2018 Year in Review: Sports Properties

Mar 21, 2019 | Insights

Social media has grown exponentially year over year and 2018 was no exception. With 44% of the total world population being avid social media users, brands and sports properties alike have found a place to reach and engage directly with their audiences.

2018 was another great year for sports properties on social media. As a whole, they grew their social media follower base and increased their reach, increased their social media interactions and engaged more effectively with their fans. Perhaps most important of all, properties drove 40% more value for their sponsors through their social media promotions in 2018 than they did in 2017.

Hookit’s 2018 Year In Review is built to help sports properties understand their place within the sports sponsorship ecosystem. Included is a review of essential social media metrics for sport properties and the Hookit Marketability Score, which helps sponsors understand which properties are the most effective at promoting their sponsors. Date range: Calendar year 2018.

Here are some of the highlights from the Sports Properties 2018 report!

  • Total social media value driven by athletes, teams and leagues increased by 40% in 2018 when compared to 2017.
  • Total social media engagements driven by athletes, teams and leagues increased by 14% in 2018 when compared to 2017. Athletes were the primary drivers of social media engagements in 2018.
  • Instagram was the top social media platform of 2018. It had the highest social media engagements (71B) and was used by sports properties to drive the highest earned media value ($22B) for their sponsors.
  • Cristiano Ronaldo is once again the king of social media, with over 2B social media engagements in 2018.
  • With 3.1B social media engagements across its social channels, Spanish football club FCB was the top team on social media in 2018.
  • Among leagues and sport federations, NBA had the highest social media engagements of 2018. The league had 11B engagements on its social channels.

Curious if your favorite athlete, team or league made the list? Download your copy of the comprehensive 2018 Year in Review report below!