The club Twitter / Website - do they get it?

[Mr Popodopolous]

I seldom look at it but logged on to have a look.

It's getting little better.

Celebrating a 3-2 win at Ipswich in such terms as "What a game this was!", a year to the day since- yes it had 5 goals but the standard was terrible...

Also see:

Yes it was great we scored, but what (in the main) restrained celebrations- Beautiful scenes?

[Port Said Red]

you would prefer?

[Phileas Fogg]

It's absolutely awful in my opinion, and has been for some time.

They clearly have a KPI measuring engagement - so do loads of terrible polls such as 'Do you prefer Thatcher's Gold or Thatcher's Haze'.

The aim is to try and emulate one of those 'hilarious' German clubs who tweet in English. You can tell because they follow plenty of them.

I think they totally overdo everything and it's such a shame. Under Adam Baker the balance was about right - a bit of humour here and there but ultimately it was a place to get updates. The current mob, who I think aren't even necessarily City fans, clearly have a limited understand of the fanbase and it shows.

 

[LondonBristolian]

To be fair, both posts seem to have a reasonable amount of engagement.* I could do without a lot of them but I understand the pressure for clubs to be active on social media and realise I don't know how the majority of fans feel.

I do agree with @Phileas Fogg that the people doing the social media probably aren't City fans and understand social media rather than football, which can make it a bit cloying for some of us. I certainly don't feel the day after a 4-1 defeat is the time that I want people to be celebrating mistake-ridden scrappy wins over struggling teams a year ago, for example. Maybe I'm just too old and grouchy to be the target audience.

*I've learned the lingo of these things from our comms person at work...

[ZiderEyed]

14 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

It's absolutely awful in my opinion, and has been for some time.

They clearly have a KPI measuring engagement - so do loads of terrible polls such as 'Do you prefer Thatcher's Gold or Thatcher's Haze'.

The aim is to try and emulate one of those 'hilarious' German clubs who tweet in English. You can tell because they follow plenty of them.

I think they totally overdo everything and it's such a shame. Under Adam Baker the balance was about right - a bit of humour here and there but ultimately it was a place to get updates. The current mob, who I think aren't even necessarily City fans, clearly have a limited understand of the fanbase and it shows.

 

I'd say it's not exclusive to us, and its not exclusive to football. 

If anyone else has seen the frankly ******* Orwellian scenes on twitter with American fast food chains arguing with each other and trying to appeal to Gen Z with edgy tweets, then you realise that BCFC is a company, and the most efficient way of getting people to engage with your company is like this.

[Phileas Fogg]

8 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

To be fair, both posts seem to have a reasonable amount of engagement.* I could do without a lot of them but I understand the pressure for clubs to be active on social media and realise I don't know how the majority of fans feel.

I do agree with @Phileas Fogg that the people doing the social media probably aren't City fans and understand social media rather than football, which can make it a bit cloying for some of us. I certainly don't feel the day after a 4-1 defeat is the time that I want people to be celebrating mistake-ridden scrappy wins over struggling teams a year ago, for example. Maybe I'm just too old and grouchy to be the target audience.

*I've learned the lingo of these things from our comms person at work...

They do, but I don't think it's very good quality engagement. I think they're probably judged on 'engagement' as a whole, so it doesn't matter if it's people telling the 'f off' (which it quite often is!).

I actually know the main social media guy isn't a City fan and doesn't come from a football social media background. The way they've hired is fairly typical, fresh grad on a low salary with a history of 'generating engagement' in the past.

I think under Adam B they got it right. The Gifs a couple of years ago were a revelation and are a fantastic example of the right sort of social media content. Something really original that almost unanimously people thought was a great idea. Now they've gone for quantity over quality which is such a shame.

[Alex_BCFC]

That Ipswich win was such bad quality - exciting but ‘what a game’ is a bit of a joke. 

[Up The City!]

