iii
ii
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iii
Acknowledgmen
I am g a e ul o my pa en s, who augh me ha educa ion is he mos powe ul asse in li e, ha nobody
e e akes i om you. And amid so much di icul y, I lea n o ake ad an age o e e y oppo uni y, and
o c ea e hem whene e possible. This hesis is he esul o ha . Thank you o my pa en s and o my
ances o s, who so o en le hei homes in sea ch o a be e li e.
Special hanks o my supe iso P o esso Joaquim Manuel Sil a, om he Uni e si y o Minho, who
guide me pa ien ly and wisely h ough he long p ocess o his esea ch. Also, o P o esso Ma co Ie a,
om he Uni e si y o Pa ma, o his collabo a ion wi h social media analy ics eachings.
I wan o dedica e his hesis o e e yone who o e came obs acles and aced losses du ing he pandemic
bu who esis ed and mo ed on.

i
“Spo has he powe o change he wo ld. I has he powe o inspi e.
I has he powe o uni e people in a way ha li le else does. I speaks
o you h in a language hey unde s and. Spo can c ea e hope, whe e
once he e was only despai . I is mo e powe ul han go e nmen s in
b eaking down acial ba ie s. I laughs in he ace o all ypes o
disc imina ion.”
Nelson Mandela
STATEMENT OF INTEGRITY
I he eby decla e ha ing conduc ed his academic wo k wi h in eg i y. I con i m ha I ha e no used
plagia ism o any o m o undue use o in o ma ion o alsi ica ion o esul s along he p ocess leading o
i s elabo a ion.
I u he decla e ha I ha e ully acknowledged he Code o E hical Conduc o he Uni e si y o Minho.
i
Resumo
Comp ome imen o de adep os du an e a pandemia do Co id-19: Uma análise de con eúdo
dos clubes de u ebol nos media sociais e as (no as) endências de in e ação dos ãs
Es a disse ação em como obje i o in es iga o comp ome imen o dos adep os ao seu clube du an e
um dos pe íodos de c ise humani á ia global, ocasionado pela pandemia do Co id-19. Dado o
ompimen o do elo de ligação en e ãs e os jogos de u ebol, de ido à sua suspensão po longos
pe íodos, su ge a impo ância de se es uda as es a égias de con eúdo em medias sociais desen ol idas
pelos clubes das cinco maio es ligas de u ebol da Eu opa, os “Big Fi e”. A pesquisa ambém in es iga
as espos as dos ãs a esse con eúdo, e elando endências que e le em as p e e ências do público.
Es a in es igação incidiu na análise da a i idade na ede social Twi e du an e os qua o p imei os meses
da pandemia de oi o clubes de u ebol das ligas:
Se ie A
(I ália),
La Liga
(Espanha),
P emie League
(Ingla e a),
Bundesliga
(Alemanha) e
Ligue 1
(F ança), selecionados de aco do com a sua popula idade.
A escolha do Twi e de eu-se à sua popula idade, à sua ele ância his ó ica na comunicação despo i a
nas medias sociais e ambém de ido ao seu as o po encial em p omo e a o mação de comunidade,
a o que co obo a com o o alecimen o in e ação en e adep os.
A in o mação cole ada oi esumida num mind map, que guiou a análise quali a i a e quan i a i a
u ilizadas. Os esul ados e elam um pad ão de pa ilha de con eúdos c iados pelos clubes. Tópicos
ligados a B anding e pos agens in o ma i as elacionadas ao Co id-19 a aí am mais e wee s e likes se
compa ados com ou as inicia i as iden i icadas. Também se cons a a que os con eúdos de
Responsabilidade Social Co po a i a (RSC) ecebe am um maio comp ome imen o dos adep os. Es e
ópico cump e um papel ainda mais pode oso na conexão en e clubes e ãs num con ex o de isolamen o
social, pois se comp ome e e con ibui com o bem-es a social.
Os con ibu os eó icos e p á icos des e es udo são mui o ele an es pela sua a ualidade, po se o
p imei o a analisa em empo eal as es a égias de comunicação dos clubes e os esul ados do
comp ome imen o dos ãs nas edes sociais en e aos di e en es es ímulos du an e a pandemia.
Pala as-cha e: Análise dos media sociais, Comp ome imen o do adep o, Co id-19, Fu ebol,
Responsabilidade Social Co po a i a.
ii
Abs ac
Fan engagemen du ing Co id-19 pandemic: An analysis o oo ball clubs’ con en on social
media and he (new) ends in ans in e ac ions
This hesis in es iga es he ans’ engagemen o hei clubs du ing one o he pe iods o he global
humani a ian c isis caused by he Co id-19 pandemic. Amid a up u e be ween ans and oo ball
ma ches, since hose we e suspended o long pe iods, eme ges he need o s udy social media con en
s a egies de eloped by clubs om he main Eu opean Leagues, he “Big Fi e”. The esea ch also
in es iga es he ans’ esponse o his con en , showing ends ha e lec public p e e ences.
This in es iga ion ocused on he analysis o ac i i y on he social ne wo k Twi e du ing he i s ou
mon hs o he pandemic o eigh oo ball clubs in he leagues:
Se ie A
(I aly),
La Liga
(Spain),
P emie
League
(England),
Bundesliga
(Ge man) and
Ligue 1
(F ance), selec ed acco dingly o hei popula i y.
The choice o Twi e was due o i s his o ical ele ance on spo s communica ion in social media while
main aining i s as po en ial in p omo ing he es ablishmen o a communi y, which con i ms he
s eng hening o he in e ac ion be ween ans.
The collec ed da a was o ganised in a mind map ha guided he subsequen quali a i e and quan i a i e
analysis. The esul s e eal a pa e n o sha ing con en c ea ed by clubs. Compa ed o o he ini ia i es,
B anding
ela ed opics, and in o ma i e pos s ela ed o Co id-19 ga he ed mo e e wee s and likes. The
analysis also e idences ha he con en s o Co po a e Social Responsibili y (CSR) ecei ed a g ea e
commi men om suppo e s. This opic plays an e en mo e powe ul ole in he connec ion be ween
clubs and ans in a con ex o social isola ion, as i is commi ed o and con ibu es o social well-being.
The heo e ical and p ac ical con ibu ions o his s udy a e e y ele an due o i s imeliness, as i is he
i s s udy o analyse in eal- ime he communica ion s a egies o he clubs and he esul s o he ans,
in e ms o hei engagemen in he social ne wo ks o he di e en s imuli du ing he pandemic.
Keywo ds: Social media analysis, Fan engagemen , Co id-19, Foo ball, Co po a e Social Responsibili y
xi
Lis o Figu es
Figu e 1 A Concep ual F amewo k o he P ocess o Engagemen (Bowden, 2009, p. 66)................. 13
Figu e 2 an Doo n e al. (2010)’s concep ual model o cus ome engagemen beha iou (p. 256) .... 14
Figu e 3 SME model by Di Gangi & Wasko (2016) ............................................................................ 18
Figu e 4 The COBRA ypology as a con inuum o h ee usage ypes – consuming, con ibu ing and
c ea ing. Ex ac om Mun inga e al. (2011, p. 16) .......................................................................... 22
Figu e 5 Mind Map Foo ball in he Co id-19 pandemic: he impac on an engagemen ..................... 52
Figu e 6 Bes Momen s Videos o celeb a e Tu kish oo ball playe Me ih Demi al bi hday. The mos
liked wee o he pe iod analysed. Code: B anding ........................................................................... 69
Figu e 7 “The goal by Ca li os #Te ez gi es o @BocaJ sO icial ic o y in he A gen ine championship!
Cong a ula ions, champion!”. I is he hi d mos liked and ou h mos e wee ed. Code: B anding .... 69
Figu e 8 The mos e wee ed wee o he pe iod analysed. The i s o icial announcemen ega ding he
posi i e Co id-19 es s in playe s. Code: O icial Announcemen ........................................................ 70
Figu e 9 Solida i y: playe wi h Co id-19. Commen on Dybala’s pos , he 7 h mos liked in he pe iod
analysed. Code: Social Commi men ................................................................................................. 70
Figu e 10 “Happy Bi hday, Paul”; Bi hday celeb a ion .................................................................... 72
Figu e 11 B anding A hle es ............................................................................................................. 72
Figu e 12 “Pe ec s op, one- wo wi h @aa on amsey, slalom and le -handed winge ! #TBT o
@PauDybala_JR's ea in #Ju en usIn e ”; Sco ing a goal ................................................................. 72
Figu e 13 Backs age a home, Sub-code: B and In e ac ion (A Home) .............................................. 73
Figu e 14 Re u n ease , New Code: New No mal ............................................................................. 73
Figu e 15 Bes momen s .................................................................................................................. 74
Figu e 16 JUVENTUS TV FREE FOR ONE MONTH! We help you s ay a home: en e he code
JUVE30DAYS and you can y i o ee all o e he wo ld @Ju en usTV o one mon h!*
h p://ju e.i /AVuj50yL5y *o e alid only on mon hly passes h p://ju e.i /UmcR50yL5 q"; Sub-code:
B anding+ ........................................................................................................................................ 74
Figu e 17 “Being es ed is ou na u e. Winning he nex challenge is ou soul. #KeepJeep @Jeep_People”;
Sub-code: B and+Sponso ................................................................................................................ 74
Figu e 18 “An idea o Eas e lunch. Ou bes wishes om ou O icial Pas a #DeCecco
h ps://bi .ly/2JJS e8”; New Code: Sponso ed ................................................................................. 74
Figu e 19 “TODAY AT 15:00 AT HOME WITH THE JUVE! Li e web @10_Sma i and @DanieleRugani
gues s o En ico Zamb uno and Claudio Zuliani. Twee immedia ely you ques ions, hash ags
#ACasaConLaJu e! LIVE on h p://you ube.com/Ju en us and h p:// .ju en us.com” ................... 75
Figu e 20 “Happy Eas e o all he (whi e and black emo ions) a ound he wo ld (hea emo ion). Thi d
es : can you ind he egg hidden in he image? #HappyEas e ” ......................................................... 75
Figu e 21 “Choose a GIF o commen he CR7 skills. A e you eady o one #GIFChain?” .................. 76
Figu e 22 “This is he momen o colou you house in (emo ions in whi e and black colou s). Tag us in
you pho o and ideo: we a e going o publish he bes ones!” .......................................................... 76
Figu e 23 “Company no e | Ag eemen wi h oo ball playe s and coaches om he i s eam” ......... 77
Figu e 24 “Co id-19, cu ed @PauDybala_JR” ................................................................................... 77

x
Figu e 25 The und aising campaign s a s wi h he clubs’ p esiden And ea Agnelli announcemen . “In
such a delica e momen , we wan o make ou con ibu ion. Dona e oge he wi h Ju en us
h p://ju e.i /h8s550yKjdA #Dis an iMaUni i #Li eAhead” ............................................................... 78
Figu e 26 Second pos o many pos ed showing playe s eco ded ideos asking people o dona e. “Wo d
o Capi an @Chiellini. Dona e oge he wi h Ju en us. h p://go undme.com/ /dis an i-ma-uni i-dona-
insieme-alla-ju en us #Dis an iMaUni i#Li eAhead” ........................................................................... 78
Figu e 27 “The Agnelli amily and i s socie y o Co id-19 eme gency” ............................................... 79
Figu e 28 “#Ju eMilan, he Allianz S adium ood will no be was ed. This is why: (link)” .................... 79
Figu e 29 Honou o he ic ims o he To ino F.C. disas e ............................................................... 80
Figu e 30 Solida i y be ween clubs ................................................................................................... 80
Figu e 31 Social Commi men , di e si y, equal igh s, human igh s .................................................. 84
Figu e 32 Social Commi men , condolences ..................................................................................... 84
Figu e 33 Celeb a ion, New Code: O he ........................................................................................... 84
Figu e 34 T aining, e u n, in e ac ion. New Code: New No mal ........................................................ 84
Figu e 35 B anding A hle e ............................................................................................................... 85
Figu e 36 Celeb a ion, Bi hday ........................................................................................................ 85
Figu e 37 New No mal ..................................................................................................................... 85
Figu e 38 B and+Sponso ................................................................................................................ 85
Figu e 39 Conce , cha i y, Music & Spo s, he i s pos abou he F om Milan Wi h Lo e e en , and he
mos RT ........................................................................................................................................... 87
Figu e 40 The mos liked pos abou he F om Milan Wi h Lo e e en ................................................ 87
Figu e 41 Call in e iew .................................................................................................................... 88
Figu e 42 Quiz Time: o comple e he ph ase in English and I alian ................................................... 88
Figu e 43 Icon's episode on Milan's .................................................................................................. 88
Figu e 44 Soulma e Episode ............................................................................................................. 88
Figu e 45 Fan in e iew .................................................................................................................... 89
Figu e 46 Fan club messages ........................................................................................................... 89
Figu e 47 O icial s a emen .............................................................................................................. 90
Figu e 48 Re u n, Ma chdays da es .................................................................................................. 90
Figu e 49 Co id-19, Dona ion ........................................................................................................... 91
Figu e 50 Suppo , cha i y, ood deli e y ........................................................................................... 91
Figu e 51 Racism, Black Li es Ma e ............................................................................................... 91
Figu e 52 Suppo ing Social Dis ancing ............................................................................................. 91
Figu e 53 Ma chday ......................................................................................................................... 94
Figu e 54 “Real Mad id CF deeply eg e s he passing o Dolo s Sala Ca ió, mo he o Pep Gua diola.
Ou club wan s o show i s condolences o you amily and lo ed ones.”; Condolences ...................... 94
Figu e 55 “’Wha a h ill o ma k on #ElClásico! Go Mad id!’ #RealFoo ball |#HalaMad id”; Ma chday;
goal eco ded es imony ................................................................................................................... 95
Figu e 56 “Today we u n 118 yea s o his o y! Wha has been you bes momen as a mad idis a?”;
Club's his o y ................................................................................................................................... 95
Figu e 57 Recogni ion ...................................................................................................................... 96
Figu e 58 His o y, sco ing a goal ...................................................................................................... 96
x i
Figu e 59 “Good mo ning Mad idis as!”; Following ma ch-day, mo i a ion ......................................... 97
Figu e 60 “Will o play”; Mo i a ion ................................................................................................... 97
Figu e 61 Re u n; sco ing a goal. New Code: New No mal ................................................................ 97
Figu e 62 Re u n; New Codes: New No mal ...................................................................................... 97
Figu e 63 Digi al magazine, announcemen , Sub-code: B anding+..................................................... 98
Figu e 64 FIFA 21, eSpo s, Sub-code: B anding+ ............................................................................. 98
Figu e 65 Mad id opened an accoun on Twi ch; La Liga San ande Challenge .................................. 99
Figu e 66 Real Mad id launch i s new accoun on TikTok Real ........................................................... 99
Figu e 67 Fan playing Real Mad id an hem ..................................................................................... 101
Figu e 68 Th owback se ies announcemen .................................................................................... 101
Figu e 69 “B ing ou you a is ic side! Rec ea e one o ou bes momen s in any o ma : ideo, d awing,
song ... And send i on he LINK be o e e e y Sunday”; Con es ...................................................... 101
Figu e 70 Co id-19, News .............................................................................................................. 102
Figu e 71 Reducing expenses ......................................................................................................... 102
Figu e 72 Eu opean Solida i y Cup ................................................................................................. 103
Figu e 73 Real Mad id Solida i y ..................................................................................................... 103
Figu e 74 Bi hday celeb a ion ........................................................................................................ 107
Figu e 75 New no mal, labeled: B anding ....................................................................................... 107
Figu e 76 Young Ba celona an doing keepie uppie ......................................................................... 107
Figu e 77 @LaLigaEN epos .......................................................................................................... 107
Figu e 78 Leonel Messi's abili ies (pho o) ....................................................................................... 108
Figu e 79 Leonel Messi's abili ies ( ideo), sco ing a goal ................................................................. 108
Figu e 80 His o y, Memo y ............................................................................................................. 109
Figu e 81 Anima ion, sponso ed. Sub-label: B and+Sponso ........................................................... 109
Figu e 82 C ea ion o he Vibe Communi y .................................................................................... 110
Figu e 83 Con es , leads, Ba ça Websi e ......................................................................................... 110
Figu e 84 Cule s A Home hash ag launch ...................................................................................... 111
Figu e 85 Cule s A Home #1 ......................................................................................................... 111
Figu e 86 A wo k (colou he pic u e) ............................................................................................. 112
Figu e 87 Fan A ........................................................................................................................... 112
Figu e 88 Closed doo s, Co id-19, News ........................................................................................ 113
Figu e 89 Co id-19, Suspended ac i i ies ........................................................................................ 113
Figu e 90 Suppo , S ay a Home, Playe es imony ........................................................................ 114
Figu e 91 Ba celona agains acism ................................................................................................ 114
Figu e 92 Solida i y ........................................................................................................................ 115
Figu e 93 Essencial se ices p o essionals ...................................................................................... 115
Figu e 94 Social Commi men ........................................................................................................ 120
Figu e 95 Paul Pogba bi hday celeb a ion ...................................................................................... 120
Figu e 96 Coming back .................................................................................................................. 120
Figu e 97 Con ac ex ension .......................................................................................................... 120
Figu e 98 In e ac ion, B anding ...................................................................................................... 121
Figu e 99 B and+Sponso .............................................................................................................. 121
x ii
Figu e 100 #S ayA HomeChallenge ................................................................................................ 122
Figu e 101 New No mal, Wa ch games a home ............................................................................. 122
Figu e 102 Con e ence call ............................................................................................................ 123
Figu e 103 P og am in e iew ........................................................................................................ 123
Figu e 104 Fans' pa icipa ion ( o ing) Ma ch.................................................................................. 124
Figu e 105 Rewind se ies. Fans pa icipa ed o ing ......................................................................... 124
Figu e 106 A Challenge ................................................................................................................ 124
Figu e 107 Pos poned announcemen ............................................................................................ 125
Figu e 108 Ticke s a angemen s ................................................................................................... 125
Figu e 109 Dona e you wo ds, in pa ne ship wi h Cadbu y UK ...................................................... 126
Figu e 110 Washing hands ............................................................................................................. 126
Figu e 111 Gi en suppo o NHS p o essionals .............................................................................. 126
Figu e 112 Honou o Na ional Heal h Se ice ................................................................................ 126
Figu e 113 Fund aising a le .......................................................................................................... 127
Figu e 114 Uni ed agains acism ................................................................................................... 127
Figu e 115 P emie League champions announcemen ................................................................... 131
Figu e 116 P emie league champions celeb a ion .......................................................................... 131
Figu e 117 Manches e Uni ed pos e wee ed ................................................................................ 131
Figu e 118 T ibu e o Hillsbo ough disas e ic ims ......................................................................... 131
Figu e 119 A hle es aining a home .............................................................................................. 132
Figu e 120 A pic u e o he s adium as hei "home" ...................................................................... 132
Figu e 121 Th owback se ies.......................................................................................................... 133
Figu e 122 FIFA20 upda e, Sub-label: B anding+ ............................................................................ 133
Figu e 123 #LFCHomeGoals .......................................................................................................... 134
Figu e 124 Home Skills i s episode .............................................................................................. 134
Figu e 125 Hygienic p ac ices o hose a ending he game ............................................................. 134
Figu e 126 Showing s ay a home suppo ...................................................................................... 136
Figu e 127 LFC Connec : social isola ion acking ........................................................................... 136
Figu e 128 T ea boxes deli e y o key wo ke s in ca e homes ........................................................ 136
Figu e 129 Ca e home esiden s connec ing wi h hei amilies ....................................................... 136
Figu e 130 “Uni y is s eng h” ........................................................................................................ 137
Figu e 131 Thank you NHS and Black Li es Ma e je sey messages ............................................... 137
Figu e 132 Commen ing a ic o y wi h he esul and he commen “Wonde ul” ............................. 140
Figu e 133 “We ake a deep b ea h” .............................................................................................. 140
Figu e 134 Condolences Pape Diou amily and ela i es ................................................................. 140
Figu e 135 Mau o Ica di new playe announcemen ........................................................................ 140
Figu e 136 Playe s' Ins ag am s o ies ............................................................................................. 141
Figu e 137 T aining a home episodes, sub-label: B and+Sponso ................................................... 141
Figu e 138 PSG is he F ance o icial champion .............................................................................. 142
Figu e 139 "Red and Blue Flash" new se ies p og am wi h news and in e iews .............................. 143
Figu e 140 PSG Wa ch Pa y .......................................................................................................... 143
Figu e 141 Co e pho o challenge .................................................................................................. 144
x iii
Figu e 142 #PSGHomeChallenge ................................................................................................... 144
Figu e 143 #PSGChallenge ............................................................................................................ 145
Figu e 144 #ALLa Home Gaming Cup ............................................................................................ 145
Figu e 145 “Pa is Sain -Ge main akes no e and suppo s he decision o he @LFP ” .................... 146
Figu e 146 "All he o icial Pa is Sain -Ge main s o es, as well as he #PSGexpe ience a e now closed
un il u he no ice" ........................................................................................................................ 146
Figu e 147 #OnApplaudi ............................................................................................................... 147
Figu e 148 "Tous Unis" (All oge he ) ............................................................................................. 147
Figu e 149 #Hé osduQuo idien (E e yday he oes) ........................................................................... 148
Figu e 150 Vi al ideo ega ding Meownuel Neue skills .................................................................. 151
Figu e 151 #Mei8 e : he eigh h Bundesliga i le ............................................................................ 151
Figu e 152 In ini e symbol ollowed by he Mei8 e hash ag............................................................. 152
Figu e 153 “Cong a ula ions on he bi h o you daugh e , Anna and @lewy_o icial!” .................... 152
Figu e 154 “To s a he new week: Fi ness wi h @lewy_o icial!” .................................................... 153
Figu e 155 Toile pape challenge ................................................................................................... 153
Figu e
156
Old
ma ches
o
be
e iewed
.......................................................................................... 154
Figu e 157 #Fou RingsChallenge .................................................................................................... 154
Figu e 158 "Wha a e you cu en ly wa ching a home?" ................................................................. 155
Figu e 159 Co ona i us: Cu en s a us be o e he home game agains FC Augsbu g ...................... 156
Figu e 160 Because o co ona i us: semi- inals in #DFBPokal eloca ed .......................................... 156
Figu e 161 Baye n's p esiden Ka l-Heinz Rummenigge p onuncia ion ega ding Co ona i us .......... 157
Figu e 162 Tag gegen Rassismus (Day agains acism) ................................................................... 157
Figu e 163 Baye n ace masks; Sub-code: social ma ke ing ............................................................ 157
Figu e 164 “I akes nine minu es o sco e i e goals and a leas 20 seconds o wash ou hands” .. 157
Figu e 165 10.000 eu os dona ion o Münchne Ta el .................................................................... 158
Figu e 166 250,000 eu os dona ion o We Kick Co ona .................................................................. 158
Figu e 167 Ro gegen Rassismus (Red Agains Racism), Black Li es Ma e .................................... 159
Figu e 168 #Co onaWa nApp ......................................................................................................... 159
1
Chap e 1. In oduc ion
“Foo ball wi hou ans is no hing.”
1
The quo e was said by he 13 yea s Cel ic and Sco land manage
Jock S ein (1922 – 1985). Tha makes pe ec sense and can be p o ed wi h numbe s om an economic
poin o iew. Foo ball is he mos popula spo s globally, g owing as e han he global GDP (Collignon,
2011; Pe o mance Communica ions & Can as8, 2016). Wi h a leas 3.5 billion suppo e s a ound he
wo ld (Top 10 Mos Popula Spo s in The Wo ld, 2020; Sh ili, 2020), oo ball ep esen s one o he
highes sha es o he global spo s indus y, whe e spo s ans gene a e an amoun o 1.5 illion dolla s
(Aiken, Bee, & Walke , 2018). Jus he Eu opean P emie leagues we e esponsible o gene a ing a
e enue o 28,9 billion eu os ( he equi alen o 33,62 billion dolla s)
2
in he season o 2018/19 (a 2%
g ow h compa ed o he 2017/18 campaign), 59% (17 billion eu os o 19,12 billion dolla s) belonging o
he Big Fi e, he op- ie oo ball leagues in Eu ope (Deloi e, 2020b).
In a business o cus ome app oach, spo s ans a e he co e o he oo ball indus y as he p ima y
e enue sou ce (Bouzdine-Chamee a, Fe and, Vale e-Flo ence, & Chana a , 2015). They di ec ly impac
he clubs’ e enues by pu chasing icke sales o wa ch spo ing e en s. They a e he eason o he
me chandising, which includes he sales o licensed p oduc s wi h eam logos. Addi ionally, spo s
b oadcas a ge ans ha gene a e ees paid o wa ch spo ing e en s h ough media igh s. Indi ec ly,
spo s ans a ec sponso s and local pa ne s (PwC Spo s Ou look, 2017; Cons and , Pa en , & Willem,
2019). Tha is he eason why engagemen , in pa icula , spo s ans engagemen , has been so much
s udied in ecen yea s. P e ious esea ch has sugges ed ha engaged ans exhibi high a endance le els,
ecommend he eam o o he s and pu chase mo e me chandise (Hedlund, 2014; McDonald, Ka g, &
Vocino, 2013). Mo eo e , i is i al o spo s eams' success o de elop and main ain a passiona e g oup
o ans (Biscaia, Hedlund, Dickson, & Naylo , 2018).
Jock S ein’s quo e “ oo ball wi hou ans is no hing” has gained ele ance in 2020 du ing he Co id-19
pandemic. Mo e han e e , eams and playe s el he impo ance ha ans ha e o he spo ’s exis ence
(and su i al). None heless, wha abou he opposi e when ans a e le wi hou ma ches? Tha happened
when Eu ope leagues and ede a ions announced he suspension o compe i ions om Ma ch 11 h, when
1
“Foo ball wi hou ans is no hing” is he educed and popula ized o m o he o iginal quo e: "Wi hou ans who pay a he u ns ile, oo ball is no hing.
Some imes we a e inclined o o ge ha . The only chance o b inging hem in o s adiums is i hey a e en e ained by wha happens on he oo ball ield."
(Kelly, 2020)
2
T ansac ion based on he quo a ion o 22/6/2020

