Happy Football season, folks! As a family member said recently, “with so much chaos in the world right now, football is giving me something to look forward to“.
But let’s talk about what we’re seeing in social video. Obviously, there’s been a rise in NFL-related social video content, but… not all teams reaped the same benefits. And while gameplay highlights pull a lot of interest, another type of football content is taking the cake!
This week, we’re looking at:
- NFL preseason winners
- Hurricane Ida sparks social video surge
- Creators’ rising watch-time
NFL Preseason Video Champions
The Indianapolis Colts scored the most Twitter views during the NFL preseason, at 5.3 million. But the social video trophy goes to the Baltimore Ravens. Even though they had fewer views, they beat Indianapolis with the most engagements — 170,000 to the Colts’ 111,000.
Let’s talk content types: preseason highlights had the most volume of uploads but a different content type drove home the most views. Training Camp Footage attracted audiences far and wide:
- Of the videos that surpassed 1M views, all featured training camp but one.
- 7/10 of most viewed teams had training videos leading their reach.
- Of the teams with over 5M views, all but one featured a camp video as the most-watched video.
What does this mean for Tubular clients across industries? Behind-the-scenes authentic footage unique to your brand is more valuable than highlight reels.
The Weather Channel’s Hurricane Ida Storm Surge
It can’t all be touchdowns and field goals. Hurricane season increased over the past week, and so did The Weather Channel’s treatment of these catastrophic events.
Among the four named hurricanes this year, The Weather Channel put the most effort behind the latest—Hurricane Ida. Facebook videos increased from 35 uploaded during the previous storm, Henri—to 52 during Ida’s run. We saw triple the views during the week of Aug. 23— from Henri’s to 845,000 to Ida’s 3M. Ida has accumulated another 3.7 million views on Facebook this week so far.
This is a great example of adapting content strategies to real-world occurrences. Having a content plan is crucial for broadcasters and creators, but when situations change you have to be able to pivot on a dime.
TWC had plans to cover all four major hurricanes this year. But Ida was both the strongest and had the most impact on landfall. Viewers needed information, and TWC provided it.
Climbing the Charts
NBC Sports cashed in on Olympic fever increasing month-over-month U.S. watch time across YouTube + Facebook from June (379.5M minutes watched) → July (659.7M minutes). And they weren’t the only creator to show significant watch-time gains from June to July this summer.
On the brand side, PokerStars jumped from 42.5 million U.S. minutes watched to 56.9 million. And influencer page MrBeast Gaming drove a 69% climb month-over-month, largely on the strength of uploading longer videos.
Knowing the sweet spot for video length on a specific channel creates more valuable integration and sponsorship opportunities for partners. But of course, you need the right video measurement data to power those decisions, too.
We may know some experts there…
Want regular social video insights like these powering your own strategy? Contact Tubular Labs for a demo today.