I think the huge over reaction we saw when we got a 0-0 draw at home to Forest is because of this. They build the fans up far too much, when we get a win it is celebrated far too much, a huge deal is made about it. Pur fans are becoming addicted to winning and when we dont win it's the end of the world.

[phantom]

It's been shit for ages 

Clearly ran by people with no real grasp of being a football supporter, that (like above) post nonsense that youngsters seem to lap up

Like our official club website its been rubbish for ages, since the previously excellent media team all left 

[EmissionImpossible]

Generally I think it’s one of the leading football team twitter accounts.

[phantom]

24 minutes ago, EmissionImpossible said:

Generally I think it’s one of the leading football team twitter accounts.

Leading how?

[maxjak]

Surely Leading us up?................the Garden Path

[Pezo]

I don't think anyone that posts on a football forum are the target audience. 

[Phileas Fogg]

2 hours ago, Pezo said:

I don't think anyone that posts on a football forum are the target audience. 

Who is the target audience then? This site is a fairly good cross section

[iamalagerdrinker]

I use Twitter a lot, it's okay some things make you roll your eyes but some other stuff is class content. The Gavin and Stacey stuff before and after Cardiff was class for example then they just overused it when we came back from the international break

[spudski]

Sometimes they forget the emotions involved in football and post at inappropriate times that go against the grain.

All is done in good faith in sure, but as an example after the WBA defeat, reading about laces, and then seeing LJ looking like a German Porn star trying to do a serious post match interview really boiled my piss.

[grifty]

The whole point of this engagement on Twitter is getting the name of Bristol City out there and people talking about it. And here we are on a football forum talking about it, so it does work.

Whether you like or it or is a personal preference, but it’s popular.

Paddy Power are the best example of this on Twitter.

[phantom]

21 minutes ago, grifty said:

The whole point of this engagement on Twitter is getting the name of Bristol City out there and people talking about it. And here we are on a football forum talking about it, so it does work.

Whether you like or it or is a personal preference, but it’s popular.

Paddy Power are the best example of this on Twitter.

Very true, and I assume  that was what @EmissionImpossible was referring to above about leading the way?

1 hour ago, iamalagerdrinker said:

I use Twitter a lot, it's okay some things make you roll your eyes but some other stuff is class content. The Gavin and Stacey stuff before and after Cardiff was class for example then they just overused it when we came back from the international break

Must be my age, some of the tweets recently with things like Gavin and Stacey just make me cringe - maybe because it was used so much?

[CheddarReds]

It's a very good football twitter account. Very original, lots of engagement with fans and it does a great job of targeting younger people so we can grow our fan base. Maybe it sounds unfair but I imagine those who don't like it probably aren't part of the wider twitter community, as the use of gifs for a quote tweet, for example, are very popular and get lots of appreciation. The clubs twitter account is following these trends to grow in popularity on twitter and it's refreshing to see a football clubs twitter account engaging in these things. If we want the twitter account to be deadly serious where do we stop? Strictly only emotionless pre and post match interviews? Remove any of the team bonding and entertainment videos from the club You Tube channel as it's too much fun and the club should be more serious? 

 

[Alan Dicks' Barmy Army]

49 minutes ago, CheddarReds said:

It's a very good football twitter account. Very original, lots of engagement with fans and it does a great job of targeting younger people so we can grow our fan base. Maybe it sounds unfair but I imagine those who don't like it probably aren't part of the wider twitter community, as the use of gifs for a quote tweet, for example, are very popular and get lots of appreciation. The clubs twitter account is following these trends to grow in popularity on twitter and it's refreshing to see a football clubs twitter account engaging in these things. If we want the twitter account to be deadly serious where do we stop? Strictly only emotionless pre and post match interviews? Remove any of the team bonding and entertainment videos from the club You Tube channel as it's too much fun and the club should be more serious? 

 

Is it not a twitter account for a professional organisation though?