2
he I alian Se ie A announced he ou namen suspension h ough hei o icial Twi e accoun (Lega
Se ie A, 2020).
The wo ld aced a new eali y om Ma ch 2020: s adiums we e closed, and no mo e ma chdays. On
Ma ch 11 h, he Wo ld Heal h O ganiza ion announced he s a o he pandemic (WHO, 2020d). I s a ed
o change only on May 16 h when Bundesliga 2019/20 season esumed i s campaign (Ue s eld, 2020).
Howe e , he games e u ned wi hou public. The championship was esumed o i s ans only h ough
TV and adio b oadcas s. Ge many banned mass ga he ing un il Decembe 31s (The Local, 2020;
Dellanna, 2020). Closed-doo ma ches we e pa o he new eali y: playe s played wi hou he usual
chee and yell om he public, while ans a home wa ching he games wi h akes c owd chee ing as
backg ound noises (Olley, 2020).
The clubs su e ed a signi ican loss a e he pe iod wi hou ma ches and hen wi h closed-doo games
in 2019/20, p edic ed o emain un il he 2020/21 campaign (Magui e, 2020). In May 2020, he KPMG
FBM Repo calcula ed he losses conside ing wo dis inc scena ios: he i s one conside ing he
cancella ion o he seasons; he second, games played behind closed doo s. The losses would ange
a ound 26,5% ( he equi alen o almos 10 billion eu os) o 17,7% (a ound 6.6 billion eu os), conce ning
he alue o 4.183 playe s in 10 Eu opean Leagues in bo h hypo heses (KPMG Spo s Ad iso y P ac ice,
2020).
The eal e enues impac con inues o be accoun ed o , bu i is possible o ha e some glimpses
acco ding o ins i u ions and clubs ha al eady sha ed hei losses. The Eu opean Club Associa ion (ECA)
announced in July, a e enue loss o a ound 4 billion eu os (a ound 4.5 billion dolla s) (The Associa ed
P ess, 2020). By he end o he 2020/21 season, ECA con i med a mo e complex eali y: he Eu opean
eli e clubs had los mo e han 5 billion eu os (5.9 billion dolla s) in e enue (Impey, 2020). In Augus
2020, F.C. Ba celona announced o ha e los 203 million eu os in e enue in he 2019/20 inancial yea
(F.C. Ba celona, 2020). The club had b oken he eco d e enue o 841 million dolla s in he 2018/19
campaign (Deloi e, 2020a), becoming he i s oo ball club o o e come he 800 million dolla s ba ie .
Fo 2019/20, hey we e expec ing 1.059 billion eu os o e enue. Manches e Uni ed announced a 77,24
million eu os (70 million pounds) d op in i s e enue du ing he pandemic (S one, 2020). Ju en us F.C.
in o med a loss o 140 million eu os wi h a 215 million eu os loss p edic ion in he 2020/21 campaign
3
in he wo s scena io (S a is a, 2020). Fu he mo e, he o ecas s con inue: FIFA p edic s a loss o 120
million dolla s in i s e enue o he 2022 Wo ld Cup (Dunba , 2020).
Following he losses in e enues, om he ma ke ing pe spec i e, his b and-new si ua ion aised he
challenge o keeping he ans engaged when he main engagemen link was cu . The Co id-19 pandemic
is he i s wo ld heal h c isis in a social media e a, which enhances he impo ance o online pla o ms,
such as social media, in p o iding spo manage s wi h he ools o manage commi men and an
engagemen by c ea ing new and in e ac i e expe iences (Meng, S a os, & Wes be g, 2015).
Social media has gained a c ucial ole in he las wo decades (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010), in a con ex
whe e he concep ual shi om p oduc o cus ome -cen ic and cus ome ela ionships become a op
p io i y o he companies (Ve hoe , Reina z, & K a , 2010). Simul aneously wi h he inc easing s udy o
he engagemen s a egies and app oaches, he online ne wo k became mo e meaning ul o he
companies o each hei public. I impac ed di e en economy sec o s, ans o ming spo s ma ke ing
(Wi kempe , Lim, & Waldbu ge , 2012).
P o essional spo s eams we e pionee s in adop ing social media pla o ms (Filo, Lock, & Ka g, 2015).
The ad en o social ne wo ks enables spo s ans o in e ac di ec ly wi h hei a ou i e eams, o he ans
and sha e and gene a e con en (Pego a o & Jinnah, 2012). Beyond ha , social media su passes
geog aphical ba ie s and allows ans o ollow he ac i i ies o he club hey suppo ega dless o hei
loca ion (Gibbons & Dixon, 2010).
These new esou ces mo i a ed he clubs o c ea e online ma ke ing s a egies in e en mo e e icien
ways o di ec in e ac ion wi h ans (Pego a o, 2010), enhancing he ela ionships be ween eams and
hei audience, and os e ing ela ional exchanges (P onschinske, G oza, & Walke , 2012). I explains why
mos p o essional spo s eams made an e o o keep hei p esence on se e al social media pla o ms
and inc easingly expand o new online pla o ms. Fu he , in he con ex o social dis ancing and
lockdowns, he online pla o ms we e an e ec i e way (i no he mos ) o communica e.
While an engagemen s udies in social media p og essed in spo s ma ke ing, he need o gi e back o
hei communi y became e en mo e e iden . B ands ha e been c ea ing s a egies o engage g oups in
socially desi able beha iou s o con ibu e o communi y de elopmen agendas (Babiak & Wol e, 2009;
4
Le e mo e, 2010; Walke , Ken , & Vincen , 2010). In a c isis pe iod, he eason o in es ing in CSR can
be ela ed o co po a e image, ha is buil h ough an o e all imp ession, ei he posi i e o nega i e, o
consume s owa d a company associa ed wi h eelings, a i udes, and expe iences o company’s
pe o mance (Aake , 1995; Nandan, 2005; Wal e s, 1978).
Many s udies we e conduc ed du ing he pandemic o unde s and he eal impac o he Co id-19 in he
economy, labou and o he ma ke sec o s (e.g. He, Sun, Zhang, & Li, 2020; Wójcik & Ioannou, 2020;
Shen, Fu, Pan, Yu, & Chen, 2020). Howe e , o he bes o ou knowledge, he e is a lack o speci ic
s udies in es iga ing he heme o an engagemen on social ne wo ks (in pa icula on Twi e ) du ing he
i s global c isis in a social media e a. The pandemic si ua ion has c ea ed a unique esea ch oppo uni y
o analyse he clubs’ p ac ices o engaging hei ans using social media and unde s anding and
measu ing oo ball ans’ engagemen esponses. The e o e, his disse a ion has wo main pu poses.
Fi s , i in es iga es he ac i i ies de eloped by oo ball clubs on social media o engage hei ans. Second
i in ends o unde s and and measu e ans engagemen in a con ex o physical and social dis ancing
imposed by he Co id-19 pandemic.
The e o e, we in end o unde s and bo h sides o engagemen : on he one hand, o iden i y he igge s
o engagemen , ha is, he solu ions ound by clubs o en e ain ans, and on he o he hand, he ans’
esponses o i , obse ing he ype o con en ha had mo e popula i y among he audience. The esul
is a egis e o he oo ball ma ke ing s a egies de eloped in a c isis pe iod and cap u e he ans’ in e es s
in ha si ua ion, which is in luenced by he cu en eali y and can also indica e a possible legacy o
spo s engagemen .
In his esea ch, an engagemen is unde s ood as he cus ome ’s beha iou s owa ds he spo s
o ganisa ion and/o o he cus ome s o accomplish indi idual o social pu poses (Yoshida, Go don,
Nakazawa, & Biscaia, 2014). Fan engagemen is analysed h ough he spec um o he eam- o- an
ela ionship using online pla o ms, based on he con ibu ions o he social media engagemen li e a u e
(e.g. Mun inga, Moo man, & Smi , 2011) and spo s li e a u e (e.g. San os, Co eia, Biscaia, & Pego a o,
2019).
We app oach he Co po a e Social Responsibili y (CSR) concep using Anagnos opoulos & Shilbu y
(2013)’s de ini ion: “an o ganisa ion’s du y o maximise i s long- e m posi i e impac on socie y, while
5
simul aneously minimising i s nega i e e ec ” (p. 268), which co e s Ca oll’s (1991) ou componen s:
economic (make p o i s and be iable), legal ( he du y o obey he law), e hical ( esponsibili y o ac
acco ding o socie al expec a ions), and disc e iona y (ini ia i es ha go beyond socie al expec a ions).
The impo ance o unde s anding he CSR ole in his esea ch conside s ha he pandemic, in a c isis
con ex , o e ed unique oppo uni ies o companies o engage in CSR ini ia i es ac i ely, inso a as
consume s became mo e sensi i e o e hical issues in hei decision p ocess.
Fo his pu pose, we ocus on he con en published on Twi e o i s as po en ial o p omo e communi y
building (Hull & Lewis, 2014) and o i s long adi ion and popula i y among spo s ans (Bu ns, 2014).
Among ans, 67% a e mo e likely o use he mic o-blogging si e o enhance hei li e o ele ised iewing
expe ience compa ed han non-spo ans, acco ding o Na iga e Resea ch (DiMo o, 2015). We analyse
eigh clubs’ o icial Twi e accoun s: A.C. Milan and Ju en us F.C. (I alian Se ie A); F.C. Ba celona and
Real Mad id F.C. (Spanish La Liga); Li e pool F.C. and Manches e Uni ed F.C. (English P emie League);
Baye n München (Ge man Bundesliga); and Pa is Sain -Ge main F.C (F ench Ligue 1). The chosen clubs
a e pa o he op- ie Eu opean leagues, called Big Fi e, men ioned abo e in pa en heses. Beyond he
clubs ha a e pa o hose leagues, he men ioned ones we e selec ed acco ding o hei popula i y on
he social media pla o ms.
The disse a ion is o ganised in o eigh chap e s. In Chap e 1, we in oduce he heme, he esea ch
pu poses and he app oach. In Chap e 2, we con ex ualise he Co id-19 pandemic and i s impac on he
changing beha iou on social media. Then, we p esen he “Li e a u e Re iew” (Chap e 3), app oaching
he cons uc s o engagemen , social media, an engagemen and co po a e social esponsibili y.
“Me hodology”, in Chap e 4, desc ibes he esea ch p oblem, he esea ch pa adigm and esea ch
design and he objec i es, ollowed by Chap e 5, o desc ibe he de ails o “Da a Collec ion and Da a
analysis”. Chap e 6 p esen s he “Findings”, e ealing he esul s and examples om he p e ious s ep,
he da a collec ion and analysis, illus a ed by wee examples and g aphics wi h he da a esul s. A he
end o his esea ch, we discuss he “Resul s” in Chap e 7 and p esen he “Conclusion” in Chap e 8.
12
iden i y, b and pe sonali y, and b and expe ience, o ad ance “insigh s in his eme ging a ea” (Hollebeek,
2011, p. 562).
3.1.1 Cus ome engagemen and loyal y
Wi h engagemen , he no ion o cus ome sa is ac ion is ans o med in o an elabo a e p ocess model o
loyal y. The pa h passes h ough sa is ac ion, deligh , us , in ol emen , and commi men om a
cus ome o a speci ic b and. Acco ding o Bowden (2009), he “pa hways and p ocesses ha di e en
expe ience-based segmen s ollow on hei jou ney owa d loyal y” (p. 64).
Since he 1980s, he companies ealise ha i was mo e p o i able o epea he pu chase, so loyal y was
in oduced in he li e a u e. I was e iden hen ha he long- e m and sus ainable compe i i e ad an age
is linked o i s abili y o e ain, sus ain and nu u e he cus ome base (Ande son, Fo nell, & Maz anche yl,
2004; G uca & Rego, 2005).
The li e a u e ha i s indica es cus ome sa is ac ion as he pa h ha leads o loyal y la e iden i ies
cus ome engagemen (CE) as esponsible o inc easing loyal y, in e p e ing he cus ome s’ sys ema ic
posi i e beha iou owa ds he o ganisa ion as ano he ela ional consequence o CE (Dwye , 2011). I
became necessa y o analyse beyond epu chase beha iou i sel and c ea e cus ome -based me ics o
measu ing o ganisa ional pe o mance, aking in o accoun , o example, us and commi men , se ice
quali y pe cep ions, b and expe ience, b and-consume connec ions, consume iden i ica ion, cus ome
equi y ( an Doo n e al., 2010).
Bowden (2009) used some o hose app oaches o c ea e a amewo k o he p ocess o engagemen
ha leads o loyal y (Figu e 2). The au ho plo ed he empo al de elopmen o loyal y by mapping he
ela ionships be ween he cons uc s o calcula i e commi men , a ec i e commi men , in ol emen , and
us , o unde s and he p og ess ha ans o ms he single pu chase as cus ome s om being ew o a
se ice b and epe i i e pu chase. This p ocess is de ailed in Figu e 2 in a model ha un a el he
mechanisms among new e sus epea pu chase cus ome s o a se ice b and ha d i es an endu ing
s a e o loyal y.

