42% increase in engagement as FC Barcelona continues to lead the way on social media

42% increase in engagement as FC Barcelona continues to lead the way on social media

In 2020/21, the club's Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts generated 1,960 million likes, shares and comments Barça also leads on YouTube with 463 million views of its videos in the last year

FC Barcelona came very close to surpassing 2,000 million engagements on social networks in the 2020/21 season. The final figure was 1,960 million, meaning it was for the sixth year running the club with the most likes, shares and comments of its posts. The 42% increase on the 2019/20 season has consolidated its position at the forefront of a ranking in which its closest competitors are Manchester United (1,594 million), Liverpool (1,314), Real Madrid (1,129) and Chelsea (1,047).

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According to Blinkfire data, Barça has grown on each of the big three networks. The biggest figure overall is for Instagram, which produced 1,571 million engagements (34% more than last season). The club’s quick adaptation to new trends and content formats has helped here, whereby the club was the first in the world to get more than a billion views of its videos in the platform’s highly successful new reels format.

On Twitter, Barça is also the number one sports club, where it has gone from 96 million engagements last season to 137 million in 2020/21. Fenerbahçe (120) and Chelsea (100) are the only other clubs to have hit six-figure numbers. But the most spectacular increase has been on Facebook, 123%, which has taken Barça up to second place (252 million), now only surpassed by Manchester United (285).

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Quality audiovisual content

Barça is also well-placed on video-only channels (YouTube and TikTok). It remains the biggest club among YouTube users, with 463 million views of videos in the last 12 months. After years as the frontrunner, it is even further ahead now, with Liverpool (317), Manchester United (312) and Chelsea (276) some distance behind despite Premier League clubs been entitled to publish match highlights on their channels, something LaLiga clubs cannot to because of rights issues.

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TikTok is the service of choice among millennials, and Barça got an immense 1,011% more views this season than the one before. That’s 400 million views, only topped by PSG (463). All this has happened alongside the creation of the club’s own subscriber-based audiovisual platform, Barça TV+, which has been especially offering long-format premium content, as well as live broadcasts of women’s and youth football and other sports.

Community of 400 million

These increases in engagement and views have come in a season in which FC Barcelona has surpassed 400 million followers of its social media accounts. The club’s global outlook is made patent by these figures, as it constantly sets new standards for sports and entertainments in the digital realm. Barça has the most followers on Facebook (136 million), closely followed by Instagram (118) and Twitter (71). But these are not just followers of the main accounts, for the club also has special services in such areas as women’s football, other sports, youth sport, the Foundation, the Barça Academy, Bihub, and others.

Outside of the big three, the club also has huge followings on Line (33 million), a particularly important channel in Asia; 12 million on YouTube (where Barça is the number one club), and nearly 10 million on TikTok. There are another 24 million on platforms like Viber and Snapchat, and on the Chinese Weibo and Douyin. FC Barcelona is the most followed club in China, where the figure of 13.5 million tops both Chelsea and Manchester United.

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