A pitch put forward to Rangers for how to improve their social media after a third party asked brought me on board to provide advice.

1. Using Facebook and social
media to increase fans and
spending

2. Why Social Media?
• The growing platform(s)
– 600m Facebook
• 137,000 Rangers fans
– 200m Twitter
• 225 mentions daily (average)
– 325m YouTube
• 6,000 videos
• Social – to engage with fans
with a view to increasing
loyalty & spending
• Media – informing them
directly of all the facts

3. Traditional press abandoned
• Fans now get their information from
– Friends via phones and email
– Direct from source – Rangers in this case
– Spread virally via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs
– 38% of Scottish Football fans get information from a non-
traditional media source
– Many online media outlets and bloggers seen as more reputable
than traditional media

4. More loyalty means more money
• Numerous studies have shown
– As people spend more time with brands online, their loyalty
increases
– As loyalty increases, so does incentive to spend on brands the
customer feels a connection with
– Brands which engage actively see a higher loyalty rate than non-
engaging brands
– People more likely to spend on brands actively engaging online
– People now bypassing PC and exclusively using mobiles to
engage/purchase

5. Why Facebook
• Facebook is the current dominant social media platform
– 256,000 Scots
– Allows options for video, pictures, commerce, text
– Average UK time spent on Facebook 55 minutes per day
– Many people now believe/use Facebook as the web
– Facebook users seven times more likely to watch video

6. How to get them to Facebook
• They’re already online!
– Tell key fans to tell others online
– Include in all advertising
– Take out Facebook ads (33p per 1000 views or 77p a click)
– Mention it on forums, email lists, PR, marketing
– Mention it on Rangers site
– Have strong content on Facebook page to drive traffic

7. What makes good content?
• Variety
– Spread pictures, text, video, audio throughout 24 hour cycle
• Great material can range from latest news to quirky insights into
players/staff like “who drives this car?” “this is the diet of which
player?” “guess the player by seeing his fridge contents” to more
football focused – tips on improving your game, old players talking
about key games and so on
• Target different content for different countries, catering to global
fanbase
• Use the new bosses – engagement from Craig Whyte & Ally McCoist
• Engagement
– Someone leaves a question, get them an answer ASAP
– Set up fan polls
– Encourage pictures and videos to be sent in

8. But Facebook isn’t a social
media strategy

9. To own online…
• Blogs
• YouTube
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• FourSquare
• Spotify
• URL Shorteners
• Apps
• Podcasts
• Email lists

10. Blogging
• Treat bloggers like press
– host special events
– Give them press conference access
– Highlight their work
• Foreign bloggers
– Treat like media
– Welcome packs
– Blog posts/info in their language
– Build relationship long before
games
• Local bloggers
– Treat bloggers of Scottish
opposition like your own

11. YouTube
• Release videos to tie in with
sales opportunities
• Don’t just think in English
• Footballing tips
• Use Broxi Bear
• Share press conferences
• Promote the restaurant by
having chefs post cooking
videos
• Have ex-players talking to
build ex-player charity and
increase loyalty of fans via
remembering good old days

12. Twitter
• Not as popular as Facebook
but is the platform people go
to for instant news
• Live match updates could be
tweeted out – perhaps even
tweets from the dugout
• 7:2:1 rule means you can sell
direct to the fans
• Another great way to show
good CSR with fans of all
teams home & abroad
• Another great way of
engaging globally on a daily
basis

13. LinkedIn
• Average user has higher-
than-average income – 67% of
users earn more than
£35,000
• Rangers fan pages already in
place, so another relationship
building platform
• Again, nothing to stop special one-
off events purely for LinkedIn
members

14. Foursquare
• We could reward fans for
being involved with Rangers –
getting rid of old stock for
Facebook mayors of Ibrox
and the store.
• Could also tie-in season book
entries to Ibrox to Foursquare
• Foursquare could develop
badges to reward loyal home
and away fans
• Ultimately another way of
spreading the news about
how popular Rangers are

15. Other…
• Use email lists to set up a
Rangers-like Groupon to
bring income into the club
• Check SEO
• Look into a URL shortener to
build loyaly – for example
http://ran.gers.hello
• Use Spotify to share club and
player music playlists
• Set up social media usage
policies for staff
• Look at developing more apps
which could bring in income