13
Figu e 1 A Concep ual F amewo k o he P ocess o Engagemen (Bowden, 2009, p. 66)
The amewo k o cus ome engagemen allows us o unde s and he impo ance o engagemen s udies
o imp o e he loyal y ela ions be ween b ands and clien s, which is e en mo e e iden when hey a e
ans. Addi ionally, he con ex o he c isis du ing he pandemic highligh s he ele ance o hese s udies
now. Acco ding o esea ch de eloped in 2020 by he “Osse a o io Fedel a” om he Uni e si y o
Pa ma, I aly, communica ion and/o engagemen ools a e he loyal y s a egy and cus ome expe ience
aspec s o he mos signi ican change p edic ed by he companies in he ongoing-pandemic and pos -
pandemic eali y (Le a & Ziliani, 2020).
3.1.2 Cus ome engagemen beha iou
To Van Doo n e al. (2010), cus ome engagemen beha iou (CEB) is de ined as cus ome s’ beha iou al
mani es a ions, bo h posi i e o nega i e (e.g., pos ing a posi i e b and message on a blog s o ganizing
public ac ions agains a i m) owa d a b and o a i m - beyond he pu chase ansac ion, esul ed om
mo i a ional d i e s. Fu he mo e, he au ho s c ea ed a concep ual model o s uc u e he heo e ical
ounda ions o he CEB wi h a b and/ i m ocus, aking he beha iou al s ance o de ine CEB (Figu e 3)
h ough alence, o m o modali y, scope, na u e o i s impac , and cus ome goals as i s i e dimensions.
In his model, he CEB an eceden s and consequences a e also es ablished based on cus ome , i m,
con ex , and o he s.
14
Figu e 2 an Doo n e al. (2010)’s concep ual model o cus ome engagemen beha iou (p. 256)
The CEB’s dimension, acco ding o an Doo n e al. (2010), includes i e elemen s: (1) he alence
comp ise consume ac ions such as WOM ac i i y, blogging, and online e iews, ha could be posi i e o
nega i e; (2) he o m and modali y e e o he ype o esou ces ( ime s money), ha include complain
beha iou and disc e iona y ac i i ies as olun a ily, o e ing use ul sugges ions o o he cus ome s; (3)
he scope, which is he empo al and geog aphic dimension (e.g., i ms mus de ine i he cus ome s a e
local o global cus ome s and i hey engage empo ally momen a y o ongoing); (4) he na u e o impac ,
concep ualized in immediacy, in ensi y, b ead h and longe i y; (5) inaly, cus ome s’ goals, ela ed o
engaging ( o whom i is di ec ed; he plan ex ension o i ; and how much is he cus ome s’ aspi a ions
aligned wi h he i ms’ objec i es).
Rega ding he i e elemen s, his an engagemen analysis achie es he alence (1) h ough he e-WOM
and sha ing ac i i y (mainly he quo e wee , whe e he pos is sha ed wi h a commen ); he modali y (2),
ela ed o he ac ha ollowe s on Twi e beha e as a communi y, whe e a an in e ac s wi h o he s
helping each o he ; he scope (3) as an in e na ional con ex , whe e b ands know hey a e alking wi h
people om e e y pa o he globe, and because o ha , eams c ea e mul iple p o iles o in e ac in
15
o he languages; he na u e o he impac (4), which can be ela i e and a y acco dingly wi h he con ex ;
and he (5) inally, cus ome s' goals, closely aligned wi h he b ands since hey a e de o ed ans.
The e a e h ee main a eas in ma ke ing whe e engagemen ha e been scien i ically explo ing: social
media (Hollebeek, Glynn, & B odie, 2014), e ailing (S. D. Vi ek, Bea y, Dalela, & Mo gan, 2014) and
se ices (Jaakkola & Alexande , 2014). This disse a ion will ocus on he social media aspec eme ging
om online an engagemen .
3.2 Social media
The co e o he social media’s de ini ion can be sum up as he ollowing quo e: “ he ools, pla o ms, and
applica ions ha enable consume s o connec , communica e, and collabo a e wi h o he s” (Williams &
Chinn, 2010, p. 422). Those online pla o ms allow a wide ange o wo d-o -mou h o ums, including
blogs and mic oblogs, company-sponso ed discussion boa ds, and social ne wo king websi es (Kaplan &
Haenlein, 2010). They ha e been cons an ly enhanced, launching new ools and o ms o imp o ing use -
gene a ed con en . Spo s b ands equen ly use he bene i s o use -gene a ed con en on social media
o elici highe engagemen om ollowe s since his a i ice is mo e e ec i e han p oduc s- ocused pos s
(Geu in-Eagleman & Bu ch, 2016).
In he academic esea ch, social media has been s udied om many pe spec i es, as social in e ac ions,
usage pa e ns (Golde , Wilkinson, & Hube man, 2007; Hsu & Lin, 2008; Lampe, Ellison, & S ein ield,
2006); usage mo i a ions o pa icipan s (Joinson, 2008; Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008), and
cha ac e is ics o use s (Gjoka, Si i ianos, Ma kopoulou, & Yang, 2008; Ha gi ai, 2007). I can
encompass wo d-o -mou h o ums like blogs and mic oblogs, company-sponso ed discussion boa ds, and
social ne wo king websi es (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010).
Spo s eams ha e pionee ed hese pla o ms’ widesp ead adop ion (Filo e al., 2015; Pego a o & Jinnah,
2012). I explains why hey main ain and in oduce e en mo e hei online p esence in social media,
ha ing a b oad numbe o channels ha aim o nu u e he wo-way in e ac i e communica ion wi h hei
ans (Cla io, G., & Walsh, 2014; Hamb ick, Simmons, G eenhalgh, & G eenwell, 2010; Kassing &
Sande son, 2010; Pa ganas & Anagnos opoulos, 2015; Pego a o, 2010; P onschinske, G oza, & Walke ,
2012; S a os, Meng, Wes be g, & Fa elly, 2014; Williams & Chinn, 2010). Beyond he communica ion,
16
hese pla o ms’ usage also ep esen s an oppo uni y o expand he clubs’ an base (Cla io, G., & Walsh,
2014).
The In e na ional Olympic Commi ee led he social media bene i s mo emen o sa is y an and sponso
engagemen pu poses. The s a egy was hen ollowed by enowned clubs and in e na ional ede a ions
wo ldwide, as we see nowadays. Ex ensi e esea ch has demons a ed he impo ance o social media in
he spo s ield in nu u ing and main aining wo-way in e ac i e communica ion wi h he an bases
(Cla io, G., & Walsh, 2014; Hamb ick & Kang, 2014; Hamb ick e al., 2010; Kassing & Sande son, 2010;
Pa ganas & Anagnos opoulos, 2015; Pego a o, 2010; P onschinske e al., 2012; S a os, Meng,
Wes be g, & Fa elly, 2014; Williams & Chinn, 2010), in collec ing in o ma ion ela ed o cus ome s
p e e ences and habi s (B owning & Sande son, 2012); in inc easing b and awa eness (Eagleman,
2013); and in a ac ing and p omo e sponso s (Eagleman & D. K ohn, 2012; Pa ganas &
Anagnos opoulos, 2015).
The apid e olu ion o digi al media channels e idenced he ex eme impo ance o spo s o ganisa ions
o measu e hei consume / an engagemen (Loakimidis, 2010). The de elopmen o Social Ne wo king
Si es (SNS) demands a be e unde s anding o he concep o an engagemen and mo e empi ical
esea ch on how o measu e an engagemen in hose pla o ms (Filo e al., 2015).
I is essen ial o highligh ha ou esea ch conside s an engagemen as posi i ely impac ing he eam’s
beha iou al in en ions (Yoshida e al., 2014) ia online pla o ms (Ca lson & O’Cass, 2012). We conside
ha consume engagemen measu emen h ough SNS is i al o spo s o p o ide a be e expe ience
and inc ease ans’ posi i e beha iou owa ds he o ganisa ion (Yoshida e al., 2014). Fo hese easons,
we aim o measu e social media engagemen h ough ans beha iou al esponses on Twi e .
3.2.1 Social media engagemen
Online engagemen can be cha ac e ised as a dynamic ela ionship wi h he b and (Mollen & Wilson,
2010), allowing consume s o ha e an ac i e ole h oughou he in e ac ion be ween consume s and he
o ganisa ion’s SNS (T aino , Andzulis, Rapp, & Agniho i, 2014). The con inuous g ow h on hese
pla o ms c ea es a a ou able en i onmen o he o ganisa ions o imp o e hei engagemen ools wi h
hei audience (Mal house, Haenlein, Skie a, Wege, & Zhang, 2013; Vale & Fe nandes, 2018). I esul s
17
in online expe iences ha ein o ce communi y belonging h ough he in e ac i i y c ea ed be ween ans
and clubs (Habibi, La oche, & Richa d, 2014).
In he SNS en i onmen , social media pla o ms ans o m consume s in o ac i e pa icipan s using his
ool as a o um o p oduc and b and- ela ed ad ocacy (Chu & Kim, 2011), he c ea ion o p oduc
inno a ions (Hoye , Chandy, Do o ic, K a , & Singh, 2010), and he c ea ion o use -gene a ed con en
(Vi ek, Bea y, & Mo gan, 2012). F om he an eceden s and consequences o he cus ome pe spec i e
(Gambe i, G a igna, & Bi aghi, 2012; an Doo n e al., 2010), su eys conside ed social media
engagemen s udies in he ini ial phase. Some esea che s iden i ied indi idual- ela ed ac o s while
o he s examined he in luence o ma ke ing s a egy o in es iga e cus ome engagemen an eceden s
(Dolan, Condui , Fahy, & Goodman, 2016).
The social media engagemen (SME) concep ualisa ion is ecen (B odie, Ilic, Ju ic, & Hollebeek, 2013).
Di Gangi and Wasko (2016) explained i using P ahalad and Ramaswamy’s (2004) model o co-c ea ion
in he se ice sec o as a base o c ea e an SME heo e ical amewo k. The au ho s ex ended he model,
o iginally buil o e eal he pa e n in e ac ion be ween a use and o ganisa ion, o ocus on he social
in e ac ions among use s in a social media pla o m p o ided by an o ganisa ion. This model’s co e
concep was use engagemen , which “leads o g ea e usage o he social media pla o m” (Di Gangi &
Wasko, 2016).
The model c ea ed by Di Gangi & Wasko (2016) (Figu e 4) conside s usage as he equency o he use s’
con ibu ion ( e ie al o explo a ion) o con en wi hin a social media si e e oking Kankanhalli, Tan, & Wei
(2005) and Li & Be no (2008) heo ies. The alue o he social media pla o m is de ined by he
equency wi h which use s pa icipa e in mul iple ac i i ies: he mo e equen is he use s’ pa icipa ion,
he mo e aluable is he pla o m o he o ganisa ion and i s audience, esul ing in he co-c ea ion o alue
(Kankanhalli e al., 2005; Li & Be no , 2008).
Acco ding o he model, social in e ac ions a e de ined by i e dimensions: pe sonalisa ion, access o
social esou ces, c i ical mass, isk and anspa ency (Di Gangi & Wasko, 2016, p. 56). I he social
in e ac ions ack how use s in e ac among hem, he echnical ea u es, on he o he hand, shape how
use s in e ac , con ibu ing o he use expe ience h ough comple eness, lexibili y, e ol abili y, and
in eg a ion.

18
I s p e alence caused he necessi y o de ining SME in c ea ing a a ou able en i onmen o cus ome s'
engagemen wi h companies o b ands. I also mo i a es businesses o ecognise he need o engage
wi h cu en and po en ial cus ome s (Bai d & Pa asnis, 2011). Howe e , he e is s ill no consensus
ega ding he concep o engagemen in social media o how o measu e i . Thus, simila o he model
c ea ed by Di Gangi & Wasko (2016), heo is s compa e he SME wi h o he de ini ions abou engagemen ,
such as b and engagemen , cus ome engagemen , consume b and engagemen and communi y
engagemen .
Figu e 3 SME model by
Di Gangi & Wasko (2016)
In he o line con ex , someone is de ined as a consume a e making he i s pu chase o a b and’s
p oduc o se ice. In a new online con ex , he consume has no de ined his way jus by he pu chase
ac : hey can ecei e his de ini ion “consuming” in a ious o ms. I hen eme ges a new cha ac e : he
19
ollowe , ha does no need o buy o app ecia e he b and (Pe eaul & Mosconi, 2018). Pe eaul &
Mosconi (2018) c ea ed Table 1 o exempli ies he engagemen concep s (including b and and
cus ome s) and he dimensions a ound engagemen used as a base o he SME cons uc .
Table 1 Cus ome and b and engagemen concep s used o base he de ini ion o SME by Pe eaul & Mosconi (2018)
Au ho
Concep
De ini ion
Dimensions
Ho man & Fodo
(2010)
CBE: Consume B and
Engagemen
The CBE is: "The le el o
cus ome 's cogni i e, emo ional
and beha iou al in es men in
speci ic b and in e ac ions"
Imme sion
Passion
Ac i a ion
Leckie, Nyadzayo,
& Johnson (2016)
CBE: Consume B and
Engagemen
Consume B and Engagemen is
de ined as: "in ol emen ,
pa icipa ion and sel -exp ession"
In ol emen
Pa icipa ion
Sel -exp essi e b and
Agos ino &
A naboldi (2016)
Cus ome Engagemen
Cus ome Engagemen is de ined
as a: "psychological s a e ha
occu s by i ue o in e ac i e,
co-c ea i e cus ome expe iences
wi h a ocal agen /objec (e.g., a
b and) in ocal se ice
ela ionships"
NA
(Kuma e al.,
2010)
CEV: Cos ume
Engagemen Value
Engagemen is de ined as:
"Ac i e in e -ac ions o a
cus ome wi h a i m, wi h
p ospec s and wi h o he
cus ome s, whe he hey a e
ansac ional o
non ansac ional." In addi ion,
hey said: "Engagemen is also
seen as a way o c ea e
cus ome in e ac ion and
pa icipa ion"
Cus ome :
- pu chasing
beha iou
- e e al beha iou
- in luence beha iou
- knowledge beha iou
an Doo n e al.
(2010)
CEB: Cos ume
Engagemen Beha iou
Engagemen b and beha iou s
a e de ined as hose which: "go
beyond ansac ions, and may be
speci ically de ined as a
cus ome 's beha iou al
mani es a ions ha ha e a b and
o i m ocus, beyond pu chase,
esul ing om mo i a ional
d i e s"
Valence
Fo m/Modali y
Scope
Na u e o impac
Cos ume goals
S udies conside ed engagemen in social media eme ged in he pas decade (Mal house e al., 2013). To
Dolan e al. (2016), social media engagemen is he cus ome s’ beha iou al mani es a ions wi h a social
20
media ocus ha esul s in mo i a ional d i e s (p. 265), an adap a ion o an Doo n e al. (2010)
cus ome engagemen concep . Fu he mo e, he e a e many deg ees o engagemen , such as he o ms
like “liking” a page, and he highe o ms like w i ing e iews, ha in ol es cus ome pa icipa ion in co-
c ea ion ac i i ies (Mal house e al., 2013; Mun inga e al., 2011).
Thus, conside ing social media as a pla o m whe e people sha e ideos, images and cha online,
esea che s use he ac ions ha in ol e hose in e ac ions as ways o measu e engagemen in social
media, such as liking, commen ing and sha ing (Pe eaul & Mosconi, 2018). The SME in oduce he new
concep o measu e engagemen in social media pla o ms beyond he pu chase. To ca alogue he ac ions
used on social media as me ics, Pe eaul & Mosconi (2018) based on Khan (2015) ca ego ies, c ea ed
a lis ha includes me ics, on Table 2: like, dislike, sha e, isi s, iew, clicks, agging, men ions, ho e ing,
check-in, pinning, embedding, endo semen , uploading, and downloading.
Table 2 Me ics Used on Social Media Pla o ms acco ding o
Pe eaul & Mosconi (2018)
Me ic
Fea u es ha allow use s o
Like
Exp ess hei posi i e eelings o liking con en .
Dislike
Exp ess hei nega i e eelings abou con en .
Sha e
Dis ibu e con en o sha e on social media.
Visi
Coun he numbe o websi e isi o s.
View
The numbe o imes con en has been seen.
Click
Coun he numbe o clicks on a hype link con en .
Tag
Assign con en o a pe son.
Ho e
Mo e he cu so o e social media con en .
Check-in
Announce and sha e hei a i al a a loca ion.
Pin
Show in e es ing con en a he op o he page
Embed
Inco po a e social media con en in o a blog o websi e.
Endo semen
App o e o he people, p oduc s o con en .
Upload
Download
Add con en o a social media pla o m.
In he pe spec i e o social media engagemen beha iou (SMEB) we conside he Consume s’ Online
B and-Rela ed Ac i i ies (COBRA) amewo k ha classi ies social media beha iou s in o usage ypes, a
de ini ion c ea ed by Mun inga e al. (2011). In he ace o he
new o ms o cus ome empowe men
(Co a & Pace, 2006) wi h he eme gence o social media websi es, he COBRA amewo k allows us o
hink abou consume ac i i y ela ed o b and- ela ed con en , co e ing a wide ange o consume - o-
consume and consume - o-b and beha iou s.
21
Examples o COBRAs includes any ype o ac ion ega ding he p omo ion o audience consump ion on
social media. Some examples a e wa ch ideos o a b and on You ube o alk abou hem on Twi e o
upload pic u es o hei p oduc s on Facebook o Ins ag am (Mun inga e al., 2011). This s udy became
c ucial in he cu en eali y whe e consume s depend mo e on each o he o in o ma ion han on
companies, becoming inc easingly in luen ial ega ding he b ands hey a e men ioning o alking abou
(Muñiz & Schau, 2007; Co a & Dalli, 2009).
The COBRAs’ cons uc uses social media’s ac i eness o de elop a con inuum om high o low b and-
ela ed ac i i y. The o med pa h o g adual in ol emen wi h b and- ela ed con en on social media is
ca ego ised in o h ee dimensions: consuming, con ibu ing and c ea ing. This COBRA ypology is de ailed
in Figu e 7 and conside s h ee main usage ca ego ies. Consuming b and- ela ed con en is he minimum
le el o online b and- ela ed ac i eness, equi ing pa icipa ion wi hou con ibu ing o c ea ing con en ,
such as consume and wa ch b and- ela ed ideos, iew con e sa ion in b and o ums and o he s’ pos
e iews. Con ibu ing o b and- ela ed con en is he middle le el and includes use - o-con en and use -
o-use in e ac ions abou b ands, as pa icipa e in he con e sa ion on a b and’s an page on SNS
pla o ms, con ibu e o b and o ums o commen on b and- ela ed con en opics ha o he s ha e
c ea ed. C ea ing b and- ela ed con en is he highes le el o online b and- ela ed ac i eness and can be
illus a ed by c ea ing con en , w i ing pos p oduc e iews, p oducing and uploading pic u es, music and
ideos, w i ing a icles on b ands and/o b and- ela ed weblogs (Mun inga e al., 2011).
28
h ough a ious online channels, among he a e age amoun o 500 million ans wo ldwide (ac i e and
passi e) hese ie -one oo ball clubs ha e in gene al. Fu he mo e, o engage his numbe o ans, mo e
han oo ball con en , hey seek pa ne ships wi h a is s and b ands in o he sec o s like game, music,
a el and heal h (WARC, 2020). Tha is he eason we included he “c oss-sec o ” analysis in he
esea ch.
Among he mul i-dimensional app oaches o suppo an engagemen and g ow an bases, he e is
ele ance connec ed wi h communi ies o gi e examples o consciousness and social good ini ia i es. On
1s July 2020, FIFA launched he Ma ke ing, Fan Engagemen & CSR Jou nal o sha e o iginal and
inno a i e ini ia i es ega ding an engagemen , ma ke ing and co po a e social esponsibili y ini ia i es
(FIFA, 2020a). Un il Decembe 2020, hey sha ed jus one example: Chile’s Colo-Colo (FIFA, 2020b),
whe e hey mo i a e an inc ease o dogs’ adop ion hanks o Unión de Amigos de los Animales shel e .
CSR has become inc easingly p e alen o he spo s indus y; he heal h c isis es ablished by he Co id-
19 pandemic in ensi ies he necessi y o doing good and gi ing back o socie y. Fi s ly, in he ace o
helping ins i u ions igh agains he i us and, secondly, o demons a e a connec ion wi h hei
communi ies, de ending causes linked o human igh s, he en i onmen , and o he s. Since dona ions,
und aising campaigns, philan h opy, and social ma ke ing examples we e widesp ead du ing he
pandemic, we decided o include his app oach in he s udy o unde s and om he oo ball poin o iew
wha hey we e doing and how ans eac o i .
3.4 Co po a e Social Responsibili y (CSR)
3.4.1 The concep o CSR
The meaning o Co po a e Social Responsibili y (CSR) goes back o he 1930s when he Ame ican lawye
and businessman Wendell Lewis Willkie in oduced he concep o he co po a e communi y (Ca oll,
1979; P a ico, 2001). Willkie was con inced ha he economic collapse was d i en pa ially by
i esponsible and audulen business (Willkie, 2018). Tha con ex was he i s s ep o eme ge, as Ca oll
(1979) de ined, he mode n e a o social esponsibili y inaugu a ed a e he Social Responsibili ies o he
Businessman launch in 1953, a book w i en by Howa d R. Bowen's (Bowen, 2020).

