Let’s face it. There are more than enough social networks out there and I’m sure you are already on more than one of them. So, why football teams add another one with Instagram? Well, it turns out there are good reasons. Instagram has grown from a trendy teen hangout to a marketing heavyweight by total time spent on there. That means plenty of opportunities to market your team and attract fans and followers. The good thing: Instagram not only capitalizes on this trend but also makes sharing and interacting with visuals really easy. Another reason to add the platform to your marketing mix.

Despite the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, Real Madrid is still – and quite comfortably – the most followed football club on Instagram. A leadership that testifies to the digital power of the Madrid club.

1.4 million followers. This is the number of subscribers won by Juventus on Instagram the week after the official signing of Cristiano Ronaldo last July. A spectacular leap forward at the height of the character: the Portuguese international is simply the most followed personality on the social network belonging to Facebook with nearly … 153 million subscribers!

If the pace of recruitment of subscribers through its new acquisition has been impressive in the early days; it did not allow Juventus to tickle the leaders of the sector. The Turin club has a little more than 21.6 million subscribers, still ranking 4th in the world.

But the Lady Watch is still far from the important communities identified by the two giants of Liga Santander, monopolizing the first two places in almost all social rankings. Indeed, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are the two clubs to have crossed the threshold of 50 million subscribers on Instagram, respectively presenting a community of more than 68 and 64 million.

10 clubs with Instagram accounts followed by more than 10 million subscribers

Having passed the billion active users mark a month last June, Instagram is a social network that is on the rise, especially among younger generations. Also popular with advertisers, clubs are full of innovations and engagement to develop their communities on a social network with business potential far from trivial. Between backstage scenes of the cloakroom or drawings usually made by freelance designers; European clubs have considerably expanded their animation strategy on this social network.

A race for subscribers that causes unbridled growth of communities among the biggest clubs. Now, it is necessary to gather more than 10 million subscribers on its Instagram page to join the world’s top 10. Manchester City FC closes the march of this highly prized top 10 with some 10.3 million followers.

Two Surprises in the top 20 most followed teams

If the top 10 does not count any surprise, however, clubs from less “upscale” championships manage to fit in the top 20. Two Turkish Clubs – Galatasaray, and Fenerbahce – and appear in the top 15 places with a respective community of 5.7 and 3.9 million subscribers. Scores that can explain the appetite of advertisers – including seeking to expand their business in the Turkish market – for major clubs of Süper Lig. The Egyptian club Al Ahly or Argentinian Boca Juniors are also present in the top 20.

If the two giants of Liga outrageously dominate the classification of clubs; they remain far behind the communities gathered by the main stars of the ball. In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo and two other players have crossed the symbolic 100 million followers on Instagram: Neymar Jr and Lionel Messi. A “competition” which can sometimes give rise to some friction during sponsorship contract negotiations and which generates new types of “player – club” contractual relations.

Instagram is another great tool for sports team marketing. The platform has a large active user base and provides exciting opportunities for posting visual content.

It’s the perfect opportunity to show off your sports team photos and videos, as is evidenced by the number of teams who already do so successfully.

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Photo credits to realmadrid.com