Champions League winners, Leicester City send social media into frenzy!

Firstly, let’s start with huge congratulations to Leicester City for winning the Champions League! An overwhelming and exciting event for the Manager, players and fans, as this is the first title in their 132 year history.

With no expectation of achieving the title, Leicester City has had an amazing journey to victory, some calling it a ‘rags to riches’ story. Whilst professionals were of the view that they would fall from grace before the end of the season, Twitter and Facebook users were entirely behind this small team, painting the picture of a win despite the odds against them.

Leicester City came into this season as outsiders to win with odds at 5000-1, to being crowned the winners, turning the usually predictable Champions League upside down. Even our graphic and web designers in our Farnham Office, who have little interest in football, were inspired by the win of an underdog. This story has had a massive reach, confirming the true power of social media.

So, how did social media play a part?

The hype of a possible Leicester City win was evident on Facebook and Twitter, even as early as February this year when Riyad Mahrez was crowned the League’s best player. By March, the number of Facebook interactions about Leicester City was up to 1.5 million. By April, Leicester City became the 8^th most mentioned English football team on Facebook, comparatively to the popular Chelsea being 10^th. Leicester City has a typically smaller presence online than other large teams, so it was a great achievement.

The build up to Leicester’s win on social media was impressive, but then came the win, and social media was lit up by congratulatory messages all over Twitter. People from all walks of life took to twitter to celebrate what some have described as ‘the most extraordinary sporting victory in history’ resulting in an 86% increase in normal Twitter activity in the UK. Even the players posted on twitter throughout their celebratory party, including videos from the fun filled evening.

What an incredible achievement for Leicester City. All of the team at Pelling send our congratulations to the club! We have thoroughly enjoyed all the coverage on social media, making us feel part of this amazing victory!

Pelling Marketing by Design are a Surrey based creative agency who specialise in all aspects of digital marketing and website design. Tucked away in a converted piggery in rural Farnham, we are a friendly team of talented designers and web developers who are passionate about helping your business achieve its full potential through our diverse range of marketing services.