How the UK’s top football clubs use Vine

Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, which have all topped the league on the field in recent times, also feature at the top of the table followers on Vine.

“It’s clear that soccer teams are becoming media owners in their own right, with fans clamoring for a greater access to their clubs as a result. They’re significantly investing in bringing such content to fans to great effect,” said Brandsonvine founder Michael Litman.

Naturally, sports teams’ Vines include plenty of behind the scenes footage. But it’s increasingly clear that clubs are getting better at using it as a promotional channel to meet their commercial, uh, gooooooals. Here’s how:

Match footage
Clubs can’t show video match footage for copyright reasons, but that hasn’t stopped Liverpool FC working around those constraints. Here’s how it showed Adam Lallana celebrating his first goal for the club.

Behind the scenes 
Footage shot off the field features heavily on Premier League clubs’ Vine accounts. For example, they’re using it to show off their match atmosphere…

… as well as offer training footage, like this time-lapsed footage from Southampton’s training ground.

There’s also the odd ice bucket challenge.

Fan engagement and promotions
This video, which was re-Vined from the club’s official account, features a Manchester City fan showing off his skills for a competition …

… while Newcastle United is using Vine to promote its work in the community.

Chelsea FC also used time-lapse to pay tribute to a club legend.

News exclusives
Newcastle United broke the news of two new signings on Vine, gathering over a million loops. Burnley FC, whose fan base and playing budget is relatively small, is also seeing strong growth by visualizing team lineups. 

Commercial content
Clubs are also using the platform to overtly sell. Manchester uses the channel to promote its magazines, feature the sponsors of its tours and boost shirt sales.

Athletic prowess 
This is, after all, what it’s all about. It’s still early days for Premier League clubs on Vine, but one area that’s proven to be viral gold elsewhere is showing off their players’ skills. 

Look no further than Nike Football. With 25 million loops and 157,000 followers on Vine, it’s showing football clubs how short video content is done. Here’s how deceptive camera work and smart use of continuous loops have contributed to its success on Vine.