The Premmy Files – Club Social Media Power Rankings
It frustrates me endlessly when people criticise the kiwi Premiership. Who cares if it’s not the English Premier League? It doesn’t bother me at all if the overall standard is probably equivalent to the sixth or seventh tier in England, we’re talking about the national league of Aotearoa. The highest standard of football that you can get out there and watch in person from comfort of the grassy banks - excluding in Wellington where the Phoenix play (and even then… no, jokes). That should be more important. Supporting the best domestic players and getting a glimpse of some of the next generation of prospects before they leave for more glamorous shores should be more important.
Working in the media (albeit independent media – support TNC on Patreon! We’re dependent on you kindness, generosity and appreciation!), you get an idea of how false and pervasive those kinds of negative arguments are. There are always ways the league can be better but public criticism only feeds into the view that it’s not worth the attention. The media shapes those ideas. Premmy Files has always been about giving positive coverage to the competition. Positive coverage feeds positive interaction. More well-funded outlets who ignore the Premiership would probably argue that the interest isn’t there but what that reductive argument ignores is that the coverage the league gets is what shapes that interest. It is what we make of it, pretty much.
And a lot of that comes down to the clubs themselves. Recent years have seen… I’m not going to be dramatic and say regression because that’s almost impossible in this day and age… but we certainly haven’t seen the improvements in coverage that we should have for all the benefits that social media allows. Massive part of that: the deal with Sky Sports. Swamping any amateur footage so that Sky could chuck up a goals highlights package on, like, the following Thursday morning. But Sky Sports’ platform is also unique in promoting local sports in this country so what can you do? Well, for one thing you can not make already cash-deprived clubs pay large fees directly to Sky so that they can hold the game’s coverage at a ransom that has already been paid, that would be a start.
This year Sky are still broadcasting one game per week but they’ve stopped sending those hefty, expensive cameras around the country to every game. They focus on one game and then the clubs are free to do what they will with the broadcasts of the rest of them… be that highlights, delayed replays on youtube, live streams on facebook, twitter shots of goals, etc. It’s been a welcome improvement. It’s also been a difficult one, if we’re being honest. Ideally you’d prefer a centralised form of video coverage so that there isn’t such a discrepancy between the ambitious and the lazy. But that’s part of what this article exists for.
Same as with the general media coverage. Honestly, in 2018 there is absolutely no excuse not to get the proper promotions out there for your club. NZF have done a traditionally crap job at this too for a governing body, although they’ve stepped it up this season, but that’s no excuse for clubs failing to promote themselves. It doesn’t cost a goddamn cent to have an active twitter account. If your club cannot find a single tech-literate young person to tweet live updates then I don’t even know what to say. Go to the local university and advertise for a media intern. Get the chairman’s nephew/neice or grandchild or whatever. Jeezus, it’s a bloody industry these days, everybody’s looking for work experience. I think that especially in this country sometimes we’re too complacent to show any ambition. Again, it is what we make of it. The fact that there are winter club teams much better at this than some national league teams is a little embarrassing.
But I also think a lot of clubs don’t realise what it is that fans want/need from them in these areas. Another reason for these power rankings. Not trying to shame the jokers that don’t try, although they kinda deserve it, more trying to boost what needs boosting and encourage what needs encouragement.
Alrighty, so the Premmy Files Social Media Power Rankings are based on the following non-quantitative criteria, judged on the whims of my own emotions but with the greater footy community in
Fluent and reliable in-game coverage, including all major events (goals, subs, cards, chances)
Maximum video footage at a maximum quality on a punctual schedule
Pre- and post-match reaction from players and managers
Reliable online presence outside of matchday coverage
Accurate starting lineups provided well before kickoff (for both teams, just in case)
All of the above made accessible through sharing and common branding
General good vibes
And with that in mind, away we go…
1) AUCKLAND CITY
https://twitter.com/AucklandCity_FC
https://www.facebook.com/thenavyblues/
Leading the way off the field just as they do on the field, Auckland City are for sure the most professional looking club with their media and promotion. Their in-game twitter updates are as good as it gets, smoothly structured and readable updates on a regular basis getting at all the things we need to know to follow the game from afar. ACFC produce an outstanding match programme too, which is always made available online in the days before any home game. Not a whole lot of extracurricular coverage on matchday, at least not with live vid/pics, but they make amends afterwards with the best match reports in the league.
In fact their whole website leaves the rest of the league in the dust. Regular previews and reports, the odd player profile and heaps of news updates. There was a drama pre-season when they accidentally claimed Hamilton Wanderers had made a couple incredible signings only for it to quickly turn out that they’d copy and pasted an article from Rangers FC (some might say plagiarised) and forgotten to delete a crucial paragraph. But we’ll let that slide.
As of this season they also have the best highlights package out there too. Courtesy of Phototek, ACFC home games are followed by 10+ minute highlights on youtube with added commentary (delicately applied after the fact, one must assume) which adds some lovely context to the images. Including starting lineups in the vid is a nice touch. But mostly it’s the quality of the video and the classy presentation that sets them apart. Very deliberate on ACFC’s part.
