#ISL2019: How Debutant Hyderabad FC uses social media to create a fanbase

Leveraging social media presence has helped Hyderabad FC garner a fanbase despite being a debutant in the sixth edition of ISL. We take a look at their social media strategy.

Hyderabad FC started its journey in the world of ISL with the current season. The process to create a brand for themselves was crucial, especially against teams that have been doing so since 2014. However, they were quick to create digital assets and expand their social media presence to disseminate information and build a community.

Generating buzz by going Live to interact with fans and PR coverage helped them garner visibility. One key moment in the process was when right before their first home game, Rana Daggubati was announced as a co-owner of the team. It helped the club get much-needed traction across digital channels.

To keep up the momentum, the club's official anthem was soon released after that. The club's aim was to enhance the crowd's spirit and love for football. Hashtag #AbHyderabadKhelega is used extensively in all their communication.

Hyderabad FC Social Media Strategy

Facebook: 16,022 likes

Instagram: 31.1k followers

Twitter: 4,900 Followers

The club leverages social media platforms to reach out to people who are interested in football and are likely to come to watch the match. To effectively cover all target audiences, the club has fragmented them on a basis of demographics, location, and interests. This reflects in the content they put forth from their official handles. 

In an attempt to connect with existing fans and expand the team's fanbase, the club uses its official website. They have also created an official filter that can be used by fans on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. Gradually working on increasing awareness about the club, they focus on football fans with an aim to create influencers and brand custodians.

Creating a community

As a means to humanise the players, off-field content has a key role in the club's social media strategy. A content bucket named, "Extra time with..." was created for players to share insights about their personal life, football career, likes, dislikes, and hobbies.

Deccan Legion is the official fan club of Hyderabad FC. They help amplify the reach of the club through digital channels. Even troll pages help in this by ensuring a flow of content to enhance engagement. To empower fans and make their voices heard, the club organises various fan meets.

Merchandises are an essential component in the community and brand-building exercise. Hyderabad FC too has leveraged the trend in order to unite fans under the club colours of yellow and black.

To sum up

In the narrative put forth by Hyderabad FC, both on-field and off-field content finds mention. This includes match footage as well as the fun, candid moments of the players. Rana Duggabati is a prominent part of the club's brand communication, along with fans.

To drive engagement and conversations in support of the team players, #AbHyderabadKhelega is used in the caption of all posts, with other generic Hyderabad related hashtags. It is also used in the live updates put up by the team during the match.

Talking about the colour scheme used in the communication put forth by team Hyderabad FC, yellow and black form the foundation. The theme is the same across almost all digital assets and creatives. The team mostly communicates via visuals, a good chunk of which are videos.