vs.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

STRATEGY By: Lindsay Trotter

10/23/2014

Table of Contents

Executive Summary……………………………………1

Company Overview…………………………………....2

Overall Social Presence………………………………...3

Platforms:

Website………………………………………………...4

Facebook………………………………………………5

Twitter………………………………………….............6

Instagram……………………………………………....7

Strategy Evaluation……………………………………8

Winner………………………………………………...9

Recommendations……………………………………10

Executive Summary

The Falcons have a lot fewer followers and likes on their social

media platforms. They have a sound strategy and post consistently

across all their platforms. However, they don’t have loyal fans and

the tone of many of the comments is often negative. They lack

more interactive features and posts on their platforms that may

create a more loyal fanbase.

The Saints have a solid social media presence. Their fans comment

and post often and have positive things to say. They interact with

their fans through polls and clever hashtags. Their fans are

passionate and stand behind their team on all their platforms.

1

Company Overview

The Atlanta Falcons are a

professional American football team

based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team’s

primary colors are crimson red, black, and

white. The Falcons were formed 1965 and

are the oldest NFL franchise in the Deep

South. The Falcons have compiled a

record of 316–414–6 with division

championships in 1980, 1998, 2004, 2010

and 2012.

The New Orleans Saints are a

professional American football team based

in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

The team's primary colors are old

gold and black; their logo is a fleur-de-lis.

They were established in 1965. The Saints

have compiled an overall record of 324-

409-5, and a playoff record of 7-9. They

have one Super Bowl win in 2009.

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49.33% 10.67:1 34.33% 45%

41.67% 41.33% 8.67:1 44.67%

Overall Social Presence

Strength Sentiment Passion Reach

The Atlanta Falcons have a higher strength than the New Orleans

Saints, which means fans are more likely to be discussing them on social

media. However, the difference is not significant enough to raise any

flags. The sentiment for the Falcons is also higher than the Saints, but

both team’s sentiment, which is a ratio of positive mentions to negative

mentions, has been dropping as the season wears on. The Saints

passion percentage is higher, which means that the Saints have more

loyal fans on social media that post about the team repeatedly. The

Falcons have a higher reach, which means that they have more unique

users talking about the team than the Saints. Overall, the Saints have

fewer but more passionate fans advocating for them on social media,

and the Falcons have slightly more fans that positively support the

team.

3

The Atlanta Falcons website homepage is dominated by articles and videos., because of this it is

incredibly long and information filled. In regards to fan interaction, the main page had a small

twitter feed and message board located under the headlines, an advertisement, and the featured

gallery. At the very bottom of the page there is a link to buy tickets, which is also redundantly

located on at the top and as a tab. The website does have a tab for social media with links to each

site but it is very basic. The website also has a ‘Fan Experience’ tab which has promotions, mobile,

social, among other things.

Website

New Orleans Saints website homepage offers links to headlines, featured videos, featured galleries,

fan polls, schedule, fact of the day, featured ‘Saintsation’, live twitter feed, and a link to buy fan wear.

It is very interactive with fans , and has a very clean layout that is user friendly. It also has a ‘Social’

tab with links to the sites. It also has a tab for ‘Fan Zone’, which offers information on Fantasy

Football statistics, wallpapers, promotions, and even athletic training.

4

Facebook

The Falcons have 1,759,337 like on their

Facebook page. They average about

1,000-5,000 likes per picture. Their posts

mostly include a picture or video. They

have on average five posts a day, and they

mainly focus on contest, press conference

coverage, scores, and injury reports. The

tone of most of the comments on these

posts are generally negative. However, the

brand is suffering because of the Falcons

losing record. Overall, it is a solid and well

rounded representation of the brand.