29
Co po a e social esponsibili y li e a u e sugges s ha social esponsibili y ini ia i es a e posi i ely linked
wi h he inc easing inancial pe o mance (Mcgui e, Sundg en, & Schneeweis, 1988; Pa a & K ausz,
1996; S anwick & S anwick, 1998; Ma golis & Walsh, 2001). Because o ha , go e nmen s and
s akeholde s ha e also shown g ea e in e es in suppo ing and in es ing mo e in CSR p og ams ha
deli e social o communi y ou comes (Schulenko , She y, & Rowe, 2016). The objec i e is o maximise
a i m’s p o i and alue, mee social expec a ions, main ain he in e es o s akeholde s (s ockholde s,
employees, consume s, supplie s, and communi ies), unde ake social esponsibili y and conduc
business in compliance wi h he law (Ca oll, 1979; Smi h, 2003; S ubbs & Cocklin, 2007). To achie e
his, companies make philan h opic dona ions, c ea e ounda ions and o he ini ia i es espec ing hei
objec i es, ocus, unding, and pa ne ship a angemen s (Babiak & Wol e, 2009; Gill, 2017 I win,
Lachowe z, Co nwell, & Cla k, 2003; Kolype as, Anagnos opoulos, Chadwick, & Spa ks, 2016; Walke e
al., 2010).
In spo s, CSR is he encoun e o oday spo s communi y needs wi h he imp o ed con ibu ion o u u e
oppo uni ies, conside ing he na u al and social en i onmen in eg i y on which i depends (Vale i, 2018).
I p o ides alue o spo s o ganisa ions, imp o es epu a ion (Walke & Ken , 2009), and signi ican ly
impac s s akeholde s, in luencing socie y in gene al and communi ies in speci ic (Smi h & Wes e beek,
2007). Addi ionally, CSR ac i i ies in luence consume s’ pe cep ions o spo s o ganisa ions’ pe o mance
(Che ne & Blai , 2015).
The CSR hen can be conside ed a de e minan o a co po a e b and o image (Öbe sede , Schlegelmilch,
& G ube , 2011; Öbe sede , Schlegelmilch, Mu phy, & G ube , 2014; Wu e al., 2016). Following he i s
imp ession o he p oduc s’ o se ices’ quali y o e ed, plus he ex e nal company ac i i ies (Dich e ,
1985), CSR appea s as ex a in o ma ion abou companies. I inc eases he company's isibili y, imp o es
consume a i udes, and helps shape he co po a e image (C. C. Wang, 2020). A long- e m main enance
is equi ed o each a solid co po a e image (Aake , 1995; Ko le , 2017). As a esul , i inc eases
cus ome s' sa is ac ion, loyal y, pu chase in en ions, build consume us and educe he isk o
unce ain y (Ba aineh, 2015; C e u & B odie, 2007; Uh ich, 2014; Ma ínez & Pina, 2005; Ryu, Lee, &
Kim, 2012).
Se e al s udies e eal ha CSR o ien a ion a ec s cus ome s’ pu chase and beha iou al in en ions and
hei pe cei ed alue (Luo & Bha acha ya, 2006; Wu, Tsai, & Tai, 2016). CSR is a ele an ac o in
30
decision-making, as consume s a e mo e likely o pu chase p oduc s o se ices o e ed by a company
wi h a posi i e image han by one wi h an unknown o nega i e co po a e image (Nguyen & Leblanc,
2001), and less sensi i e o highe p ices o CSR o ien a ed b ands (C eye & Ross (1997).
The CSR concep can be de ail in ou opics, acco ding o Ca oll (1991) CSR Py amid. I desc ibes CSR
in e ms o economic esponsibili y, legal esponsibili y, e hical esponsibili y, and philan h opic
esponsibili y. The (1) economic esponsibili y is ela ed o he p oduc ion o goods and se ice equi ed
by he socie y, accep able p ices, p o iding jobs, and ea n p o i s h ough app op ia e means, main ain
he in e es s o he s akeholde s. The (2) legal esponsibili y equi es he business conduc ion in
compliance wi h all applicable laws and egula ions conce ning labou s anda ds, en i onmen al and
consume p o ec ion, and axa ion. The (3) e hical esponsibili y in ol es doing wha is jus , ai , and igh
and p e en ing ha m o s akeholde s, adhe ing o socially accep able s anda ds o conduc and e hical
ules. The (4) philan h opy esponsibili y is equi alen o he “ olun a y” esponsibili y ha implies he
will and uncondi ional imp o emen o he public wel a e, cha i y, dona ions and ul ilmen o ci ic
esponsibili ies. ( Wang, 2020)
In gene al, his esea ch uses Ca oll's (1979, 1999) concep ualiza ion, conside ing CSR as a
combina ion o ou componen s: economic (make p o i s and be iable), legal ( he du y o obey he law),
e hical ( esponsibili y o ac acco ding o socie al expec a ions), and disc e iona y (ini ia i es ha go
beyond socie al expec a ions). Fu he mo e, we conside CSR as p ac ices ha imp o e he wo kplace
and bene i socie ies, going beyond wha companies a e legally equi ed o do (Vogel, 2006).
3.4.2 CSR in imes o c isis
Many esea ch pieces show how much co po a ions a e sensi i e o dona e mo e and espond cha i ably
o humani a ian needs c isis imes. Pa en (2008) s udy o he ma ke eac ion o Uni ed S a es’ co po a e
p ess eleases ha disclosed hei con ibu ions o he elie e o o he 2004 sunami in Sou heas Asia
e eals a posi i e eac ion owa ds making public he philan h opy ac ions. Acco ding o his esea ch, he
mo e gene ous he company’s dona ion, he mo e posi i e he ma ke eac ion was, which implies ha
manage s who wan o use philan h opy as a ool mus ca e ully conside he dona ed amoun o build
hei epu a ional capi al. Repu a ion is a popula wo d in Co po a e Social Responsibili y (CSR) scien i ic
p oduc ion. In his con ex , epu a ional capi al means hidden asse s, acco ding o Fomb un (1996)
31
de ini ion, ha c ea e ad an ages and a good epu a ion in gene a ing weal h h ough he de elopmen o
s ong and consis en images.
Some e iden ac o s in luence how he company do philan h opy in a ca as ophic e en , such as i m
size, p o i abili y, cash esou ce a ailable o cons ain , geog aphy, indus y and le e age (B amme &
Milling on, 2005; Campbell & Slack, 2007; Wang & Co ey, 1992, 1998; Mulle & Whi eman, 2009;
Zhang, Rezaee, & Zhu, 2010). Zhang e al. (2010) esea ch add ess one mo e elemen as a co po a e
philan h opic disas e esponse (CPDR) me e : owne ship002E Acco ding o hei s udy, based on he
da a analysis o a Chinese i m’s esponse o he Sichuan ea hquake in 2008, s a e-owned companies
a e less likely o espond o a disas e han p i a e ones.
The CPDR has been conside ed pa o business li e since 2005, in he ligh o he F i z Ins i u e epo
(F i z Ins i u e, 2005). Al hough ou esea ch in es iga es CSR ac ions in he con ex o a pandemic and
no a disas e , we can compa e he ci cums ances since bo h can cause damage in he heal h, social,
and economic sphe es and demand ac ions o cha i y, dona ions, and social goods. The Wo ld Heal h
O ganiza ion named on Janua y 30 h 2020, he new co ona i us as Co id-19 and conside ed he si ua ion
as Public Heal h Eme gency o In e na ional (Wo ld Heal h O ganiza ion: WHO, 2020), which hen e ol es
in o a wo ld heal h c isis- in o he wo ds, a pandemic - on Ma ch 11 h (WHO, 2020).
Acco ding o a s udy ega ding he impac o Co id-19 in CSR and ma ke ing philosophy conduc ed by
Hongwei & Lloyd (2020), he pandemic c isis o e ed unique oppo uni ies o companies o ac i ely
engage in CSR ini ia i es, as consume s became mo e sensi i e o e hical issues in hei decision p ocess.
A shi o a mo e esponsible and p osocial consump ion will “po en ially ca alyse a new e a o CSR
de elopmen in he long un” (Hongwei and Lloyd 2020, p. 181).
In a p e-pandemic con ex , Millennials ( he gene a ion bo n in he 1980s) showed ha 74% o hem we e
mo e likely o buy b ands ha suppo ed social issues hey ca e abou (Wilson, 2020). The pe cen age
ise in he ongoing pandemic. F om he spo s pe spec i e, acco ding o a Nissan in he Co id-19 Fan
Su ey, 75% o spo s ans ha e an inc eased in e es in b ands ha ha e shown o be socially esponsible
compa ed wi h wha hey did be o e he co ona i us Co id-19 pandemic (Campelli, 2020). In o he wo ds,
he commi men he oo ball clubs had du ing he Co id-19 ou b eak can ell a lo abou hei u u e
success.
32
Hence, he ac ions wi h social impac will ecei e special a en ion h oughou he cons uc ion o his
p ojec . The goal o connec ing an engagemen , social media in e ac ion wi h ini ia i es o suppo social
and en i onmen al causes will show how in ense (o no ) he clubs a e p epa ing hemsel es o a u u e
whe e he ans will p obably demand mo e ini ia i es ela ed o social esponsibili y.
Agencies specialised in sus ainabili y and social media analy ics, such as Recip ic and Zoomph, ha e
s udied an beha iou s ega ding hei clubs’ p e e ences on social ne wo ks (Campelli, 2020). They
a i m ha he e is a g owing end in spo s an beha iou : people ha e been ollowing mo e eams’ and
leagues p o iles acco ding o hei sha ed alues and ac ions, including clubs away om he ield o play
(Fulme , 2020).
Based on he obse a ion ha his ime o c isis and di icul ies is ans o ming he wo ld dynamics,
accele a ing changes ela ed o en i onmen al, sus ainabili y, and human igh s, we aimed o in es iga e
his p ocess in spo s, ocusing on oo ball - he mos popula spo in he wo ld (Top 10 Mos Popula
Spo s in The Wo ld, 2020; Sh ili, 2020). Mo e han esea ching he con en and ac ions he eams we e
sha ing, we sough numbe s ha could demons a e he dimension o hese ini ia i es impac on he
public, he ollowe s, and he ans. To achie e ou esea ch pu pose, we de elop a social media con en
and engagemen analysis o unde s and how much he u u e o ecas s o a mo e conscious wo ld ha e
been impac ing spo s.
3.4.3 Re aming oo ball: mo e han ma chdays
Co id-19 has caused an impac ne e imagined in he indus ies e en s. Since spo s we e a ec ed in a
signi ican dimension, he eali y changed o such an ex en ha hey ealised ex e nal p oblems could
a ec hei business in an unp eceden ed way. In he a icle
Spo , clima e change and acknowledging
ulne abili y
om The Sus ainabili y Repo websi e, published in May 2020, he au ho Ma hew Campelli
makes a p o oca ion: “wha i Co id-19 is jus he ip o he icebe g?” (Campelli, 2020b). The au ho
ale s ha i is impo an o emembe ha “many expe s emain s ead as in hei iew ha clima e
change will cause a mo e dis up ion and claim many mo e li es han he i us”. The associa e p o esso
o spo managemen a Texas A&M Uni e si y, B ian McCullough, highligh s he impo ance o spo s
33
o ganisa ions in being p oac i e in sus ainabili y ini ia i es, inc easing business pe o mances, deepening
he connec ion wi h ans, and a ac ing new ones (McCullough, 2020).
The discussion abou social esponsibili y impac in spo s, mainly ega ding sus ainabili y, is no new
and did no eme ge wi h he Co id-19 - on he con a y, i only ge s mo e and mo e a en ion due o he
hypos asis ha he numbe o con agious diseases can g ow wi h he clima e change. Win e spo s,
su ing and some o he ou doo spo s a e ulne able o he e ec s o clima e change, also caused by ai
and wa e pollu ion, ha e lec a na u al imbalance and en i onmen al disas e .
3
A ecen s udy ha examined alues and no ms ela ed o an engagemen sus ainabili y ini ia i es
e ealed ha ans ca e abou wha spo s o ganisa ions a e doing o educe he e en s’ en i onmen al
oo p in s and pa ake in hose e o s when a ending spo ing e en s. “As spo s o ganisa ions mo e o
inc ease hei commi men s o en i onmen al sus ainabili y ini ia i es, i is impe a i e ha hey engage
all spo spec a o s o ensu e hei awa eness and pa icipa ion in hese e o s” (Caspe , McCullough, &
P ahl, 2020, p. 358).
O he examples o be gi en ha ecei ed a en ion du ing he pandemic, we can men ion he o - oad
acing se ies Ex eme E ini ia i e: hey c ea ed a scien i ic commi ee o help guide he en i onmen al
"Legacy P og amme" by c ea ing a posi i e impac in he loca ions whe e hey compe e. The elec ic SUV
o - oad acing aims o epai he damage caused in he ecosys ems by es o ing, o example, 100
hec a es o Amazonian while plan ing cacao ees o gi e he local a me s a sus ainable li ing. Abo e all,
i allows ans o pa icipa e. In he con ex o a pandemic, whe e hey canno a end he aces li e, hey
can s ill ha e he oppo uni y o con ibu e o he legacy p ojec s h ough philan h opic dona ions
(Campelli, 2020a).
Many o he ini ia i es mus be de eloped beyond hose c ea ed du ing he Co id-19 pandemic ega ding
he conce n ha ans ha e o leading b ands o ake a s and in he social esponsibili y aspec . This
esea ch will analyse he impo ance ha und aising campaign, cha i y and o he clubs’ ini ia i es had
in e ms o an engagemen in social media and how much he idea o gi ing back became a ele an
eason o suppo a b and (in a quan i a i e pe spec i e).
3
Fo example, he dec ease o win e mon hs will p ejudice he a ailable ci ies o hos he Win e Olympics, making i mo e challenging o happen (McCullough,
2020), and he 2016 Rio Olympics had issues o sol e caused by he pollu ion.

34
In conclusion, o p o e ha engagemen is how success is measu ed, many s udies we e de eloped, and
we based ou esea ch in au ho s such as Bowden (2009), Doo e al. (2010), B odie e al. (2011),
Hollebeek (2011) o discuss cus ome engagemen . Then, he Uses and G a i ica ions heo y (U&G) o
unde s and how indi iduals use media o sa is y hei needs (Ka z & Foulkes, 1962) and how o apply i
on social media, acco ding o Filo e al. (2015). On social media, we also men ioned he usage ypes
classi ica ions o social media beha iou s om he Consume s’ Online B and-Rela ed Ac i i ies (COBRA)
amewo k pe spec i e c ea ed by Mun inga e al. (2011).
Beyond he li e a u e e e ences, social media has been a ele an ool o spo s ma ke ing o su passing
geog aphical ba ie s, enhancing ela ionships be ween clubs and hei audience, and an e icien way o
di ec in e ac ion wi h ans. Mo eo e , he co ona i us Co id-19 pandemic was a speci ic con ex o
analyse he clubs’ p ac ices o engaging hei ans using social media and unde s anding and measu ing
oo ball ans’ engagemen esponses.
F om he no el y o his heme -- in es iga ing online an engagemen du ing he i s global c isis in a
social media e a – he esea ch eme ges o explo e engagemen me ics in a speci ic con ex . Fo his
pu pose, we we e guided by a mind map c ea ed om he social media con en analysis. Also, we
de eloped g aphics o e eal he engagemen esul s ex ac ed om he me ics (likes and e wee s) used
o in es iga e he oo ball clubs’ pe o mance on Twi e , opics we a e going o discuss in he nex chap e ,
he Me hodology.
Chap e 4. Me hodology
Du ing he Co id-19 pandemic, i was necessa y o adap he way o communica ing and in e ac ing wi h
cus ome s and p ospec s. In he oo ball eali y, he ma chdays we e no occu ing anymo e and emained
like his o mon hs. As a consequence o qua an ine and lockdown measu es, s o es we e closed, and
he only possible means o con ac was online pla o ms. Gi ing his con ex and in he pe spec i e o
eam b anding, i was necessa y o in ensi y he ela ionship wi h cus ome s (Wald on & We he be, 2020),
and ans, in pa icula , o mi iga e he lack o pe son- o-pe son en e ainmen , as ma chdays ( he mos
impo an one). Social media inc eased he numbe o use s who sea ched o in o ma ion and dis ac ion,
so he clubs’ pages explo ed c ea i i y o c ea e new o ms o engagemen ia online pla o ms. The e o e,
35
his esea ch was de eloped om he need o unde s and and desc ibe how he oo ball clubs’ ma ke ing
depa men s and hei ans deal wi h his new social dis ance si ua ion. We a e pa icula ly in e es ed in
e alua ing he con en gene a ed on social ne wo ks by he clubs con ibu ing he mos o keeping ans
engaged. We also aim o disco e i co po a e social esponsibili y ini ia i es we e pa o he ongoing
pandemic engagemen s a egy.
4.1 Resea ch p oblem and esea ch ques ions
The esea ch's p ima y pu pose is o analyse clubs’ engagemen ac i i ies and an eac ions du ing he
pandemic c ises, based on he esea ch p oblem: Wha kind o con en kep ans engaged on social media
in he ongoing pandemic c isis? In pa icula , ou esea ch seeks o ind answe s o he ollowing esea ch
ques ions:
Q.1:
Wha social media con en s a egy ha e oo ball clubs de eloped o keep hei ans engaged?
Th ough a Twi e analysis, he esea ch in ends o e eal he oo ball clubs' communica ion app oaches
wi h hei audience h ough hei o icial channel. The ques ions o be answe ed include c ea ing new
ways o en e ain ans (games, online p og ams, li es) and i new communica ion pla o ms eme ged as
a solu ion o s eng hen he engagemen ( o enable he exchange o messages, c ea e g oups, o
b oadcas li e con en ).
Q.2:
How did he clubs ac du ing he Co id-19 pandemic ega ding solida i y ini ia i es such as
dona ions, und aising campaigns? Did hey ake a s and on issues o equali y, human igh s?
The objec i e is o unde s and how deep he eams’ commi men was and how much e ol ed (using he
numbe o likes and e wee s as a me ic) and suppo ing CSR’s ans. The main goal is o e eal he
exis ence (o no ) o a ela ionship be ween social commi men and an engagemen . I is essen ial o
highligh ha he ini ia i es analysed we e sha ed on social media (and consequen ly de ec ed on he
social media analysis).
Q.3:
How ans eac ed o he social media con en sha ed du ing he pandemic? Which ype o con en
had he mos signi ican impac on an engagemen ?
36
We in end o measu e he ollowe s’ esponse due o he con en sha ed and iden i y which s a egies
de eloped by he clubs elici ed mo e signi ican eac ions o unde s and whe e ans' in e es goes in a
pandemic con ex whe e ma ches we e no longe happening. This knowledge is ele an as he publics’
esponses o he sha ed con en , he ype o app oach used by he eams, and he subjec s men ioned
will impac he u u e o communica ion be ween clubs and ans. Mo eo e , i is also i al o examine how
much co po a e social esponsibili y gained space and alue in social media engagemen . The esul s
aimed o unde s and his unce ain pe iod’s u u e legacy ega ding con en c ea ion and an engagemen
in spo s ma ke ing.
To ind answe s o hese ques ions, we selec ed eigh op- ie Eu opean clubs, based on he numbe o
ollowe s co e ing i e coun ies, being pa o he Big Fi e Eu opean leagues. F om Ma ch o June, he
pos s sha ed on Twi e by hese clubs had hei con en analysed and ca alogued and had he an
engagemen measu ed by he numbe o likes and sha es ( e wee s). The esul s will gi e us insigh s in o
he clubs’ s a egies ega ding social media con en and ans’ p e e ences o engage wi h he b ands.
We belie e his esea ch esul s can disclose pa e ns o he cu en o ms o in e ac ion (con en ). Plus,
i can e eal good an engagemen pe o mance ends, open new scopes on how o map ma ke ing
s a egies in oo ball and spo s ields, and b ands in gene al. These indings also con ibu e o u u e
cus ome engagemen beha iou s udies linked o online pla o ms o unde s and hei p e e ences be e ,
p edic endencies, and mee expec a ions. Because he esea ch was de eloped simul aneously as he
c isis, we expec ha he esul s eme ge as no el ields in spo s ma ke ing li e a u e.
4.2 Resea ch pa adigm
This s udy ollows a Pos posi i is esea ch pa adigm as i in ends o ind an exis en egula i y, con olling
he subjec i i y as much as possible h ough he quan i a i e and quali a i e s uc u ed me hods. The
Pos posi i is explo ed in his esea ch e lec s ou on ological, epis emological, me hodological belie s,
which means he eali y o i s impe ec ions, de ined by he c i ical ealism in he on ology; p obably
ac ual indings modi ied by dualis s objec i is and adi ional s communi a ian. Mo eo e , guided by
a me hodology expe imen al e sus manipula i e and he duali y o “c i ical mul iplisms” (Lincoln & Guba,
2000).
37
4.3 Resea ch Design
To pla o ms used o suppo he da a collec ion and analysis we e No ion (www.no ion.so) and Ai able
(www.ai able.com). Bo h ools wo k as p ojec managemen , collabo a i e so wa e wi h a mode n design
and p esen a ion. We chose o do he i s pa o he analysis using No ion o i s p ac icali y o o ganise
in o ma ion, and s o e da a, and allowance o c ea e documen s, sha e asks, ack miles ones
collabo a ing i was necessa y. The Ai able was used in he second pa o he same easons, wi h a
plus o ha e mul iple shee s open in di e en abs, and ha s ep demanded his a i ice.
This esea ch aims o analyse he social media clubs’ ac i i ies since i is a powe ul ool o highligh
changes and pu spo s ans in he cen e, as con en c ea o s (Pego a o, 2013, p. 248). Mo eo e , i
has bo h quali a i e (Phase 1) and quan i a i e (Phase 2) aspec s included, he i s one ep esen ing a
sys ema ic and eplicable me hod o analysing w i en (Ri e, Lacy, & Fico, 2005), a known app op ia e
me hod o examine social media in spo se ings (Gibbs, O’Reilly, & B une e, 2014; Hamb ick & Kang,
2014; Kassing & Sande son, 2010; Özsoy, 2011; Pa ganas & Anagnos opoulos, 2015; Pa ganas e al.,
2015; Pego a o, 2010).
Mo eo e , engagemen in he social media space is in e p e ed as consume “ aking some ac ion beyond
iewing o eading” (Paine, 2011, p. 60), which can mean “liking”, sha ing, adding a commen o iewing
a b and’s pos . The e o e, he assessmen o engagemen in his s udy in he quan i a i e (Phase 2)
app oach was measu ed due o he wo undamen al ypes o Twi e ac i i ies, namely, Like and Re wee
(RT). Thus, RT is seen as a highe le el o engagemen o equi e mo e e o by he use s and o enable
he addi ion o opinions (quo e RT), o e ing ans he oppo uni y o pa icipa e mo e ac i ely in ongoing
opics. We also did an Ins ag am analysis o he Ju en us F.C.. Howe e , i does no use in hesis esul s;
i had an expe imen al cha ac e in his esea ch's ini ial phase.
The esea ch conside ed analysing Twi e and Ins ag am ini ially, so he clubs we e selec ed acco ding
o social media ollowe s' sum. Ins ag am is a social media ha g ows as e han Facebook and engage
mo e audience (S a is a, 2020a, Wadhwa, 2020). Mo eo e , Facebook is he mos popula social ne wo k
globally, wi h 2,7 billion use s (S a is a, 2020c). Howe e , wi h 1,1 billion use s, Ins ag am has a highe
g ow h a e and engagemen a ac ion (S a is a, 2020a, S a is a, 2020c). We decide o pu Ins ag am
away when we no ice ha he con en compa ed wi h Twi e we e e y simila . We mo e o wa d wi h
44
Phase 2, ha encompasses F.C. Baye n München, Li e pool F.C., Manches e Uni ed F.C. and Pa is
Sain -Ge main F.C.. The sea ch o wee s h ough he keywo ds lis allowed o include a g ea e di e si y
o con en ac ions de eloped by clubs o engage ans in a s ay-a -home con ex .
The e o e, he numbe o pos s collec ed o each club was: Ju en us F.C. had a sum o 360 wee s
analysed; A.C. Milan had 315; Real Mad id A.C., 420; and F.C. Ba celona, 290 o G oup 1. On G oup
2, which has a mo e syn he ic analysis, he numbe o pos s collec ed was: 73 on he Manches e Uni ed
F.C.’s p o ile; 48 o Li e pool F.C.; 48 o Pa is Sain -Ge main F.C.; and 42 on Baye n München’s p o ile.
The i s collec ion s a ed wi h an explo a o y app oach. Fo his eason, he i s p o ile o be s udied,
Ju en us F.C., had da a collec ed om bo h Twi e and Ins ag am. A he beginning o he esea ch
p ocess, we had he idea ha social media could o e di e en con en and communica ion me hods.
Howe e , a e he da a collec ion, we ealised ha he e we e many simila i ies ega ding he con en
sha ed. Thus, we decided o include only Twi e because i is ex media since we aimed o analyse
con en . Ins ag am o e g ea con en o image analysis, which was no he objec i e o his esea ch.
Ju en us Foo ball Club’s Ins ag am (@ju en us c) se ed as an expe imen al p ocess o disco e wha we
could ind o e he analysis p ocess. Acco ding o he numbe s, i is he mos amous I alian club, and i
was e y ep esen a i e o s a collec ing da a om i since I aly was he epicen e o Co id-19 in Eu ope.
The eason we analysed an Ins ag am p o ile is ha a his poin , he esea ch s ill conside ed o include
ha social media channel. The pla o m used o s o e he ga he in o ma ion was he da abase applica ion
and p ojec planning No ion (www.no ion.so).
Companies eam wo ke s commonly used he No ion pla o m du ing he Co id-19 pandemic since i
enables wo k eams o c ea e and sha e documen s, sha e asks, ack miles ones collabo a ing in a
con ex whe e he business had o mig a e o home-o ice and elewo king modali ies (Rysa y & Michalak,
2020). Beyond ha , i has he suppo da abases o con en , he main explo ed and necessa y asse o
his analysis. Mo e han o e he simila esou ces a ailable on he Mic oso Excel, No ion was a e y
mode n easy pla o m ha allows e icien ools o o ganise in o ma ion, and s o e da a, wi h a plus: ha e
a good p esen a ion and design, he eason why we chose i o his disse a ion.

