In the past two years, the fastest rising sports brand on social media on the world's Internet is definitely Leeds United.
How fast?
In just two years, no, strictly speaking, less than two years, Leeds United has more than 40 million fans on Facebook and 30 million fans on Twitter.
There are also more than 3 million fans on INS and more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube...
Maybe there is no clue from this simple series of data, but you will know if you compare it with other teams.
In addition to Facebook and YouTube, Leeds United ranks first in the sports world on Twitter and INS, two emerging social platforms, even more than those sports clubs in the United States.
Even on Facebook and YouTube, Leeds United is ranked top or even first in the football world.
For example, on YouTube, Leeds United has twice as many subscribers as Barcelona and more than Real Madrid.
Many people say that Leeds United is the fastest growing sports celebrity brand on the Internet.
After its rise, the team has also invested a lot of money in this aspect.
For example, Leeds United's new media team has rapidly expanded from a few people when it was first established to 20 people now. Among them, the director was specially recruited from a high-paying job in the United States through headhunting, and is fully responsible for operating the new media department.
Leeds United simultaneously serves fans from all over the world in ten different languages on social networks.
For example, on Twitter, Leeds United’s Arabic Twitter account has more than one million followers.
In comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo, who is known as the number one person in social media football, has just over 20 million followers on Twitter.
Kaka has also been working hard on Twitter. His number of fans is 16.2 million, NBA star LeBron James only has 9.3 million, and Neymar, who just joined Barcelona, only has 7.8 million.
Of course, the number of fans of Leeds United is still far behind that of American entertainment stars, such as Justin Bieber, whose number of fans is 42.4 million.
But currently, the one with the most followers on Twitter is still Shen Shen, but the growth momentum is not as strong as before. Now he has over 50 million, which is slightly more than the second-ranked Justin Bieber.
However, there is always a saying that Gao Shen has a close relationship with Twitter and is a shareholder of this American company, so Twitter has been quietly increasing Gao Shen's followers behind the scenes.
But this statement is just a conspiracy theory.
Twitter is preparing to go public. Gao Shen has already told Su Qing that once Twitter goes public, the stock price will rise. If you see the right time, sell it and cash out.
If he remembered correctly, Twitter's market value increased for a period of time after it went public, and then continued to decline.
Based on the current valuation of Twitter, the 5 million euros Gao Shen invested that year is now worth at least 1.5 billion.
After making so much money in five or six years, this deal is still a very good deal.
Gao Shen has already thought about it. After selling his shares in Twitter, the funds will be invested in China, including BYD, which is invested by Generation Lithium Battery, and Warren Buffett, and Mei Tuan, which sells take-out group purchases.
Anyway, it can be regarded as a kind of advance layout.
Now, Gao Shen has been holding stocks in companies such as Apple and Penguin, and he has made a lot of money now.
There is also Bitcoin. Gao Shen has gradually collected some over the years, but not much. When the price is right, he will slowly sell it out.
This is mainly a reminder from Su Qing.
If Gao Shen has too many Bitcoins on hand, international speculators will not speculate in them at all. They may speculate in other virtual currencies. By then, the Bitcoins Gao Shen has on hand will not have much value.
If Gao Shen has enough Bitcoins on hand, it is not necessary for him to become a banker and speculate. Even if others follow suit, Gao Shen has so many Bitcoins on hand that when he throws them, everyone will follow suit and cannot sell the goods.
Therefore, Gao Shen now chooses to keep silent and make a fortune, hiding in the dark and watching the situation change.
…
Leeds United's investment in the new media department is no secret in European football.
It wasn't until the cooperation between AXA Insurance and Leeds United that it attracted some attention, but not much.
Mainly because AXA Insurance is actually waiting and watching, and the contract has only been signed for three years.
This old insurance company also wants to test the waters and see if Leeds United can bring some fresh vitality to them in the new media field.
Among them, the most important one is the Internet promotion package.
Leeds United's new media operation capabilities are obvious to all. Any social media can get over a million views, which is very amazing. However, at the same time, Leeds United's new media operations are very restrained.
Many brands use new media in an indiscriminate way, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern. They send out many messages every day, sometimes even dozens.
Leeds United will only post one or two posts a day at most, but each post is guaranteed to be high-quality.
For example, Leeds United's new media department will plan for some players to participate in filming charity event videos.
The most popular video of Leeds United on YouTube is that when the team went to a community kindergarten to play against young players, each one was "beaten" until their noses were bruised and their faces were swollen, and was even carefully edited to be humiliated by the children in various ways such as having their crotches pierced.