The Saints have 4,045,767 likes on the

Facebook page. They average about

1,000-20,000 likes per picture. They

post mostly about contests, Fantasy

Forecast, press conference footage,

injury reports, and game reports. They

also promote some events that are

unrelated to football. The general

sentiment of the comments is positive,

besides the Saints record. They

generally post three times a day. They

have a great presence on Facebook. 5

-31925 tweets -365989 followers -6 lists -144 favorites -Press conferences, footage of practice, realtime injury updates, realtime game stream (only big falcons plays and scores) -lots of pictures and links to videos -retweet the players -about 15 tweets on an average day

-32532 tweets -532868 followers -2 lists - 9894 favorites - Some press coverage, fantasy football forecast,

play-by-play game coverage of saints on offense and big plays on defense.

- About 10 tweets on an average day - Retweets the players

The Atlanta Falcons have 365,989 followers and 31,925 tweets on Twitter. They mainly provide

coverage of press conferences, footage of practice, injury updates, and during the game updates of

big Falcons plays. They average about 15 tweets per day and most have pictures or video links. They

also have seven lists of related groups to subscribe to.

Twitter

The New Orleans Saints have 532,868 followers and 32,532 tweets on Twitter. They offer some press

conference coverage, play-by-play updates on the Saints games. The Saints also have a Fantasy

Football forecast, which is a nice extra. They average about 10 tweets per day.

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#RiseUpFriday -5K-15K likes (less likes on recent pics) -100-300 comments per pic -very few videos -more professional look

#BlackandGoldFriday #SaintsGameday -5K-20K likes per picture -100-500 comments per picture -picture montages -some less professional pictures -pictures of tweets 1544 posts 329,981 followers

Instagram

The Falcons average about 5,000-15,000

likes and about 100-300 comments per

picture. They have 189,458 followers and

1271 posts. The Falcons’ Instagram posts

are professional and polished which goes

with the feel of the platform. They post

very few videos and no picture montages.

They have a consistent hashtag that runs

throughout the season, #RiseUpFriday,

which encourages fan interaction with the

platform.

The Saints average 5,000-20,000 likes and

100-500 comments per picture. They have

329,981 followers and 1544 posts. The

Saints have a more casual feel.. They post

pictures of Drew Bree’s tweets and

memes. They also picture montages of fan

photos. They also have to hashtags to

engage users, #BlackandGoldFriday and

#SaintsGameday.

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Strategy Evaluation

The New Orleans Saints website is more interactive and appealing

than the Atlanta Falcons website. It is clean cut and easy to navigate.

Their headlines, featured videos, featured galleries, fan polls, schedule,

fact of the day, featured ‘Saintsation’, and live twitter feed, all entice

and include the fan’s opinion.

Website:

The New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons have similar

Facebook pages and posts. However, the Saints about two million more

likes on their page and get a lot more comments and likes per post. The

Saints have a more passionate fanbase on Facebook. Because of this,

the Saints have a better presence on Facebook.

Facebook:

The New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons have similar Twitters

as well. However, the Saints are better at live tweeting during the game,

which is a pretty important part of their brand offering. Also they have

about two million more followers than the Falcons.

Twitter:

Once again, the New Orleans Saints Instagram tops the Atlanta

Falcons’. The Saints offer more ways for fans to interact with their two

hashtags. They also display more pictures of the fans, which increases

the likelihood of fan interaction. The Saints also have about 100,000

more followers as well.

Instagram:

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Winner

There was a clear winner in this comparison and it was the

New Orleans Saints strategy. They had more followers and

likes on all investigated social media channels. They also

offered more interactive features like the Fantasy Forecast and

fan polls. The Saints have cultivated a fanbase that is

passionate and advocate positively for the team.

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Recommendations

The Falcons have a lot fewer followers and likes on their social

media platforms. My main criticism though, is their website. Their

homepage was way too cluttered with articles and videos. Their

twitter feed needs to be more prominent. The Saints page offers

articles, as well as fun facts, polls, and a twitter feed. The Falcons

need to offer more features that require action. This has the dual

purpose of getting the fans to participate more, as well as finding

out a little more about the fan base.

The Saints have a solid social media presence. Their fans comment

and post often and have positive things to say. Their Twitter feed

tends to be more casual than may be appropriate. Also they have a

tendency to post pictures of tweets on Instagram and Facebook,

which is an odd practice that probably should be stopped.

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