45
On his Ins ag am explo a o y app oach, we collec ed he maximum o in o ma ion o ha e a b oad
unde s anding o he whole da a, making possible an in-dep h lec u e o wha he clubs' done and i s
pe o mance. In o de o s o e and o ganise he in o ma ion, he da a was sepa a ed h ough he columns:
da e, pos ex , likes, commen s, hash ags, agged, isual con en , isual a e ac , link ( he same o URL,
which means Uni o m Resou ce Loca o , he web add ess o he pos ), iews, classi ica ion. The pos da a
had he in o ma ion o ill he ca ego ies, excep one, he "Classi ica ion", ha we c ea ed o ou line wha
he con en was abou h ough keywo ds.
A ha momen , he collec ion p ocess was s ill unce ain. The unde ini ions gene a ed a b oad and deep
in es iga ion abou he pos s con en and possibly social media s a egies. The goal o his Ins ag am
analysis was o cap u e he ypes o con en used by he clubs o a ac an engagemen and inc ease
he in e ac ion, o he same ex en we wan o unde s and he esponse h ough he numbe s (likes,
sha ing, commen s), and e eal which s a egies a ac ed he mos ans. Since we do no mo e o wa d
wi h Ins ag am, he de ails a e speci ied in Appendix 2.
A e wa ds, a e y simila analysis was made in Ju en us F.C.’s Twi e accoun (@ju en us c). We chose
he o icial p o ile whe e he con en is w i en in I alian, he i s accoun o be c ea ed and he mos
popula . Since Twi e is a ex and as e speed media wi h many mo e pos s a day, he analysis changed
om collec ing e e y pos , as we had done wi h Ins ag am (Appendix 2), o picking up andom pos s. The
c i e ia o collec andom pos s we e adop ed and used o all G oup 1 da a collec ion. We sea ched o
ind con en supposedly c ea ed (o mo e explo ed) du ing he pandemic (e.x.: in o ma ion ela ed o
Co id-19, ansi ioning phases du ing he lockdown, online games, Q&A, home ac i i ies, an in e ac ion,
dona ions and und aising campaigns and o he s).
We con inued o use he No ion pla o m o ga he and sepa a e he da a; he columns c ea ed o s o e
he Twi e da a collec ion we e adap ed and sho en. I included: da e; pos ex ; hash ags; e wee s;
likes; wee s/day; classi ica ion; link (URL). Besides, he pe iod analysed emained he same (ex ending
la e ). A o al o 118 wee s we e collec ed, a numbe ha inc eases la e o wo easons. La e , we
decided o collec e e y wee pos ed in Ma ch om Ju en us’ accoun . We belie e ha ha e a whole
mon h o con en and da a collec ed could o e eal in o ma ion o he con en dis ibu ion and
engagemen esponse. The second eason was he s anda disa ion o he coding c i e ia (3.6.1.3), whe e
46
we use he keywo ds lis o guide a second G oup 1 da a collec ion, which wo ked as a double-check. In
he end, he o al o collec ed pos s was 486.
Bo h social media, Ins ag am and Twi e , p esen ed e y simila pos s in gene al, some imes jus sha ed
wi h a di e en app oach, howe e he same con en . When a di e en pos appea ed ( o one o ano he ),
hey usually explo ed a speci ic esou ce o ool ha social media o e ed. To make su e his s a egy is
he same o o he clubs, we also collec ed in o ma ion o m Ins ag am and Twi e A.C. Milan’s p o iles.
A he end o his p ocess, we could no ice ha Twi e had mo e po en ial o p o ide he needed
in o ma ion o wha he analysis in en o disco e . Fu he , we had wo objec i es: un eil he ypes o
con en clubs had sha ed on social media du ing he ou i s mon hs o he Co id-19 pandemic, and
which one o hem b ough highe engagemen pe o mance h ough he ans). In con as , i sp ead mo e
con en hanks o how he pla o m wo ks: a powe ul in o ma ional ool, upda ed in a highe equency,
and mul iple pos s pe day can be sha ed wi hou sa u a ing he ollowe s’ imelines. The Ju en us’
Ins ag am da a collec ion can be accessed in he link h ps://www.no ion.so/ju en us-Ins ag am-
9e5d2a741e154b34b 810daa2ad05970, and he Twi e da a collec ion is a ailable on
h ps://www.no ion.so/294554037943442c9924b1202dd7 3 ? =0 7c0 ed9e84 d7b4463a02bee1e
7c7.
S ill, we made a as e Ins ag am collec ion in A.C. Milan’s p o ile (@acmilan), he second mos popula
I alian club in he sum o social media Twi e + Ins ag am. In o de o make su e abou he con en
simila i ies be ween bo h social media clubs’ p o iles, we picked up 54 pos s andomly a i s , and he
da a collec ed was a s o e on No ion in he columns: da e; pos ex ; hash ags; agged; commen s; likes;
iews; classi ica ion; link. Filling he ca ego y “Classi ica ion” acco ding o he pos con en . This analysis
also s a ed in he second week o Ma ch (9/3/2020), bu we ex ended i un il he hi d week o June
(12/6/2020).
We collec ed in o ma ion om A.C. Milan Twi e p o ile (@acmilan) conside ing he same pe iod (being
ex ended la e o all mon hs om beginning Ma ch un il he end o June). The collec ed in o ma ion was
dis ibu ed in he columns: da e; pos ex ; hash ag; RT (= e wee ); likes; iewe s; classi ica ion; link. Due
o he simila i ies and he ime spen in da a collec ion, we decided ha he esea ch will ocus on Twi e ,
mainly o he highe numbe o in o ma ion esou ce (numbe o pos s) and he adi ion ha his media
47
has in he spo . I is ele an o men ion ha he mic o-blog is also conside ed an o icial b ands’ media.
Wha is announced and publish on Twi e is commonly epo ed in newspape s.
Summing up, ei he Ins ag am o Twi e could in o m abou he club's cu en si ua ion so ha he ans
can be upda ed ollowing one o o he accoun . Howe e , he amoun o in o ma ion and in e ac i e
con en was highe on he mic o-blog, and o his analysis, he ex was mo e ele an han he image.
Besides, we did no conside using Ins ag am S o ies in he esea ch, conside ing i is con en ha
disappea s a e 24 hou s, and i would equi e a simul aneous analysis. Ins ag am S o ies was launched
in 2016 and allowed use s o sha e pho os, ideos and o he con en ha emain jus 24 hou s a ailable
o o he use s ( ollowe s) (Read, 2020).
This esea ch hen conside ed Twi e exclusi ely o ga he in o ma ion o he analysis. Once he
mic oblogging limi ed he numbe o wee s showed in a p o ile, his esea ch used he websi e All My
Twee s (h ps://www.allmy wee s.ne /) o ha e easy access o all he sha ed con en each eam selec ed.
The da a collec ed h ough he o he clubs’ p o iles con inued ollowed he same c i e ia: ca aloguing he
new ways o in e ac ion sha ed du ing he pandemic and he news o o he announcemen s ega ding
he new measu es and changes in he club’s calenda .
Real Mad id C.F. (@ ealmad id) was he second p o ile o be s udied. F om 9/3/2020 un il 17/6/2020,
we collec ed a sample o 90 wee s ga he ing he in o ma ion acco ding o c i e ia men ioned be o e (da e;
pos ex ; hash ag; RT; likes; iewe s; classi ica ion; link). In his collec ion, we added wo columns:
Con en and RT P o ile. The idea has speci ied he esou ce used on Twi e , such as ca d, ideo, h ead,
RT. Though i did no seem o be necessa y, jus some wee s collec ed had his column illed.
Fu he mo e, he RT P o ile was he space o add he “@” (b and o pe son) when he sha ed wee was
pos ed by o he p o ile.
F.C. Ba celona (@ cba celona) had 222 pos s collec ed o he sample om 9/3/2020 un il 17/6/2020.
The highe numbe o wee s collec ed a his momen compa ed o o he s was because hey launched a
kind o a challenge o ans and pos ed i daily, seeking o gene a e mo e in e ac ion wi h ans a home,
and we aimed o collec mos o hem. They c ea e he hash ag #Cule sA Home o p omo e his ini ia i e.
Fo his collec ion, he same columns used in Real Mad id da a collec ion was applied, wi h one addi ion:
48
Tagged column, o add he “@”, in o he wo ds, he men ioned p o ile in he pos . Howe e , jus like he
o he new columns (implemen in he Real Mad id analysis), his esea ch did no seem necessa y.
Th ough he “Classi ica ion” pa ame e , hese collec ion and con en desc ip ions allowed c ea ing a
pa e n o keywo ds used in G oup 2. F om ha , we c ea ed a keywo ds lis o acili a e he collec ion
p ocess. I acili a es he p ocess o wo easons: pick up he highe amoun o con en ha we like o
pe cei e as de eloped because o he pandemic si ua ion and s anda dise he collec ion. We also ampli y
he pe iod analysed om he beginning o Ma ch un il he end o June. These wo de ini ions app oached
he esul s o da a collec ion, ei he in con en and amoun .
Un il hen, we ead each wee collec ed in he pe iod de ined. Because e en picking a andom sample,
he goal was including all he ini ia i es ela ed o he pandemic ( an- ela ed, online games, dona ion,
cha i y, b anding, c oss-sec o ). Beyond ha , i was essen ial o ead he con en o unde s and he clubs'
app oach and s a egy in hei social media, con ex ualise, unde s and be e , and go deepe in o he
analysis.
F om now on, i would no be necessa y o ead e e y wee bu sea ch i by keywo ds. We sepa a e he
clubs in o G oup 1 (AC Milan; F.C. Ba celona; Ju en us F.C.; Real Mad id C.F.) and G oup 2 (F.C. Baye n
München; Li e pool F.C.; Manches e Uni ed F.C. and Pa is Sain -Ge main F.C) was because he analysis
me hod changed in Phase 2.
5.1.2 Phase 2: Accu a e collec ion (G oup 2)
Due o iden i ying o an exis en pa e n ega ding he clubs' subjec s, hanks o he “Classi ica ion”
c i e ia, i was possible o s eamline he collec ion p ocedu e. The second s ep p esen ed he e, e e ing
o G oup 2, ack pos s guided by a keywo ds lis , a ailable in Appendix 3. We c ea ed i o help il e he
s a egies used by clubs' du ing he pandemic o keep he ans engaged, including in o ma ion ela ed o
co ona i us and social p ojec s c ea ed (ei he cha i y, und aising o dona ion campaigns).
G oup 2 includes he o he ou clubs analysed: F.C. Baye n München; Li e pool FC; Manches e Uni ed
F.C. and Pa is Sain -Ge main F.C. The websi e All My Twee s became e en mo e c i ical in his phase
since i was easie o sea ch he pos s using keywo ds. The same p ocess o da a collec ion was applied.
49
Howe e , he collec ed da a his ime was s o ed in ano he pla o m, he Ai able (www.ai able.com).
Jus like No ion, bo h a e p ojec managemen and collabo a i e so wa e, wi h a mode n design and
p esen a ion. We change because Ai able wo ks mo e as a da abase o sp eadshee , which was he
esou ce we needed. While No ion was mo e o a knowledgebase, i is possible o c ea e a sp eadshee
wi h a limi ed o ma o his pu pose. The Ai able allows o c ea e o mul iple shee s open in di e en
abs, and his was a mus o a aching he keywo ds lis s in di e en languages conce ning he coun ies
o he eams analysed in G oup 2 (English, Ge man, F ench).
The in o ma ion s o ed was dis ibu ed in he ca ego ies: link, da e, club, hash ags, e wee , quo e wee s,
likes, eplies, iews, classi ica ion, no es. Fo G oup 2, we s o ed all he clubs’ in o ma ion on he same
page. The esou ces sough in he F.C. Ba celona and Real Mad id collec ion, such as Tagged, Con en
and RT P o ile, we e no conside ed anymo e. O he ca ego ies excluded we e: pos ex and wee s pe
week because hey will no be used a e wa ds. Mo eo e , “No es” was added o c ea e a space o w i e
mo e speci ic in o ma ion ega ding he pos con en , whe eas his da a collec ion would be sho e and
objec i e.
The sum o all wee s collec ed o G oup 2 we e 208 om Ma ch un il June. Each club has 73 o
Manches e Uni ed F.C.; 48 o Li e pool F.C.; 48 o Pa is Sain -Ge main F.C.; and 42 F.C. Baye n
Munich
7
. The keywo ds ocus on h ee main aspec s: ac i i ies in ol ing ans (aiming o ind coc ea ion
con en ), socially esponsible ac ions (posi ioning in a ou o human igh s, c ea ing cha i y o und aising
campaigns), digi al in e ac ion (games, pas ime, online en e ainmen ) and ele an announcemen s
ega ding Co id-19 (new measu es, suspensions, pos poned e en s).
5.1.3 Phase 3: All pe iod ac i i y s o ed
In Phase 3 o he Da a Collec ion, we no ice ha he e was a compelling s a is ic ha could guide be e
his esea ch in e ms o compa ison be ween clubs in he esul s s udies: he clubs’ pe o mance du ing
he whole pe iod ( om Ma ch o June) conside ing all he pos s sha ed, including he quo e wee s ( ha
o e he s a is ics o RTs and likes o his pos ), bu excluding simple e wee s, hose wi hou commen s
( he non-quo e).
7
One mo e wee o F.C. Baye n Munich om Feb ua y 28 announcing new measu es, bu we did no include he esea ch o no mee ing he c i e ia
s ipula ed.

50
Fo his pu pose, he esea che used he Twi e analy ics ool Vicini as (h ps://www. icini as.io/) o
ack all he eigh clubs analysed in he e e ed pe iod. This pla o m's choice is because i was possible
o download in Mic oso Excel all he da a equi ed, in a simila o ma o he one se led o he No ion
and Ai able s o age, and ha is ele an o he analysis: pos ex , likes, e wee s, link (URL). The e we e
o he a ian s, howe e no pe inen enough o be included. This collec was made be ween 15/9/2020
and 25/9/2020. Thus, he numbe o ollowe s, likes and e wee s o he sample we e upda ed acco ding
o hese da a.
5.2 Da a analysis
The da a analysis is di ided in o ou phases. Phase 1
: Quali a i e Analysis
was he s ep whe e he mind
map was c ea ed, and he labels we e de eloped; bo h o igina ed hanks o he amoun o da a s o ed.
The classi ica ion p ocess e ealed a con en pa e n, which led o he Mind Map and Coding Manual
c ea ion. A e wa ds, in Phase 2: Quan i a i e Da a Analysis, we in es iga ed he engagemen esul s
e e ing o likes and e wee s and had a pano amic iew o each club’s pe o mance om Ma ch o June.
Table 5 de ails he Da a Analysis phases.
Table 5 Da a Analysis Phases
Da a Analysis
Phase 1: Quali a i e Analysis
Mind Map and Coding Manual
I is he sys ema ic o ganisa ion o he da a collec ion. In his phase, he
samples had hei in o ma ion s anda dised in columns, e iewed, and
classi ied. The con en classi ica ion p ocess ollowed a pa e n, and
om his s anda d, i eme ged a label acco ding o he subjec (Figu e 5,
page 52). While we de eloped he p e ious wo phases h oughou da a
collec ion, quali a i e esea ch ook place in he da a analysis p ocess.
Phase 2: Quan i a i e Analysis
Fan engagemen pe o mance
The quan i a i e esea ch ook place. A e c ea ing he Coding Manual,
we in es iga e he engagemen esul s e e ing o likes and e wee s
wi h he con en ca ego ised in labels. I es ablished a pano amic iew o
each club’s pe o mance om Ma ch o June and e ealed he mos
success ul esul s. The a e age o likes and e wee was di ided by he
numbe o he club’s page ollowe s and mul iplied by a million o
equalise he a e o compa ison goals. Beyond ha , we a ge o
disco e a label ha s ood ou among o he s and pa e n esul s o he
labels.
51
5.2.1 Phase 1: Quali a i e Analysis
5.2.1.1 O ganisa ion o he ideas: Mind map
C ea ing he codes was necessa y o o ganise he ideas h ough a mind map shown in Figu e 5 (p. 52),
in a sho e sion (A ull e sion o his mind map is a ailable on he link
h ps://mm. /1636546330? =9 QK1I3Pe ). The mind map con ex ualises he esea ch p oblem, how
he pandemic a ec ed oo ball o ocus on an engagemen , which led his esea ch o analyse social
media pos s and hen shows in a simpli ied way and he “Found Solu ions” as a esul o he da a
collec ion. The e m “ ound solu ions” e e ences he con en s a egies clubs chose o use du ing he
lockdowns and qua an ine o communica e wi h ans, keeping a high engagemen a e. The “solu ions
hey ound” o en e ain ans a home.
To ge in o ha i e names lis ed on
Found Solu ions
, all he ep esen a i e classi ica ions c ea ed du ing
he clubs’ Twi e analysis we e lis ed. Then, ga he by hei sha ed heme o be unde s ood in a gene al
comp ehension by he names (label) gi en o he ound solu ions opics. The i le o hese labels in he
mind map mean ha hose ca ego ies we e he chosen con en clubs made o a ac an engagemen
du ing he ou i s mon hs o he pandemic, so we e he solu ions hey ounded o in e ac wi h hei
public. In conclusion,
Found solu ions
e e o he clubs' sha ed con en on social media o keep hei
ans engaged. The codes a e explained in de ail in Figu e 5 and Table 6 (p. 54).
Looking in de ail a he “Found solu ions”, and un a elling he umb ella, all he main ypes o classi ica ion
we e c ea ed in he con en analysis based on he con en sha ed on Twi e . The codes ep esen ed he
ype o pos s analysed and he di e en app oaches ha he esea ch sough o compa e he clubs'
ac ions and assess hose capable o gene a ing mo e engagemen .
52
Figu e 5 Mind Map Foo ball in he Co id-19 pandemic: he impac on an engagemen
53
5.2.1.2 Coding and Coding Manual
A e we de ined he codes (
B anding
;
C oss-sec o
;
Fan-cen ed
;
Digi al In e ac ion
;
O icial
Announcemen
;
Social Commi men
) based on he classi ica ions, i was equi ed o c ea e a new column
No ion and Ai able pages. The in en ion was o add hese ca ego ies o o ganise he con en acco dingly
o he labels. The labels became codes o ensu e each de ini ion's cla i y, and he Coding Manual on
Table 6 (p. 54) was c ea ed o ou line and desc ibe he i e engagemen
Found
solu ions
labels.
The Coding Manual begins wi h his new column c ea ed on No ion and Ai able pages analysis. The need
o manage he da a e icien ly led us o sea ch o da abases o o ganise in o ma ion and s o e da a,
esou ces we ound in No ion and Ai able. They a e pla o ms like Mic oso Excel, wi h an imp o ed
p esen a ion and design and addi ional documen s and sha e asks. Thei usage inc ease in he Co id-
19 o home-o ice and elewo king modali ies (Rysa y & Michalak, 2020).
Du ing his p ocess, he p incipal codes we e de ined:
B anding
;
C oss-sec o
;
Fan-cen ed
;
Digi al
In e ac ion
;
O icial Announcemen
;
Social Commi men
. The
O icial Announcemen
was he las one o
be added, and i was ele an due o he amoun o in o ma ion (no es, o icial s a emen s) ela ed o
Co id-19. Howe e , ano he ype o in o ma ion was no ela ed o he pandemic, which was necessa y
o classi y. F om his poin , New Codes (Table 8, p. 57) we e c ea ed o add ca ego ies o subjec s ha
we e no ela ed o he ound solu ions o clubs o en e ained in he ongoing pandemic, bu i was ele an
o conside since hey we e pa o he con en sha ed on he pe iod analysed. Beyond
In o ma ion
, i was
c ea ed
New No mal
,
Ma chdays
,
Sponso ed
, and
O he
. The i s h ee en e ed in he analysis compa ed
wi h he o iginal labels o hei ele ance.
Ano he need ha eme ged in he ca ego isa ion p ocess was o speci y some labels wi h a as con en
ype. Thus, we c ea ed he Sub-codes on Table 7 (p. 56) o speci y some di e en ca ego ies used as
pa o he clubs’ con en s a egy, such as
Social Ma ke ing
(pa o he Social Commi men label).
Al e na i ely, e en a ype o con en ha became e y popula du ing his pe iod and because i dese es
o be di e en ia ed, such as
B and In e ac ion (A Home)
, pa o
B anding
. The Sub-codes se ed as a
pa ame e o con en analysis. They we e no used on he engagemen analysis sepa a ely.
60
I was no possible o compa e he a e age di ec ly be ween clubs since hey ha e a di e se each
po en ial and numbe o ollowe s. In o he wo ds: he highes Baye n Munchen likes a e age a e in he
pe iod analysed was 1.372 likes/ wee in he 27 h week, which ep esen s less han hal o he lowes
likes a e age week o Li e pool F.C. ha had 4.657 likes/ wee in he 20 h week, i s wo s esul . Because
o ha , he weekly a e ages we e di ided by he numbe o each page ollowe s. This o mula pu s he
clubs on an equal oo ing.
In he end, he numbe s used o compa ison be ween clubs was he like o e wee a e age pe ollowe .
Fo example, F.C. Ba celona had an a e age o 5.296,98 likes in he 10 h week. This numbe was di ided
by 33.800.000, he ounded alue o he numbe o club ollowe s. The esul was app oxima ely
0,00015671. Thus, he esul was mul iplied by 1.000.000 (one million), equal o 156,71. The ou come
can be in e p e ed as: o each one million ollowe s, abou 156 p o iles liked each pos o F.C. Ba celona
in ha week. I was a calcula ion applied o all clubs, and he esul s o he likes a e age compa ison a e
shown on G aphic 1, and o e wee s a e age, on G aphic 2.
G aphic 1 E olu ion pe week o he an engagemen pe o mance on clubs’ Twi e p o ile du ing he i s ou mon hs o he Co id-19
pandemic measu ed by likes a e age pe million ollowe s
50
250
450
650
850
1050
1250
1450
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
Likes a e age/Million ollowe s
Week numbe s o 2020
Fan engagemen on clubs' Twi e : pe o mance in likes
Ba celona Real Mad id Ju en us
Milan PSG Li e pool
Baye n Manches e Uni ed