's video.
Many people like this video very much.
At the same time, there are also some pranks, interesting trainings, and even some inadvertent little actions of the players within the Leeds United team, which will be captured by the new media department, edited into various interesting videos, and posted to arouse the interaction of fans.
On game day, the situation was different again.
Gao Shen had mentioned to people in the new media department at the beginning that almost all the fans who follow Leeds United on the Internet are unable to come to the scene. How can they also experience the atmosphere of the game and the club's atmosphere through social networks?
Culture, this is the core element of content production.
The new media department will focus on the game, from building momentum and warm-up, to real-time push notifications during the game, to post-game feedback. Regardless of winning or losing, they can find many topics to trigger interaction with fans.
By the end of last season, the dozens of official tweets sent by Leeds United around a game often received tens of thousands of comments, 600,000 retweets, and more than 2 million likes. The quality of interaction was
very high.
Now, Leeds United already has a very mature social network operation rhythm, and has begun to grasp the preferences and tastes of fans on social media, which will bring huge advantages to the team's subsequent operations.
But there are also different voices.
For example, some British media previously believed that Leeds United’s investment in new media was seriously out of proportion to its output.
One of the main reasons is that the growth rate of Leeds United's commercial revenue cannot keep up with the team's growth rate on social networks, which means that investment in new media has not actually brought many tangible benefits.
Even the 15 million euros per year sponsorship contract from AXA Insurance is more of a trial, and it only lasts for three years, and it may not be renewed after three years.
Therefore, many media accuse Leeds United of being like those Internet celebrities who are sensationalizing and not like a football club at all.
Even within Leeds United, many people questioned Gao Shen's decision.
However, Gao Shen received strong support from Su Qing and Lucas and insisted on promoting this plan.
As he just said to Lucas, once you enter this track, you must go on unswervingly.
…
"AXA Insurance is willing to sponsor us with 15 million euros per year. This is indeed a drop in the bucket for them, but in turn it can be seen that this traditional insurance company recognizes the value of new media and they are also trying it."
Gao Shen said to Lucas.
Leeds United now seems a bit like losing money and making money, but it doesn't matter, we must persevere no matter what.
"Even if they don't cooperate with us, I believe they will still try new channels and methods. In the future, more and more traditional industries like AXA Insurance will pay attention to new media and the Internet. This is
Our advantage."
In the next few years, it will be difficult for Leeds United to retain its own stars. The appeal in the traditional business field is far from keeping up with those traditional giants where stars gather, so the focus is on the new media field.
As long as we establish an advantage in the new media field, when Leeds United recovers in the future, accumulates to a certain extent, and has the confidence to retain its star players, combined with the advantages of new media, Leeds United will usher in a big explosion.
This is the wealthy strategy tailored by Gao Shen for Leeds United!
"I know it's difficult for everyone now, and it's difficult to advance many plans, but this is normal, because in the end, we are just a team that has been promoted to the Premier League for only its second season. With a big team like AXA,
It’s great that the consortium believes in us, isn’t it?”
At this time, when a big brand sponsors Leeds United, it not only brings sponsorship to Leeds United, but also endorses the Leeds United brand.
But the AXA Insurance project was discussed by Leeds United for more than half a year. It was really not easy, and many concessions were made. The business plan for Internet promotion alone was more than 30 pages long.
The Internet promotion of many brands of Real Madrid is just a few lines of words. Gao Shen has seen it with his own eyes. It is very simple.
But just those few lines of words may cost someone an extra one to two million euros, or even more.
This is the advantage of a wealthy club, and Leeds United cannot learn from it.
Sometime in the future, Leeds United will have the confidence to do so.
But now, it doesn't work.
"Believe me, Fernando, this road must be the right one, and it will definitely be our only chance to overtake in corners." Gao Shen said very firmly.
If Leeds United wants to gain a foothold in European football, it must have enough income, which simply means having money.
Where does the money come from?
Or like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, there is a big financial backer behind it.
Or just like Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Bayern, they have excellent revenue-generating capabilities.
Gao Shen asked himself that he was not a big financier. Even if he sold all his stocks, how long would he be able to burn them?
Therefore, he must do his best to help Leeds United generate revenue.
But professional football is a pyramid-shaped game, where the winner takes all, and the wealthy teams capture almost all commercial resources.
If Leeds United wants to overtake in a corner, they have to choose a new track.
There is no future if we continue to follow the old path.
Lucas had no doubts about Gao Shen, and so did Borrell.
From their cooperation in the past few years, they have always known that Gao Shen has never missed a beat in the general direction.