You mention growing a new fan base, but how are tweets going to make a young person part with their money and get interested in the football if the tweets have no relevance to anything on the pitch?

Gifs and videos are all very well if it is applicable to what you are advertising, including a gif of Gavin and Stacey in relation to a football club is not professional or relevant.

The account does not have to be serious it just looks like a bunch of school kids are looking after it at the moment and is getting worse by the week.

My business is massively involved with advising businesses on social media platforms, my colleagues often cringe at some of the stuff that Bristol City are releasing when I show them.

The you tube channel is not being discussed here so no idea why you mentioned that  @CheddarReds

One thing is for sure nothing the club is putting out at any level at the moment is a patch on Adam and his team from a few seasons back, they had it nailed on for the target audience

[Pezo]

6 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Who is the target audience then? This site is a fairly good cross section

My assumption is people that don't attend football regularly.

It's all about trying to think football is fun, interesting and full of banter. People that go regularly know its all about pain, misery and suffering.

[CheddarReds]

14 minutes ago, Alan Dicks' Barmy Army said:

Is it not a twitter account for a professional organisation though?

You mention growing a new fan base, but how are tweets going to make a young person part with their money and get interested in the football if the tweets have no relevance to anything on the pitch?

Gifs and videos are all very well if it is applicable to what you are advertising, including a gif of Gavin and Stacey in relation to a football club is not professional or relevant.

The account does not have to be serious it just looks like a bunch of school kids are looking after it at the moment and is getting worse by the week.

My business is massively involved with advising businesses on social media platforms, my colleagues often cringe at some of the stuff that Bristol City are releasing when I show them.

The you tube channel is not being discussed here so no idea why you mentioned that  @CheddarReds

One thing is for sure nothing the club is putting out at any level at the moment is a patch on Adam and his team from a few seasons back, they had it nailed on for the target audience

Agree I enjoyed the content from a few years ago. The reason why I mention the You Tube channel is some of the content is there as equally light-hearted so is that seen as cringey or inappropriate the same way twitter content is?? 

I say it's growing the fan base as the use of goal gifs and tweets with lots of engagement such as one from Gavin and Stacey increases the clubs profile. Ever since we've increased that profile more people have been aware of had an interest in the club. The Gavin and Stacey tweet for example I had multiple friends of mine comment on to say it was a strong use of a gif and it was funny. This is what I mean when I say those who find it cringey probably aren't part of the wider twitter community. These people may instead use it very professionally - such as you and your business, and thus don't 'get' the gifs and wider context. Considering Bristol City FC is essentially a business about entertaining people, if people find a funny use of a gif entertaining, surely it's suitable if it gets a laugh, a retweet and gets people talking about and engaging with the club. This will be a key reason behind the club having social media accounts. 

[Dullmoan Tone]

7 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Who is the target audience then? This site is a fairly good cross section

I don't want to upset our prolific posters but I'm not sure OTIB is representative of twitter, you can see from the songs people use and past games they recall on OTIB that I suspect we have an older demographic in the main (who actually post). Twitters user base is much younger and transitory.

I think its horses for courses and personally I still like the goal gifs.

[Phileas Fogg]

 

55 minutes ago, CheddarReds said:

Agree I enjoyed the content from a few years ago. The reason why I mention the You Tube channel is some of the content is there as equally light-hearted so is that seen as cringey or inappropriate the same way twitter content is?? 

I say it's growing the fan base as the use of goal gifs and tweets with lots of engagement such as one from Gavin and Stacey increases the clubs profile. Ever since we've increased that profile more people have been aware of had an interest in the club. The Gavin and Stacey tweet for example I had multiple friends of mine comment on to say it was a strong use of a gif and it was funny. This is what I mean when I say those who find it cringey probably aren't part of the wider twitter community. These people may instead use it very professionally - such as you and your business, and thus don't 'get' the gifs and wider context. Considering Bristol City FC is essentially a business about entertaining people, if people find a funny use of a gif entertaining, surely it's suitable if it gets a laugh, a retweet and gets people talking about and engaging with the club. This will be a key reason behind the club having social media accounts. 