61
G aphic 2 E olu ion pe week o he an engagemen pe o mance on clubs’ Twi e p o ile du ing he i s ou mon hs o he Co id-19
pandemic measu ed by e wee s a e age pe million ollowe s
Chap e 6. Findings
The indings will de ail he clubs’ s a egies in he i s momen , di ided by he g oups. La e , he clubs’
pe o mance in numbe s du ing he pe iod es ablished in his analysis has a b oad iew o he an
engagemen , ei he in se e al likes and e wee s.
6.1 G oup 1
In he analysis, we can compa e he e olu ion o he engagemen among clubs h ough 16 weeks,
e ealing he ini ia i es c ea ed and wha pos s a ac ed he mos posi i e beha iou . Beyond o p esen ,
he wee s sha ed in he ups and downs o he g aphic o each eam, we can also no ice ha he
ampli ude a ied a lo in some cases, and in o he s, i emained wi hou exp essi e di e ences.
Fo he clubs conside ed in G oup 1, he
likes
ampli ude measu emen goes om he highes poin 318
on he 10 h week o he lowes 86 on he 13 h week, bo h eached by Ju en us F.C. s a is ics (G aphic 3).
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
RTs a e age/Million ollowe s
Week numbe s o 2020
Fan engagemen on clubs' Twi e : pe o mance in RTs
Ba celona Real Mad id Ju en us Milan
Li e pool Baye n Manches e Uni ed PSG
62
On e wee s g aphic, i goes om 9 on he 14 h week o Ju en us o 47 in he week 17 h, o A.C. Milan
(G aphic 4).
G aphic 3 E olu ion pe week o he an engagemen pe o mance on G oup 1 clubs’ Twi e p o ile du ing he i s ou mon hs o he
Co id-19 pandemic measu ed in likes a e age pe million ollowe s
63
G aphic 4 E olu ion pe week o he an engagemen pe o mance on G oup 1 clubs’ Twi e p o ile du ing he i s ou mon hs o he
Co id-19 pandemic measu ed in e wee a e age pe million ollowe s
6.1.1 Ju en us F.C.
The Ju en us F.C. pe o mance in likes and e wee s is speci ied in he G aphics 5 and 6.
The i s sample o be analysed is om Ju en us F.C. Twi e accoun (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c).
Ju en us F.C. is he ou h oo ball club wi h he mos ans globally (Chaudha y, 2020) and he I alian
G aphic 6 Ju en us F.C. e wee s a e age/million use s
G aphic 5 Ju en us F.C. likes a e age/million use s
64
oo ball club wi h he highes numbe o ollowe s on social media (see Table 1). Since I aly was he i s
Wes e n coun y o su e he Co id-19 consequences, i is ele an o gi e special a en ion o wha he
I alian clubs we e doing because i se ed as a model o o he clubs. To gi e his in-dep h analysis and
conside ing Ju en us F.C was he i s club o be analysed, we included e e y wee om Ma ch. This
speci ic sample can e e ence he esul s ound since we had he whole mon h's ac i i y.
Also, Ma ch was a e y de e mina i e pe iod, he beginning o he Co id-19 pandemic and he wo ld's
lockdowns. The decisions made ha mon h impac ed and de ined he new social dynamic o he ollowing
mon hs, which a ec ed he way o conduc and planning ma ke ing s a egies, including he an
engagemen app oach. Thus, he esponsi e esul s o he engagemen me ics collec ed (likes and
e wee s) can be compa ed wi h he o he esul s o con i m he exis ence o ans' eac ions pa e ns. As
he me ics poin , in Ma ch, Ju en us has i s highes and lowes spikes.
The quo e wee s ( e wee s wi h commen s) we e excluded om he analysis, so he p esen ed esul s
e e o RT (di ec sha es wi hou commen s) and likes. The o al o pos s on Ju en us Twi e in Ma ch
was 377, an a e age o 12 pe day, including e wee s and eplies. Excluding hese pos s ha we e no
analysed in he esea ch, i emains 259 di ided in o he labels:
B anding
,
Fan-cen ed
,
In o ma ion
,
Ma chday
,
O icial Announcemen
,
Digi al In e ac ion
and
Social Commi men
. G aphic 7 shows he labels
di ision.
G aphic 7 G aphic wi h all Ju en us F.C. wee s om Ma ch classi ied by labels
113
11
10
28
16
43
37
@ju en us c Ma ch pos s classi ied by label
B anding
Fan-cen ed
In o ma ion
Ma chday
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
65
G aphic 8 Like a e age g aphic o Ju en us F.C. Twi e in Ma ch classi ied by labels
G aphic 9 Re wee a e age g aphic o Ju en us F.C. Twi e in Ma ch classi ied by labels
Two new labels we e explici ly added o his analysis o compa ison. The
In o ma ion
label is pa allel wi h
he
O icial Announcemen s
, bu when i is no ela ed o Co id-19. Mo eo e ,
Ma chday
is ela ed o pos s
sha ed on a ma chday, which e e s o he game. G aphics 8 and 9 compa e he likes and e wee a e age
be ween labels.
The esul s e eal ha he numbe o pos s pe label is no p opo ional o he a e age in e ac ion esul s.
Fo example, B anding had he highes numbe o pos s in he mon h (113), and i was he mos liked
subjec on a e age (2.762). Howe e , i was he second less e wee ed (108), jus behind Digi al
In e ac ion wi h he lowes numbe s o sha ed pos s (67) and lowes numbe o likes (601) among 43
pos s published. On he o he hand,
O icial Announcemen
had he highes e wee s a e ages (738), and
he second-highes likes a e age (2.586) among 16 pos s. I does mean ha he numbe o pos s o a
ca ego y does no gua an ee popula i y.
2.762,58
1.427,91
1.242,80
2.202,86
2.586,19
601,00
1.837,15
0,00 500,00 1.000,00 1.500,00 2.000,00 2.500,00
B anding
Fan-cen ed
In o ma ion
Ma chday
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
@ju en us c likes a e age in Ma ch
Like A e age
108,20
139,91
125,90
117,58
738,27
67,44
206,32
0,00 100,00 200,00 300,00 400,00 500,00 600,00 700,00 800,00
B anding
Fan-cen ed
In o ma ion
Ma chday
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
@ju en us c e wee s a e age in Ma ch
RT A e age

66
An in e es ing inding was ha he
Social Commi men
pos s ela ed o he Co po a e Social Responsibili y
(CSR), cha i y, social impac ac ions, and posi ioning ela ed o human igh s ou pe o med he
Ma chday
engagemen pe o mance in e ms o e wee s a e age and e y close o he esul s in e ms o likes
a e age. A signi ican signal ha ans we e ac i ely in e es ed in sha ing he social good ini ia i es ha
hei club was doing, mo e han sha ing ma ch esul s and news. Ano he ac con ibu es o mo i a ing
he ac o e wee s (sha e con en ): he p ide o he b and hey suppo .
In he opposi e di ec ion, we could obse e he low engagemen esponses in
Digi al In e ac ion
, wi h he
lowes pe o mance in likes (601) and e wee s (67) a e age. This was unexpec ed a e seen h ough
he analysis collec ion, he e o b ands had in es ed in imp o ing, inc easing, and di e si ying digi al
ac i i ies such as games, li e, b oadcas , in e iews. Du ing he pandemic, i seemed ha hese pos s'
in ensi y was highe han o he s (pe sonal obse a ion), ei he in he numbe o pos s o in e ac ions.
Be o e he esul s, we had he imp ession ha hose we e one o he mos success ul kinds o app oach,
meanly conside ing a eali y whe e people spend all day a home and because digi al communica ion
me hods we e g owing du ing he Co id-19 pandemic (Nguyen e al., 2020).
G aphic 10 Ju en us F.C. wee s sample collec ed om Ap il o June classi ied by labels
27
24
6
17
9
17
@ju en us c pos s sample by label (Ap - Jun)
B anding
Fan-cen ed
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
New No mal
67
G aphic 11 Like a e age g aphic o Ju en us F.C. Twi e sample om Ap il o June classi ied by labels
G aphic 12 Re wee a e age g aphic o Ju en us F.C. Twi e sample om Ap il o June classi ied by labels
A e ha ing he esul s o Ma ch, his esea ch expec ed o see he esul s ep oduced in he nex mon hs
o Ju en us FC. I was conside ed a sample o 101 wee s, om Ap il o June, co esponding o he
di e en ini ia i e, ends used du ing he pandemic ( ega ding he digi al con en ) and ans in e ac ion
(G aphic 10). Du ing he p ocess, i was necessa y o add one mo e label. Due o he e u n o social and
p o essional ac i i ies,
B anding
was subs i u ed o
New No mal
o di e en ia e b and con en ela ed o
he new sa e y measu es applied o hem.
Once again, he
Fan-cen ed
and
Digi al In e ac ion
we e he ypes o con en expec ed o a ac he
highe numbe o eac ions ha e idence a good engagemen pe o mance since hey we e ela ed o
ma ches b oadcas , li e in e iews, ans pa icipa ion and co-c ea ion. Ins ead, acco ding o G aphic 11
1.516,74
446,96
3.550,50
688,47
2.513,89
2.406,00
0,00 1.000,00 2.000,00 3.000,00
B anding
Fan-cen ed
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
New No mal
@ju en us c sample likes a e age (Ap - Jun)
Like A e age
171,07
52,00
743,00
57,18
431,44
227,06
0,00 100,00 200,00 300,00 400,00 500,00 600,00 700,00 800,00
B anding
Fan-cen ed
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
New No mal
@ju en us c sample e wee s a e age (Ap - Jun)
RT A e age
68
and 12 esul s, he mos engaged subjec s we e ela ed o he Co id-19 in o ma ion (
O icial
Announcemen
) and social good ini ia i es (Social Commi men ).
New No mal
and
B anding
a e con en ela ed o he b and. The di e ence is ha he i s one shows he
coming back, including new measu es (ei he hough images o ex s), and he second is he s anda d
b and- ela ed con en , such as bi hdays, sco ing goal, his o ical achie emen s and a hle e b anding (no
ela ed o he e u n o lockdowns and qua an ines).
The analysis c a es o disco e how he o he clubs' engagemen a es, i i emained he same o
Ju en us FC o i hey had di e en esponses o ans and, i yes, unde s and why and wha ype o
con en and in e ac ion changed ans' eedback. The o al o pos s was 486 collec ed, including eplies
and e wee s. The amoun o he o al analysed (excluding he pages RTs and eplies) was 360. The
example o he collec ed wee s and he classi ica ion in labels is explained in de ail in he ollowing opics.
6.1.1.1 Con en examples
The o al numbe o wee s pos ed on he pe iod analysed ( om Ma ch 2nd o June 28 h) was 1.548.
Top Twee s
Hal o he en mos -liked wee s and ou o he mos RTs we e pos ed du ing Ma ch, which p o es he
high pe o mance ha mon h had o he club. Figu e 6 p esen s he image
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1235481808571174912) o a ideo wi h highligh s o he
Tu kish oo ball playe Me ih Demi al, on Ma ch 5 h, sha ed o celeb a e his bi hday, ha ing he highes
numbe o likes (61.464) and he hi d con en mos sha ed in he pe iod analysed (4.118 e wee s). The
hi d mos liked (30.226) and ou h-mos e wee ed (3.741) was pos ed on Ma ch 8 h, celeb a ed he
ic o y o he A gen ine Ca los Te ez, champion wi h C.A. Boca Junio s in his na ional championship, on
Figu e 7 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1236609452184424448). Bo h wee s labelled on
B anding o linking he a hle es’ image o he eam.
69
The i s mos e wee ed (6.601) and he i h mos liked wee (14.830) we e he o icial announcemen
(labelled in his ca ego y) o he i s playe s posi i e o Co id-19, pos ed on Ma ch 11 h, on Figu e 8
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1237861289181040640): “U gen communica ion, COVID-19
posi i e oo balle ”. The se en h mos liked one (11.441) was a esponse wee (commen ) o he
A gen ine playe Paulo Dybala’s wee , “We a e a eam, Paulo!”, in Figu e 9
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1241427402359742464). Because he wee was a commen ,
no a pos , he numbe o RTs was low, 568. When he club announced he was cu ed
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1258066817052008448), on May 6 h, he pos had an e en
mo e engagemen a e (12.278 likes and 1.924 e wee s), being he 6 h posi ion o he mos liked and
e wee ed. The con ibu ions o i could be ha i was a posi i e message and/o a di ec wee (a pos ),
no a commen .
Figu e 7 “The goal by Ca li os #Te ez gi es o @BocaJ sO icial ic o y
in he A gen ine championship! Cong a ula ions, champion!”. I is he
hi d mos liked and ou h mos e wee ed. Code: B anding
Figu e 6 Bes Momen s Videos o celeb a e Tu kish oo ball playe
Me ih Demi al bi hday. The mos liked wee o he pe iod analysed.
Code: B anding
76
The o he image, Figu e 20 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1249260974416134145) is ano he
example o Digi al In e ac ion, quiz, puzzles, and hun ing-wo d examples. This pos was he mos engaging
con en in his speci ic label in Ju en us case, ecei ing 2.080 likes and 131 e wee s.
Fan-cen ed
In mid-Ma ch, a goal chain was played on Twi e be ween clubs. I consis s o publishing a sco ed goal
and ag he o he club ha appea ed on he ideo, he one he goal was sco ed agains , and challenging
hem o do he same wi h ano he eam. The game was played using he hash ag #GoalChain. On Ma ch
17 h, he English club Bu nley F.C. s a ed
(h ps:// wi e .com/bu nleyo icial/s a us/1239861168308654081) challenging ano he na ional
eam, and he game in ol es Manches e Uni ed
(h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1240296486031818752) and Li e pool F.C.
(h ps:// wi e .com/LFC/s a us/1239950898748706816) On he ollowing day, i was he u n o A.S.
Roma s a ed (h ps:// wi e .com/O icialASRoma/s a us/1240231285228003329) he challenge in
I aly using he hash ag #CalcioGoalChain (calcio is oo ball in I alian), played by Ju en us
Figu e 21 “Choose a GIF o commen he CR7 skills.
A e you
eady o one #GIFChain?”
Figu e 22 “This is he momen o colou you house in (emo ions in
whi e and black colou s). Tag us in you pho o and ideo: we a e going
o publish he bes ones!”

