The International Skating Union is up 8 places to a top 10 overall position driven by a rise in fan growth and engagements following the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The #SportOnSocial League Table by the sports marketing agency, RedTorch, ranks sports organizations based on their social media performance across various platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. This result makes the ISU the 2nd biggest riser on the table and the highest ranked Winter International Federation.
This achievement is not just a testament to the ISU’s hard work, but it also highlights the ISU’s commitment to deliver top quality content to their growing fan base.
Some of the key takeaways from the report include:
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Ranks 4th on Twitter and saw the 2nd highest growth rate on the platform beating FIFA and FIVB in the process.
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The ISU leapfrogged 15 International Federations (IF) on Instagram, one of the largest jumps across all #SportOnSocial to finish 9th
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Made the top ten on the YouTube table by ranking 8th
Key to its successful strategy is a strong focus on storytelling. The ISU uses its social media platforms to tell the stories of athletes and share their journeys through a concise content plan and its award winning #UpAgain campaign. This has helped make Ice Skating more relatable to the public and fans.
Chris Argyle-Robinson, Redtorch’s research and strategy director said: “[The ISU] really tried to position themselves as accessible with content that would engage an audience that are already aware of and maybe enjoy a bit of skating. [The content is] easily digestible, it’s not some really long video about someone who won or lost and [will] bore people very quickly.”
The ISU has also been successful in using social media to drive engagement during its events. The organization uses platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to provide live updates and behind-the-scenes content during competitions which contributes to creating a community among fans, as they can follow the action in real time and engage with other fans online.
Download the full #SportOnSocial League Table 2023.