The Gavin and Stacey thing was an interesting example. I actually thought the first time (or two) they used it they got it right. It was funny, original and was good content. Problem is they did it AGAIN a few days later and it felt like they'd overdone it.

Also they were quite unprofessional to a prolific member of 'Bristol City Twitter' and a semi-regular poster on here fairly recently. I think we were a bit spoiled under Adam Baker who got the balance of humour/informative content right. 

[Phileas Fogg]

They’re at it once again I see - yesterday afternoon/evening some particularly embarrassing tweets. The replies in response show how badly it’s received.

What is the club’s end goal here? I can only think they measure success in engagement alone (irrespective whether the engagement is good or bad).

This is what happens when you get rid of media staff who understand the club and supporters and replace them with outsiders and recent graduates who don’t even support the club but can make nice looking videos.

https://twitter.com/bristolcity/status/1220055276990038016?s=21

https://twitter.com/bristolcity/status/1219995376469585921?s=21

[miketh2nd]

These days life for the younger generation is based around social media... im not saying i agree with the club doing so much on things like twitter. 

But aslong as they get hits/traffic they will do it.... and lots of the younger generation will love it. They just need one silly thing to become big e.g the gifs! 

[Davefevs]

I like some of the twitter stuff and cringe at a lot too.

Streaky performance 

[HayBCFC]

2 minutes ago, miketh2nd said:

These days life for the younger generation is based around social media... im not saying i agree with the club doing so much on things like twitter. 

But aslong as they get hits/traffic they will do it.... and lots of the younger generation will love it. They just need one silly thing to become big e.g the gifs! 

I don’t get this argument.

The social media “traffic” under Adam Baker in that 2017/18 season was incredible. The goal GIFs love them or loathe them went completely viral, everyone was talking about us, laughing at them and now even copying us.

Fast forward two years and you have some mundane tw*t who doesn’t have a clue how to interact with our fans, doesn’t get us and often attempts to tweet horrendously unfunny shite that gets bad reactions.

How on earth can the decision to bin Adam Baker be viewed as a success when all of that is taken into account?

[Phileas Fogg]

14 minutes ago, miketh2nd said:

These days life for the younger generation is based around social media... im not saying i agree with the club doing so much on things like twitter. 

But aslong as they get hits/traffic they will do it.... and lots of the younger generation will love it. They just need one silly thing to become big e.g the gifs! 

I'd understand if they did love it, but most of the rubbish they post genuinely doesn't go down well with anyone.

Read the responses to the tweets I posted and you'll see.

'Targeting generation X' is a lazy excuse organisations use for left-field content. I have experience in the field and the way City go about it is all wrong, really bottom of the barrel content. 

[lenred]

 

33 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

They’re at it once again I see - yesterday afternoon/evening some particularly embarrassing tweets. The replies in response show how badly it’s received.

What is the club’s end goal here? I can only think they measure success in engagement alone (irrespective whether the engagement is good or bad).

This is what happens when you get rid of media staff who understand the club and supporters and replace them with outsiders and recent graduates who don’t even support the club but can make nice looking videos.

https://twitter.com/bristolcity/status/1220055276990038016?s=21

https://twitter.com/bristolcity/status/1219995376469585921?s=21

Taking the piss out of that bloke, one of our own who I guess is a passionate City fan, is just sad and crass  - on their behalf.  Don’t really get that Nagy one tbh.  

The rugby social media is just as bad - the other day they posted something basically saying Bris were top of the league because of their rebrand. Didn’t go down too well. Guessing its run by the same team though  

Don’t agree that it’s solely aimed at young people either - whatever age you are some of the shi te they come out with is just completely cringeworthy and embarrassing and occasionally confrontational.  But it’s just about hits I guess.  Just smacks of desperation though imho.