77
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1240366073700024327) and AC Milan
(h ps:// wi e .com/acmilan/s a us/1240306423998885889). On he same day, F.C. Baye n English
p o ile s a ed (h ps:// wi e .com/ cbaye nen/s a us/1240340025247662086) he chain in Ge man.
A e he A.S. Roma #CalcioGoalChain, Ju en us had a simila idea o en e ain ans. They c ea e a GIF
chain, Figu e 21 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1241731612104183808) o commen on he
abili ies o he CR7 ( hey pick up him in ending o each mo e engagemen in he commen s and
in e ac ions since he is he mos belo ed playe , his name, pho os, and ideos always b ing a lo o likes
and iews). F om he collec ed sample, he GIF Chain was he mos success ul a
Fan-cen ed
wee om
Ju en us’ Twi e . I has 5.200 likes and 473 RTs. Ano he example o Fan-cen ed ini ia i e was he
Flashmob, Figu e 22 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/12424161651478528024), he mos
e wee ed
Fan-cen ed
ini ia i e, eaching 99 RTs and wi h 1.414 likes.
O icial Announcemen
Figu e 8, on page 69, in he opic Top wee s, is he mos e wee ed pos and he mos sha ed om he
sample collec ed, and i was labelled on
O icial Announcemen
. Second, i was he announcemen o
Dybala’s Co id-19 cu e, in Figu e 24 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1258066817052008448).
In hi d place, he announcemen abou he ag eemen wi h playe s and coach o he i s eam on Figu e
Figu e 24 “Co id-19, cu ed @PauDybala_JR”
Figu e 23 “Company no e | Ag eemen wi h oo ball playe s and
coaches om he i s eam”
78
23 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1243969167793012737) ega ding educing he
emune a ion gi en om Ma ch o June 2020 (Ju en us, 2020b).
Social Commi men
On Ma ch 12 h, Ju en us F.C. launched he und aising campaign o aise unds o Co id-19 elie , speci ic
o suppo heal hca e p o essionals om Tu im’s zone, on Piedmon and egion. The ini ia i e
e e be a ed, and he ideo eco ded by he clubs’ p esiden And ea Agnelli, Figu e 25
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1238175149477834752), had 7.894 likes and 7894 RTs, being
he 7 h mos e wee ed and he 13 h mos liked in he pe iod. Un il Ap il, many playe s om he women's
and men's eams eco ded simila ideos asking people o collabo a e wi h he campaign, using he
hash ags #Dis an iMaUni i ( oge he wi h bu uni ed in I alian) and #Li eAhead. Figu e 26
Figu e 26 Second pos o many pos ed showing playe s eco ded
ideos asking people o dona e. “Wo d o Capi an @Chiellini. Dona e
oge he wi h Ju en us. h p://go undme.com/ /dis an i-ma-uni i-
dona-insieme-alla-ju en us #Dis an iMaUni i#Li eAhead”
Figu e 25 The und aising campaign s a s wi h he clubs’ p esiden
And ea Agnelli announcemen . “In such a delica e momen , we wan
o make ou con ibu ion. Dona e oge he wi h Ju en us
h p://ju e.i /h8s550yKjdA #Dis an iMaUni i #Li eAhead”
79
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1238405605943119877) is an example o he ideos playe s
and coaches eco ded o in i e people o dona e.
Acco ding o ou analysis, his hash ag, bo h on Ins ag am and Twi e , was mainly used o add ess hese
pos s we e club membe s eco ded ideos wi h a s anda dized message in i ing people o pa icipa e and
dona e o Tu im’s hospi al. Impo an no e: he hash ag was no c ea ed o his pu pose. #Li eAhead
was he new ma ke ing s a egy, announced on 1/7/2019, o be pa o he club’s new iden i y, wi h a
s ong message ha he Ju en us b and’s impo ance emains beyond he 90 minu es on he pi ch.
The main Ju en us’ ini ia i e was he und aising campaign. Howe e , hey sha ed some o he examples
o dona ions hey did such as he examples abo e. Figu e 27
(h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1239968995563851777) e e s o he speci ic dona ions he
clubs’ p esiden And ea Agnelli and his amily did, in pa ne ship wi h o he b ands (Fe a i, 2020).
Mo eo e , in Figu e 28 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1235612960069955584) hey
announced hey would dona e he ood ha would be a sale on he game played wi h closed doo s a he
beginning o Ma ch.
Many clubs communica e be ween hemsel es in ac s o solida i y and suppo . In his case, he F ench
Olympique Lyonnais published on he day when hey would ace Ju en us F.C. in he Champions League
Figu e 27 “The Agnelli amily and i s socie y o Co id-19
eme gency”
Figu e 28 “#Ju eMilan, he Allianz S adium ood will no be was ed.
This is why: (link)”
80
he message: “We had an appoin men wi h you onigh . This is only a pos ponemen . O.L. b ings i s
suppo and solida i y o all hose who lo e @ju en us c and mo e gene ally o all ou ansalpine iends”.
Adding he I alian “See you soon” (“A p es o”) and using he Ju en us’ hash ag #Dis an iMaUni i. Pos
sha ed by Ju en us wi h a hank you in F ench. They added: “See you soon. I will be a g ea ma ch, and
we canno wai o i .”, Figu e 30 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1240022641819496448).
Usually, e wee s om o he s’ pages do no ha e a g ea each limi ed by he social media me ics, bu
his one b oke he pa e n, ha ing he 22nd posi ion on he mos liked (6.535) wee s be ween and 963
RTs. As he und aising campaign, hose pos s we e ca ego ized on he
Social Commi men
ini ia i e.
Figu e 29 (h ps:// wi e .com/ju en us c/s a us/1266470491843366915) shows he ibu e made in
memo y o he 39 ic ims who died in he ae oplane c ash in 1949. The ligh ook he en i e To ino F.C.
back o Tu im, I aly, om Lisbon, Po ugal, a e a iendly ma ch agains S.L. Ben ica. To honou he
ic ims, he Mole An onelliana, one o he ci y pos ca ds, was illumina ed on he day he acciden
happened decades ago. The hi d Social Commi men mos liked (6.535 likes and 963 e wee s). The
i s one was he und aising campaign launch, and he second was also a memo ial pos ega ding
Heysel disas e in 1985.
Figu e 30 Solida i y be ween clubs
Figu e 29 Honou o he ic ims o he To ino F.C. disas e
81
6.1.2 A.C. Milan
The A.C. Milan pe o mance in likes and e wee s is speci ied in he G aphics 13 and 14.
A.C. Milan was he second p o ile analysed (h ps:// wi e .com/acmilan). I was also an I alian club, a
coun y ha was hi i s by co ona i us pandemic e ec s ega ding o he Eu opean coun ies. The o al
o collec ed wee s om A.C. Milan o icial Twi e accoun was 315 pos s om Ma ch o June dis ibu ed
in labels acco ding o G aphic 15. G aphic 16 and 17 show he a e age in likes and e wee s he labels
had pe wee in ha ca ego y.
The esul s demons a e how in e es ed A.C. Milan ans we e in he b and’s
Social Commi men
con en ,
he mos success ul con en label in bo h like (1.881) and e wee a e age (338). In e ms o likes, he
highe engagemen esponses we e ollowed by
New No mal
(1.339),
B anding
(1.350),
O icial
Announcemen
(1.210),
Fan-cen ed
(707),
Digi al In e ac ion
(519). Then,
C oss-Sec o :
he b and
p omo ed a conce called
F om Milan Wi h Lo e
wi h celeb i ies such as he Ame ican singe s Alicia
Keys, Kelly Rowland, Robin Thicke and o he s. In he e wee c i e ia, behind
Social Commi men
(338)
we e
O icial Announcemen
(287),
B anding
(225),
New No mal
(172),
Digi al In e ac ion
(119,03)
,
C oss-sec o
(109,50) and
Fan-cen ed
(94).
G aphic 14 A.C. Milan e wee s a e age/million use s
G aphic 13 A.C. Milan likes a e age/million use s

82
G aphic 15 A.C. Milan wee s sample collec ed om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
G aphic 16 Like a e age g aphic o A.C. Milan Twi e sample om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
G aphic 17 Re wee a e age g aphic o A.C. Milan Twi e sample om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
123
19
27
25
19
9
38
49
@acmilan pos s sample dis ibu ed by label
B anding
C oss-Sec o
Fan-cen ed
Ma chday
New No mal
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
1.350
519 707 973
1.399 1.210
789
1.881
0,00
500,00
1000,00
1500,00
2000,00
Like A e age
@acmilan likes a e age (Ma ch - June)
B anding C oss-Sec o Fan-cen ed
Ma chday New No mal O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion Social Commi men
225
109,50 94
203 172
287
119,03
338
0,00
100,00
200,00
300,00
400,00
RT A e age
@acmilan e wee s a e age (Ma ch - June)
B anding C oss-Sec o Fan-cen ed
Ma chday New No mal O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion Social Commi men
83
This esea ch did no analyse he Ma chday and In o ma ion (o icial announcemen s no ela ed o
CoOVID-19) ca ego ies because hey we e no pa o he “ ound solu ions” o he oo ball clubs in he
ongoing pandemic, as he mind map illus a es in Figu e 5, page 52. Howe e , since some wee s we e
collec ed om hose subjec s, we use i as a compa ison pa ame e , he eason hey we e added o he
g aphics. I allowed concluding ha in A.C. Milan case, he
Social Commi men
and
O icial
Announcemen s
pos s signi ican ly b ough mo e engagemen o he page ha he usual
Ma chday
pos s
did in likes and e wee s.
Once again, he
Fan-cen ed
and
Digi al In e ac ion
emained wi h he lowes an engagemen esul s in
likes and e wee s a e age.
C oss-sec o
also did no ha e a good engagemen esponse due o building
an in e na ional e en wi h an online b oadcas on social media pla o ms. In he au ho ’s opinion, one o
he easons why he epe cussion was no ha much success is ha A.C. Milan’s page s a ed he
disclosu e jus eigh days be o e he e en , a he beginning o May. The sho pe iod o days o sp ead
he e en ’s in o ma ion p obably dec eased he disclosu e and in e ac ion, ha ing a low engagemen
e u n compa ed o i s dimension, conside ing i as an in e na ional e en online b oadcas ed.
6.1.2.1 Con en examples
A o al numbe o 765 wee s we e pos ed on he analysis pe iod ( om Ma ch 2nd o June 28 h).
Top Twee s
The mos liked (17884) and e wee ed (2231) A.C. Milan’s wee was Figu e 31
(h ps:// wi e .com/acmilan/s a us/1261952223841378306) celeb a ing di e si y, equal igh s,
human igh s, pos ed in May. The second mos liked (12.552) and he 3 d mos e wee ed (1974) was
he condolences o F ancesca Ga uso, Figu e 32
(h ps:// wi e .com/acmilan/s a us/1267770321169526787), Genna o Ga uso’s sis e , he oo ball
playe ha played in Milan om 2017 un il 2019, and since hen is S.S.C. Napoli’s coach. In gene al,
A.C. Milan equen ly published condolences con en . I can be known i i was al eady a habi be o e he
pandemic; howe e , he analysis could show a common con en on hei page.
84
The second mos e wee ed (2.017) was he celeb a ion o he eligious Muslims holiday ha ma ks he
end o as ing in Ramadan (Chi wood, 2020), illus a ed in Figu e 33
(h ps:// wi e .com/acmilan/s a us/1264437220938616832), and eached 4.767 likes, he 17 h
posi ion. Figu e 34 (h ps:// wi e .com/acmilan/s a us/1261342588709134336) was he 3 d mos
liked (9.781), and ecei ed 971 RTs (16 h posi ion) and i was a e e ence o he e u n o aining. O
he en mos liked, h ee a e om Ma ch, wo om May, h ee om June and wo om Ap il.
Figu e 33 Celeb a ion, New Code: O he
Figu e 31 Social Commi men , di e si y, equal igh s, human
igh s
Figu e 32 Social Commi men , condolences
Figu e 34 T aining, e u n, in e ac ion. New Code: New No mal
85
Ins ead o ha ing many p o iles o each coun y, a esou ce used by he in e na ional eams, A.C. Milan
mix English and I alian in an appealing way: no ansla ing om one language o ano he , bu publishing
con en in bo h languages ha comple e each o he and ha co espond be e o he speci ic cul u es.
B anding
Figu e 38 B and+Sponso
Figu e 35 B anding A hle e
Figu e 37 New No mal
Figu e 36 Celeb a ion, Bi hday
92
6.1.3 Real Mad id C.F.
The Real Mad id C.F. pe o mance in likes and e wee s is speci ied in he G aphics 18 and 19.
Real Mad id C.F. has he mos ans globally (Chaudha y, 2020), was he hi d p o ile analysed
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id), and he i s Spanish club. The o al o collec ed wee s was 420 pos s
om Ma ch o June, and h ee we e excluded o being e wee s. The 417 wee s analysed we e
dis ibu ed acco ding o G aphic 20. G aphic 21 and 22 show he a e age in likes and e wee s he labels
had pe wee in ha ca ego y.
Once again,
Social Commi men
had highe engagemen esponses in likes (16.238) and e wee s
(1.620). The second label o gene a e mo e engagemen was
New No mal
,
wi h 10.648 likes a e age
and 1.350 e wee s. In hi d place in he e wee s we e he
O icial Announcemen s
(1.117), which shows
ha Real Mad id ans we e in ensely engaged in sha e con en ega ding he pandemic: social ini ia i es,
coming back (new measu es and o he s) and announcemen s ega ding Co id-19. On likes a e age,
B anding
(6.802) appea ed in hi d place ins ead, which is also di e en om o he clubs ha ha e
B anding
as con en ha gene a es mo e in e ac ion.
O icial Announcemen
(6.621) in ou h place in likes a e age, and he las wo places
Digi al
In e ac ion
(3.334) and
Fan-cen ed
(3.140). I mus be said ha Real Mad id C.F. uses i s Twi e p o ile
o sha e much ins i u ional in o ma ion, mo e han o he clubs, which gi es an imp ession almos o a
bu eauc a ic ype o app oach acco ding o he numbe o ins i u ional explana ions. I may explain
why
In o ma ion
(6.666 likes a e age; 645 e wee s a e age)
,
in his case, is so high and why hey keep
sha ing his ype o con en since i has an ac i e esponse by he ans.
G aphic 19 Real Mad id C.F. e wee s a e age/million use s
G aphic 18 Real Mad id C.F. likes a e age/million use s

93
G aphic 20 Real Mad id C.F. wee s sample collec ed om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
G aphic 21 Like a e age g aphic o Real Mad id C.F. Twi e om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
G aphic 22 Re wee a e age g aphic o Real Mad id C.F. Twi e om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
192
218
50
85
19 27 15
@ ealmad id pos s sample dis ibu ed by label
B anding
Ma chday
In o ma ion
Fan-Cen ed
Digi al In e ac ion
O icial Announcemen
Social Commi men
New No mal
6.802 5.311 3.140 3.334
6.621
16.238
10.648
6.666
0,00
5000,00
10000,00
15000,00
20000,00
Like A e age
@ ealmad id likes a e age (Ma ch - June)
B anding Ma chday Fan-Cen ed
Digi al In e ac ion O icial Announcemen Social Commi men
New No mal In o ma ion
800 560 375 325
1.117
1.620
1.350
645
0,00
500,00
1000,00
1500,00
RT A e age
@ ealmad id e wee s a e age (Ma ch - June)
B anding Ma chday Fan-Cen ed
Digi al In e ac ion O icial Announcemen Social Commi men
New No mal In o ma ion
94
Compa ed wi h he 6.621 likes a e age o
O icial Announcemen
, he
In o ma ion
has a su p ising esul
since i was no ela ed o Co id-19 in o ma ion. Ano he in e es ing ac is ha he a e age o likes
on
Ma chday
(5.311 likes a e age; 375 e wee s a e age) was only highe han
Fan-cen ed
(3.140; 375)
and
Digi al In e ac ion
(3.334; 325).
Analysing he e wee s g aph,
O icial Announcemen
occupies he hi d place and, in ha case, he
di e ence be ween his label and
In o ma ion
was ele an : hose con en ela ed o Co id-19 had an
a e age o 1.117 RT pe pos , and he o he s had an a e age o 645.
B anding
(800) was in he ou h
posi ion in RTs a e age, ollowed by
Fan-cen ed
(375) and
Digi al In e ac ion
(325), on he a e age likes
esul s
Digi al In e ac ion
was abo e
Fan-cen ed
. Mo eo e , once again,
Ma chday
only su passed he
RT a e age o he las wo places.
6.1.3.1 Con en examples
To al o wee s pos ed on he pe iod analysed ( om Ma ch 2nd o June 28 h): 1.110.
Top wee s
The mos liked and he mos e wee ed Real Mad id’s pos was a
Ma chday
, Figu e 53
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1234235265809604608). I has 83.668 likes and 26.458
sha es. The second pos ha mos esona ed in in e ac ions (61.206) was he mou ned he dea h o he
Figu e 53 Ma chday
Figu e 54 “Real Mad id CF deeply eg e s he passing o Dolo s
Sala Ca ió, mo he o Pep Gua diola. Ou club wan s o show i s
condolences o you amily and lo ed ones.”; Condolences
95
Spanish coach Pep Gua diola’s mo he , Figu e 54
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1247174620467335169), he i h mos sha ed, 7.413 (i was
no included in he sample analysis). The ex- oo ball playe Pep Gua diola had ained F.C. Ba celona,
F.C. Baye n München and cu en Manches e Ci y and is conside ed one o he wo ld’s g ea es
manage s (Riaz, 2020) o all ime.
The hi d mos -liked was a ma chday pos , eaching 44.839 eac ions and 3.881 sha es (28 h posi ion on
RTs), in Figu e 55 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1234255848156913665). The second mos
e wee ed was Figu e 56 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1235852620637626368), ega ding
he clubs’ anni e sa y, eaching 14.886 sha ed and 42.954 likes. Bo h we e no included in he sample
analysis. O he 10 mos RT and liked, 4 o each we e ela ed o ma ches. Fu he mo e, he 10 h mos
liked was a “Good mo ning” day a e he ic o y, which means hal o he mos popula pos s we e abou
ma chdays. O he en mos RT, six we e om Ma ch.
Figu e 56 “Today we u n 118 yea s o his o y! Wha has been you
bes momen as a mad idis a?”; Club's his o y
Figu e 55 “’Wha a h ill o ma k on #ElClásico! Go Mad id!’
#RealFoo ball |#HalaMad id”; Ma chday; goal eco ded
es imony
96
B anding
B anding
label also had i al pos s in e ms o engagemen . The F ench oo ball playe Ka im Benzema's
ideo sco ing a goal on Figu e 58 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1259422932595507201)
was he 8 h mos e wee ed and he 7 h mos liked (35.033 likes; 6.832 RTs). The same a hle e ecei ing
ecogni ion in Figu e 57 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1234256835726712837) eached he
6 h posi ion o he mos liked pos (35.333 likes and 3.155 RTs) in he pe iod analysed.
The “Buenos días mad idis as!” a day a e a ma ch ic o y on Figu e 59
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1234357770415001600) was he 10 h mos liked (33.492
likes, 2.790 RTs). Figu e 60 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1273532180497604608) uses a
a e esou ce publishing a GIF ins ead o an image. Be o e i , Ju en us F.C. had c ea ed a GIF Chain
challenge. Howe e , in his case, he GIF is used as he illus a ion o he pos . I ecei ed 4.303 likes
and 299 RTs, low engagemen h ough.
Figu e 58 His o y, sco ing a goal
Figu e 57 Recogni ion
97
Figu e 59 “Good mo ning Mad idis as!”; Following ma ch-day,
mo i a ion
Figu e 60 “Will o play”; Mo i a ion
Figu e 61 “Good mo ning Mad idis as!”; Following ma ch-day,
mo i a ion
Figu e 62 Re u n; New Codes: New No mal

98
The coun ing down “5 days le ” ha eached 22.134 likes, and 2.512 RTs on Figu e 61
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1270370066803175425) is al eady ela ed o e u ning o he
op di ision o he Spanish oo ball league La Liga, e en i he image is no ela ed o he new no mal.
Figu e 62 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1258016197414617088) shows an image ela ed o
he new no mal and sha ed an a icle abou how he club was p epa ing o e u n ega ding he sa e y
measu es (7.332 likes; 832 RTs).
The examples o
B anding+
, pa o he
B anding
label ocus on p oduc publici y o sale, a e he
ema kable con e sion o he club’s magazine o he digi al o ma in Figu e 63
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1250876617376903169). The pos published on Ap il 16 h
says: ““#RMFansEnCasa, eli e he his o y o he club wi h ou exclusi e magazines 'Hala Mad id' and
'Hala Mad id Junio '! Now a ailable o e e yone, in digi al o ma ! h p://bi .ly/HalaMad idDigi al
#YoMeQuedoEnCasa”, which e lec s a necessa y mo e ha he pandemic caused and ecei ed 1.071
Figu e 63 Digi al magazine, announcemen , Sub-code: B anding+
Figu e 64 FIFA 21, eSpo s, Sub-code: B anding+
99
likes and 106 RTs. Ano he example is he publici y o he EA Spo s FIFA new e sion, FIFA 21 in Figu e
64 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1273941096469458944), ha ing 3.137 likes and 281 RTs.
Digi al In e ac ion
To imp o e hei engagemen , Real Mad id decided o en e in o mo e social media pla o ms and opened
an accoun on Twi ch a he beginning o he pandemic, on Ma ch 21s , Figu e 65
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1241409244802551808). The pos ha had 5.768 likes and
667 RTs announced: “#RMFansEnCasa WE HAVE OPENED A CHANNEL IN @Twi ch! We wan o inc ease
ou con en 's each in he ace o he excep ional and di icul ci cums ances ha we li e in. We s a ed
onigh suppo ing @ma coasensio10 in his pa y o #LaLigaSan ande Challengue. JOIN UP!”.
Figu e 65 Mad id opened an accoun on Twi ch; La Liga
San ande Challenge
Figu e 66 Real Mad id launch i s new accoun on TikTok Real
100
Twi ch is an Ame ican s eaming pla o m, an Amazon b and, c ea ed in 2011 o li e s eaming ideo
games, eSpo s compe i ions, music conce s and o he c ea i e con en . Real Mad id debu ed on he
pla o m wi h an online cha i y game, La Liga San ande Challenge, and hey we e he angua d. A.C.
Milan launched a Twi ch accoun many mon hs la e , in Decembe 2020 (Lega Se ie A, 2020).
Exac ly one mon h la e , he club announced hey we e on TikTok, a Chinese social media pla o m whe e
use s c ea e and sha e sho ideos, and ha had an eno mous inc ease du ing he lockdowns, eaching
2 billion use s, 800 million o hem ac i e. (Tidy, 2020). Tha shows how one o he wo ld's weal hies
oo ball clubs was wo ied abou expanding hei each on social ne wo k se ices and being e e ywhe e
is possible o ge ans a en ion and ime. The pos in Figu e 66
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1252688558508433413) ecei ed 2.839 likes and 205
e wee s.
Fan-cen ed
In Figu e 68 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1257024860405915648), he club’s page pos ed
a an ideo playing om his balcony. Many ideos o people playing o singing in hei balconies became
i al on he in e ne du ing he Co id-19 pandemic. Thus, his pos eached he 6 h mos e wee ed wee
on Real Mad id Twi e in he pe iod analysed, ha ing 24.693 likes and 6.972 RTs. Figu e 67
(h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1240231473094905856) launched he #RMFansEnCasa, a
hash ag used du ing ha pe iod, mainly lockdown, engagemen 3.097 likes, 267 RTs. The hash ag was
used 267 imes, s a ing wi h his pos on Ma ch 18 h and ending on June 10 h.
Among ini ia i es, hey c ea ed a is ic con es s o ans pa icipa e in using he #RMFansEnCasa, as
p esen ed in Figu e 69 (h ps:// wi e .com/ ealmad id/s a us/1242904087227699200), eaching
21.89 likes and 249 RTs. The hash ag #YoMeQuedoEnCasa, he e sion o he amous #S ayA Home o
#S ayHome in English, was used 135 imes in he pe iod analysed.
101
Figu e 68 Th owback se ies announcemen
Figu e 67 Fan playing Real Mad id an hem
Figu e 69 “B ing ou you a is ic side! Rec ea e one o ou bes momen s
in any o ma : ideo, d awing, song ... And send i on he LINK be o e
e e y Sunday”; Con es
108
B anding
The joke o associa ion be ween Lionel Messi's skills and social dis ancing eali y in Figu e 78
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1259211601959440390) make he pos be he 9 h mos liked
(36.273) and he 13 h mos RT (4.802). Figu e 79
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1259211601959440390), whe e he A gen ine playe
appea ed again, highligh his skills wi h he ideo’s desc ip ion “Foo ball isn’ eady” and had e en mo e
engagemen , 39.844 likes (6 h posi ion) and 6.203 RTs (5 h posi ion).
Figu e 80 (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1236604073090187270) can exempli y o he
B anding
pos s, whe e he hash ag #OnThisDay was used o emembe a g ea ma ch, and he
engagemen was also high: 10 h mos liked (35.721) and 7 h mos RT (5.778). This esou ce was used 92
imes on he Ba celona’s accoun , showing he popula i y o his ype o con en , also p e alen in o he
p o iles such as A.C. Milan ha pos ed he hash ag 49 imes, and F.C. Ju en us, 60 imes.
Figu e 78 Leonel Messi's abili ies (pho o)
Figu e 79 Leonel Messi's abili ies ( ideo), sco ing a goal

