How Volleyball World retained 1st place in the SportOnSocial League Table 2024

Massive congratulations on retaining your SportOnSocial League Table 2024 title for the 2nd year in a row! Do you think any of the strategic decisions you made were key to this continued success? 

We are truly honoured and grateful to be #1 for the second consecutive year. In terms of strategy, we continued to implement what worked for us the previous year such as focusing on what each platform is recommending us to do.

For example, to push more Reels on Facebook and Instagram, and Shorts on YouTube. We remained well connected with our community, too, and they continued to give us feedback to help us assess how we can improve our digital presence

You also rank #1 on X and YouTube. Do you have different strategies per platform? If so, how do they differ? 

We use X as a tool where we can constantly update our audience on major events, their favourite players, and all the latest news. What also worked well for us was that we started catering more to Japan, Turkey, Thailand and Brazil where users are super active on this channel.

In addition, we became their go to source of information and it’s this that contributes to our success on the platform. As for YouTube, we began significantly increasing our output of Shorts which helped massively increase views and reach a wider audience.

What were the main challenges you faced across your digital channels in 2023? How did you manage them?  

The main challenge for us in 2023 was that short-form videos became a required piece of content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and even YouTube. We had to evaluate how we could effectively tell a story to our community in a video of about 6–10 seconds and how we could capture their attention to consume such content.

But we still see value in long-form content on our channels from a monetisation perspective so we tested different ways of striking a balance that catered for the platform requirements but still ensured we hit our targets and specifications.

What’s the biggest learning you’ve taken from 2023?  

Having a clear framework on what you want to achieve from each channel is key. Once that is done, it’s essential to really get to know your audience in order to set clear goals. We wouldn’t be able to do that if we didn’t leverage our CRM and analytics. Once we begin putting those goals into action, the key steps involve keeping an eye on analytics, actively interacting with our audience, and embracing the trial of new ideas. It’s all about staying connected and being innovative.

Are there any key learnings you’re taking from Tokyo 2020 and other previous Olympic Games as we head into Paris 2024?  

The Olympics are always filled with stories, ranging from the thrill of first-time Olympians and those having their final shot at glory, to the heartache of near misses and the triumph of underdogs. Photos wield a unique power in conveying such narratives, even when we’re restricted from sharing Olympic-related videos. It’s crucial we communicate to our team in Paris the importance of capturing these indelible moments. Additionally, the Olympics provides a golden opportunity to leverage the platform and tailor content to harness the organic surge in attention from new fans. It’s your chance to introduce them to a new facet of the sport and showcase its magnificence.

What advice would you give other IFs on how to create a successful social media strategy?  

You must understand your audience to create clear objectives. Once you start implementing such objectives, monitor analytics, engage with your audience, and don’t hold back on testing new ideas.

Hear from other International Federation and discover more insights in the SportOnSocial League Table 2024.