone that works in tennis social media too, I thought Wimbledon’s output/content this year really was superb. So many clever ideas combining the traditions and history of the tournament with new digital content techniques. Certainly given me a lot of ideas and food for thought. Thanks for the summary!

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