109
Again, Lionel Messi’s con en d i ing high engagemen esponse. In Figu e 81
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1260062514404040709) a 4’18’’ ideo anima ion ells he
s o y o Ba celona’s Capi an, one o he bes playe s in he wo ld (Goal, 2020), om his childhood un il
his ca ee peak on he club, being he 8 h posi ion on he mos sha e pos s, in a o al o 5.703 RTs and
20.776 likes.
Rega ding he S ay a Home a hle es ac i i y, on Ma ch 15 h, hey also sha ed a pos
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1239182142804025344) on how he playe s will be
connec ed wi h hei coaches and con inue o ollow he nu i ion guidelines. Mo eo e , Ansu Fa i
(@ANSUFATI) quo e suppo ing people o s ay a home illus a ed he playe a home playing an eSpo s
game.
A Ba celona, he playe s played a game called Mys e y Box: in he 4 h episode o he se ies Culle s a
Home (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1240238335098081280) when games we e
suspended, Ba celona sha ed pos s ega ding he pi ch, such as his example o Ba celona s Napoli,
and hey made a ideo wi h he bes goals agains he I alian eam on he day hey should be playing
Figu e 80 His o y, Memo y
Figu e 81 Anima ion, sponso ed. Sub-label: B and+Sponso
110
oge he , on Ma ch 18 h (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1240240875365707776). Ano he
challenge some eams did online o emembe he clubs’ good momen s (e.g., ic o y celeb a ion), was
he #OpenDoo Challenge (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1249321628137381890).
Digi al In e ac ion
Ba celona F.C. c ea ed much digi al in e ac ion h ough ini ia i es named “Cule s A Home” he “Ba ça
Games” pos s. He e, he picked-up showed ha Ba celona, like Real Mad id, signs in new social
applica ions, in his case, a messenge one, o c ea e a communi y and a s aigh e way o communica e
wi h ans. The news, Figu e 82 (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1251553597881540608), did
no p o oke an exp essi e eac ion, ha ing a low engagemen o 802 likes and 54 RTs. Ano he ou pos s
we e sha ed wi h he link in i ing people o join Ba celona’s Vibe communi y.
Figu e 83 (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1249352490912550916) was an exci ing Quiz in
which Ba celona c ea ed wo oppo uni ies: i s was o ge an upda e mailing lis wi h ans and gene a e
leads since you had o login Ba ça+ o pa icipa e. The second one was he ma e ial he answe s could
Figu e 82 C ea ion o he Vibe Communi y
Figu e 83 Con es , leads, Ba ça Websi e
111
o e : know mo e abou hei audience. They asked o peoples’ p e e ence in music, spo s e c., in o de
o e el he es esul – a e y disc ee way o ge ans o habi in o ma ion.
Fan-cen ed
In he example o Figu e 84 (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1239130198987157504), 5.652
likes and 425 RTs, he clubs launch he #Clus e A Home, used 107 imes, ep esen ing a kind o a
qua an ine a se ies ega ding no jus he playe s a home, bu also he in e ac ion wi h ans. E en i i
did no equi e an pa icipa ion, he i s pos was classi ied as
Fan-cen ed
because he goal was o
c ea e con en o boos in e ac ion and encou age an engagemen .
Be o e #Cule sA Home launch on Ma ch 14 h, Ba celona pos ed o he i s ime a ideo o he playe
Chilean A u o Vidal playing baske ball a home. The ollowing day, hey pos ed he goalkeepe Ma c e
S egen aining o pos a compila ion o ideos showing playe s a home, whe he aining o sending a
Figu e 85 Cule s A Home #1
Figu e 84 Cule s A Home hash ag launch
112
suppo message. The hash ag hen opens space o he club o sha e daily ac i i y and allows ans o be
pa o Ba celona’s Twi e challenges.
E e y day om Ma ch 15 h, i has a special Cule s A Home edi ion o in e ac di ec ly wi h ans. A e he
welcoming announcemen , he i s one was he a ou i e Ba ça ideos on You ube, Figu e 85
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1239158086234931201), eaching 2.633 likes and 205
RTs). Besides, he las #Cule sA Home pos was on May 23 d, saying “Thank you” wi h ano he
compila ion o pho os and one ideo sen by he ans, ending pos s o ha campaign.
The o he example is a hand-made Lionel Messi’s ca ica u e. The con en sha ed is all he c ea ion
p ocess ilmed un il he esul . The pos had 27.464 likes and 4.949 RTs, Figu e 86
(h ps:// wi e .com/ cba celona/s a us/1248242992894246912). Mo eo e , he a wo k design in
Figu e 87 (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1269985078593163265), 1.097 likes; 133 RTs,
in i e ans o pa icipa e, c ea e and o e. The esul s we e sha ed on 11 h June.
Figu e 86 A wo k (colou he pic u e)
Figu e 87 Fan A
113
O icial Announcemen
Bo h
O icial Announcemen
examples we e he mos liked among he sample collec ed and classi ied in
his label. Figu e 88 (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1237316189292056577) announcing
he nex ma ches o be played behind closed doo s achie ed 12.762 likes and 2.024 RTs. Figu e 89
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1238421282477268993) published on 13 h Ma ch, he day
UEFA suspended hei ac i i ies and o he many clubs like Ba celona. The in o ma ion ecei ed 10.640
likes and 1.223 RTs.
Social Commi men
Figu e 90 (h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1238847696749973504), whe e Lionel Messi
appea s wi h his kids, encou ages people o s ay home was he mos liked wee among he sample
wee s labelled Social Commi men . The numbe s o eac ion we e: 38.183 likes and 3.712 RTs. The
second wi h he highes engagemen ega ding his ca ego y was he pos published on May 31s whe e
he b and mani es s agains acism and disc imina ion. The pos in Figu e 91
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1267102242081050625) ecei ed 34.952 likes, and as he
3 d mos e wee ed, i was sha ed 7.494 imes.
Figu e 89 Co id-19, Suspended ac i i ies
Figu e 88 Closed doo s, Co id-19, News

114
The club also mani es ed hei condolences o Pep Gua diola when his mo he passed away, sha ing he
Manches e Ci y pos , and many ans eac in solida i y. I was a e y g ea suppo i e wee . Ano he pos
aimed o suppo people was sha ed wi h no ex , excep h ee emo icons: wo hea s in ed and blue,
and one house asking people o s ay home. I was pos ed on he day UEFA, Ba celona, and o he eams
suspended hei ac i i ies.
Figu e 90 Suppo , S ay a Home, Playe es imony
Figu e 91 Ba celona agains acism
115
The e is also wo addi ional con en o highligh . One is Figu e 92
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1250272978220154880), 5.205 likes and 743 RTs, in which
he mo i a ional ideo i led “#S ongToge he ” wi h a message o s eng h o he popula ion, ans and
heal h ca e p o essionals being applause. Beyond he ci y's images, he e a e Ba celona ans ideos,
playe s and a is s saying posi i e messages. Fu he mo e, Figu e 93
(h ps:// wi e .com/FCBa celona/s a us/1250539831454846976), 1.677 likes and 91 RTs, he i s
o a se ies o pos s whe e heal h p o essionals and o he essen ial se ice wo ke s ecei ed space o ell
abou hei s o ies.
6.2 G oup 2
On G oup 2, he
likes
ampli ude goes om he highes poin 639 on he 11 h week on Manches e Uni ed
esul , o he lowes 69 on he 15 h week acco ding o Pa is Sain -Ge main s a is ics, G aphic 28. On he
o he hand, ega ding he e wee s on G aphic 29, Pa is Sain -Ge main eached on he 11 h week he peak
wi h 115 RTs o each 1 million ollowe s, he highes numbe s o sha es pe million ollowe s. And Baye n
München had he lowes esul on he 18 h week, ha ing 18 RTs o each 1 million ollowe s.
Figu e 92 Solida i y
Figu e 93 Essencial se ices p o essionals
116
G aphic 28 E olu ion pe week o he an engagemen pe o mance on G oup 2 clubs’ Twi e p o ile du ing he i s ou mon hs o he
Co id-19 pandemic measu ed in likes a e age pe million ollowe s
G aphic 29 E olu ion pe week o he an engagemen pe o mance on G oup 2 clubs’ Twi e p o ile du ing he i s ou mon hs o he
Co id-19 pandemic measu ed in e wee a e age pe million ollowe s
117
The clubs analysed in he second pa o he esea ch, such as Manches e Uni ed, Li e pool FC, Pa is
Sain -Ge main and FC Baye n München, had a small sample and ocused mo e on keywo ds Co id-19,
online games, cha i y, ac i ism, and an pa icipa ion. Acco ding o he label, he g aphic wi h he pos s
dis ibu ions is no use ul o analysis since he majo i y numbe o pos s was ca ego ised as
Social
Commi men
,
Fan-cen ed
o
Digi al In e ac ion
. Howe e , since some wee s o he o he labels we e
collec ed du ing he keywo ds esea ch, he a e age by he numbe o in e ac ions pe pos was s ill
calcula ed, picking up he labels wi h a leas i e samples.
6.2.1 Manches e Uni ed F.C.
The Manches e Uni ed F.C. pe o mance in likes and e wee s is speci ied in he G aphics 30 and 31.
Manches e Uni ed F.C. was he i h club o be analysed in he esea ch (h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d),
he hi d club wi h he mos suppo e s in he wo ld (Chaudha y, 2020), and mos suppo ed in England
(Table 1). Because G oup 2 was mo e ocused on in es iga ing he
Fan-cen ed
and
Social Commi men
ela ed-con en , and he collec ion was guided by he keywo d lis (Appendix 3), ewe wee s we e
collec ed o he analysis. In o al, i was 73 wee s collec ed, i e excluded o being e wee s, emaining
68 dis ibu ed acco ding o G aphic 32.
Ma chday
and
New No mal
o ha ing less han i e wee s
collec ed we e no pa o he analysis compa ison. G aphic 33 and 34 show he a e age in likes and
e wee s he labels had pe wee in ha ca ego y.
G aphic 30 Manches e Uni ed F.C. likes a e age/million use s
G aphic 31 Manches e Uni ed F.C. e wee s a e age/million use s
124
Figu e 105 Rewind se ies. Fans pa icipa ed o ing
Figu e 106 A Challenge
Figu e 104 Fans' pa icipa ion ( o ing) Ma ch

125
O icial Announcemen
Examples o o icial announcemen s we e he pos poned ma ches a e he P emie League
p onuncia ion, Figu e 107 (h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1238424519024541698), 16.660 likes
and 4.390 RTs; and he inancial a angemen s ega ding he icke s sales o cancelled ma ches, on
Figu e 108 (h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1243496082178523136); 3.306 likes; 252 RTs).
Social Commi men
“Dona e you wo ds”, Figu e 109 (h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1239584346366976000), had
5.159 likes and 618 RTs, was an ini ia i e in pa ne ship wi h ano he b and o encou age people o
speak wi h olde people, dona ing hei wo ds. The campaign was idealised and eco ded be o e he
pandemic; howe e , i was sha ed in an empa he ic momen o i s opic. Figu e 110, which eached
14.424 likes and 2.565 RTs (h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1243175874540834817), shows
du ing he one-minu e ideo, Manches e Ci y playe s a e shown washing hei hands o gi e an example.
Figu e 108 Ticke s a angemen s
Figu e 107 Pos poned announcemen
126
Figu e 111 Gi en suppo o NHS p o essionals
Figu e 109 Dona e you wo ds, in pa ne ship wi h Cadbu y UK
Figu e 112 Honou o Na ional Heal h Se ice
Figu e 110 Washing hands
127
In Figu e 111 (h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1248185710651355141), wi h 7.604 likes and
1.220 RTs, and 112 (h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1250861517286764544), 10.093 likes and
1.582 RTs, he club did some ibu e o he heal h p o essionals. In he i s one, hey announced he
dona ion o o e 3,500 Manches e Uni ed gi s o Na ional Heal h Se ice s a , and in he second one,
hey li up he le e s ha o m N-H-S on Old T a o d, he Manches e Uni ed home.
Figu e 113 (h ps:// wi e .com/manu d/s a us/1266671946240086016), which had 10.093 likes and
1.582 RTs, a e y di e en campaign he club c ea ed d aw p izes o hose who dona e and help he
campaign (5 p izes would be d awn). The club posi ioned agains acism in Figu e 114
(h ps:// wi e .com/ManU d/s a us/1267493651518717952). Tha pos was he 3 d mos sha ed
(15.986 RTs) and he 5 h mos liked (63.731).
Figu e 113 Fund aising a le
Figu e 114 Uni ed agains acism
128
6.2.2 Li e pool F.C.
The Li e pool F.C. pe o mance in likes and e wee s is speci ied in he G aphics 35 and 36.
Li e pool F.C. was he six h club o be analysed in he esea ch (h ps:// wi e .com/LFC), he six h mos
suppo ed club globally (Chaudha y, 2020). The numbe o collec ed wee s, s ill guided by he keywo d
lis (Appendix 3), we e 48, bu dele ing one e wee , emained 47 wee s o be analysed. They we e
dis ibu ed acco ding o G aphic 37. Labels wi h less han i e wee s collec ed, such as
C oss-sec o
and
O icial Announcemen
, we e no pa o he analysis compa ison.
This English club had an excep ional esponse o he
Social Commi men
con en , he highes ca ego y
in he likes (12.505) and e wee s (2.330) a e age among he labels analysed. They also had an excellen
engagemen wi h he
Digi al In e ac ion
, which had he second-bes pe o mance (likes a e age = 9.435;
e wee s a e age = 1.296), which no o he club had ega ding his label, he Li e pool di e ed om o he s
in he s a egy applied o his con en . In he sequence was
B anding
(likes a e age = 7.104; e wee s
a e age = 825);
O icial Announcemen
(likes a e age = 6.097; e wee s a e age = 775); and
Fan-cen ed
(likes a e age = 1.915; e wee s a e age = 218). G aphic 38 and 39 show he a e age in likes and
e wee s he labels had pe wee in ha ca ego y.
G aphic 36 Li e pool F.C. e wee s a e age/million use s
G aphic 35 Li e pool F.C. likes a e age/million use s
129
G aphic 37 Li e pool F.C. wee s sample collec ed om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
G aphic 38 Likes a e age g aphic o Li e pool F.C. Twi e om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
G aphic 39 Re wee s a e age g aphic o Li e pool F.C. Twi e om Ma ch o June classi ied by labels
11
1
5
2
6
6
16
@LFC pos s sample dis ibu ed by label
B anding
C oss-Sec o
Fan-cen ed
New No mal
O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion
Social Commi men
7.104,27
1.915,20
6.097,00
9.435,67
12.505,19
-
2.000,00
4.000,00
6.000,00
8.000,00
10.000,00
12.000,00
14.000,00
Like A e age
@LFC likes a e age (Ma ch - June)
B anding Fan-cen ed O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion Social Commi men
825,18
218,00
775,50
1.296,00
2.330,00
-
500,00
1.000,00
1.500,00
2.000,00
2.500,00
RT A e age
@LFC e wee s a e age (Ma ch - June)
B anding Fan-cen ed O icial Announcemen
Digi al In e ac ion Social Commi men

130
6.2.2.1 Con en examples
To al o wee s pos ed on he pe iod analysed ( om Ma ch 2nd o June 28 h): 1.089.
Top wee s
Since Li e pool won he P emie League in England, hey had a an engagemen peak on ha occasion,
which hinde s he compa ison o his pe iod engagemen wi h o he s. I would also be a bi a y o use he
las week esul s o compose an a e age engagemen pe o mance du ing Co id-19, so we exclude las
week o analysis in he g aphical analysis wi h all clubs and G oup 2. F om he en mos -liked wee s,
nine is ela ed o he ic o y in he P emie League. Besides, om he en mos RT, eigh we e ela ed o
he ic o y.
Consequen ly, he mos liked and e wee ed pos s we e announcing and celeb a ing he ic o y in he i s
place in Figu e 115 (h ps:// wi e .com/LFC/s a us/1276261398608314368), ecei ing 480.385 likes
and 197.847 sha es. The second wi h 274.534 likes and 109.891 RTs was Figu e 116
(h ps:// wi e .com/LFC/s a us/1276262474870861826).
Be ween he en mos -liked and RTs, he only pos s no ela ed o he ic o y we e he epos om
Manches e Uni ed’s page ega ding he English playe Ma cus Rash o d ini ia i e, on Figu e 117
(h ps:// wi e .com/LFC/s a us/1272901852070400002), 166.701 likes and 24.695 RTs, he hi d o
ha e mo e engagemen . The memo y o ic ims om he Hillsbo ough disas e , he wo s o an acciden
o English’s oo ball, go 18.579 RTs and 67.574, Figu e 118
(h ps:// wi e .com/LFC/s a us/1250197505633107970).
131
Figu e 117 Manches e Uni ed pos e wee ed
Figu e 116 P emie league champions celeb a ion
Figu e 115 P emie League champions announcemen
Figu e 118 T ibu e o Hillsbo ough disas e ic ims
132
B anding
On B anding, Li e pool F.C. also pos ed he club’s a hle es aining ac i i ies a home, as on Figu e 119
(h ps:// wi e .com/l c/s a us/1247548185075019776), 5.467 likes and 331 RTs. Mo eo e , while
people we e s aying a home and suppo ing i , hey pos ed a s adium pho o wi h he legend “ou home”,
Figu e 120 (h ps:// wi e .com/l c/s a us/1258093420221919233), 25.186 likes and 3.055 RTs.
O he clubs did ha , such as Ju en us F.C. and Real Mad id, o example. The pun wi h he wo d and he
cu en si ua ion gene a ed engagemen and was a c ea i e esou ce used, like he Dis an bu Uni ed,
used by many b ands, as he A.C. Milan example.
Digi al In e ac ion
On Ma ch 23 d, Figu e 121 (h ps:// wi e .com/l c/s a us/1242029300389421059), 3.831 likes and
332 RTs, he club launched a o ma ches o he P emie League campaign 19/20 b oadcas ed on hei
on-demand p oduc (LFCTV+ Go), The LFC Replayed se ies. Figu e 122
Figu e 119 A hle es aining a home
Figu e 120 A pic u e o he s adium as hei "home"
133
(h ps:// wi e .com/l c/s a us/1258441467388760064), 6.067 likes and 641 RTs, is an example o
B anding+, which he club was p omo ing a new FIFA 20 home ki o ans who ha e o acqui e he game.
Fan-cen ed
To in e ac wi h ans, Li e pool launched he #LFCHomeGoals, Figu e 123
(h ps:// wi e .com/LFC/s a us/1248619031193501702), 2.224 likes and 258 RTs, whe e a playe
simula es a amous goal o mo e, and he ans a e in i ed o y i a home and send hei ideos. The
same playe hen selec s he bes ones, and he club publishes hem on hei page
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. Then, on May 17 h,
in pa ne ship wi h he mul ina ional insu ance AXA, hey launch a new se ies in which playe s gi e ans
ad ice h ough he hash ag #KnowYouCan and ans can pa icipa e by pos ing hei ideos shown in
Figu e 124 (h ps:// wi e .com/l c/s a us/1261960652467384322), 1.647 likes and 198 RTs. The
se ies had six episodes in o al, and i was pos ed du ing May and June.
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The example o he bes ideos selec ed on he i s challenge (Figu e 123):
h ps:// wi e .com/l c/s a us/1251774495125315586
Figu e 121 Th owback se ies
Figu e 122 FIFA20 upda e, Sub-label: B anding+