Still waiting on last week’s though, which is the one complaint. It takes time to produce contest of that quality, particularly when trying to do professional things on a (mostly) amateur budget. The sooner highlights are released the better if you want to maximise the reach they’ll get. Not sure why live streaming isn’t an option considering the standard of the stock footage but according to their twitter there are reasons for that:
“Streaming a match at low quality doesn’t fit with how the club positions itself as a brand. The highlights package is labour intensive but keeps the production level as high as possible. Our match day coverage across our social media platforms remains high quality nonetheless. We also release a goal edit for Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. In the past we found when gathering footage pre-Sky Sport involvement for Club World Cup promotion the handycam/iPhone footage was unusable for a variety of reasons by the host broadcasting services. Live streaming of matches also leaves the fixture open to anyone with a laptop or device to view and that includes betting agencies. Our preference is always for a bonafide broadcaster at least until the technology and cost become economical enough to consider in the future. Pulling together video footage from low end options for sponsors and community partners also didn’t work well either. This is a matter for New Zealand Football - it is their competition. One club taking on streaming, high quality or not, affects the rest of the #ISPSHandaPrem and the overall standards.”
Okay, a couple things on that. The betting agency thing is a weak excuse, that’s not a matter that the clubs should have to worry about – there are laws and those that enforce them meant to take care of that. Also it’s quite rich coming from a team that (reportedly) gets as much money as they do from gaming trusts. The idea that they’d be putting other clubs to shame by doing video better than them is weak too, they put them to shame by winning the league every other year already. It’s expected of them. And full credit on the Instagram presence but IG is not something that’s massively necessary for clubs. More of a personal platform, really.
But the rest of that is an honest insight at what all these clubs are dealing with as far as videos go. It’s not an easy thing to coordinate… but that’s why a little number eight wire mentality is needed. Keep all that in mind as we go through the rest of the teams.
2) EASTERN SUBURBS
https://twitter.com/ESAFC
https://www.facebook.com/EasternSuburbsAFC
Not a lot to complain about with the Suburbs folk. They’re sharp with the matchday coverage, always getting in there with the important facts and happenings. There’s a great photography presence giving a glimpse at the games while in progress and their social media stuff definitely reflects the club’s values with an emphasis on player pathways and all that.
What sets them apart in second is their video exploits. Highlights of home games are uploaded to their Facebook page relatively promptly. Wouldn’t say it’s the best footage out there but it’s good enough and by the looks of it they’re getting into the ol’ live stream game too. Dabbled with it both for their youth team and also the national league side, not without hiccups but with a fine grasp on the zoom function of the camera already - that looks like it could really blossom. Wouldn’t mind seeing those highlights also find their way to youtube too, where they can be uploaded in better quality and also shared much more easily to twitter for an all-around presence.
Also setting them apart are their wonderful little clips with coach Danny Hay, usually a couple per week, getting his thoughts on games, on upcoming oppositions, on developments around the club… all that sorta thing. A great insight that not too many other clubs can rival. Of all teams, Suburbs are the ones that seem to take the biggest interest in the wider footy scene, with a plethora of regular retweets which clog the feed but also send a supportive message.
3) TEAM WELLINGTON
https://twitter.com/TeamWelly
https://www.facebook.com/TeamWellington/
My favourite bit of the Team Welly media is not really a Team Welly thing at all, it’s Jose Figueira’s twitter account. Every game he drops a little wisdom about the latest performance, honest but positive. They’re a feature in Premmy Files most weeks.
Moving on to the actual club, Team Wellington have established themselves on a footballing par with Auckland City in recent seasons and their smooth social media output is similarly strong. Fantastic live tweeting, every bit as good as what ACFC do – those two are the kings at that. Take a look at this random example…
What do we have there? We have a typo in Jack-Henry Sinclair’s name, which is hilarious (but I said ‘random’ and I meant it, so I’ll stick with this particular tweet). We also have a formula to the tweet, beginning with the minute of the game followed by the occurrence. Concluding with the current score in brackets. Strong on the hashtags. Easy to read, easy to receive the required knowledge in one swift glance. Exactly what it needs to be. Pats on the back to Team Wellington – who are also perfect in getting lineups, subs, goalscorers and all that out there.
However… I sort of expected more from them this year. There are some excellent footy photographers in Wellington (all over Aotearoa, actually) so there are always some great snaps on the TeeDubs accounts… but there isn’t all that much else. They appear to be doing less of the video stuff and there’s almost no match footage. The only clip I can think of is that incredible Mario Ilich goal which seemed to be filmed from the stands, not sure by whom. Chances of flicking on your phone to catch that screamer are slim so somebody’s been filming, if for scouting purposes or something. Where’s all that footage?
I get the feeling this might be a case of not wanting to share something perceived as substandard… but substandard is better than nothing from my point of view. I’d assume most fellow fans feel the same. For a contending team to not even have match highlights is a shame. Not a whole lot of note going on on their website either and the only vid from this season on their youtube (which had some great content last season) is the Sky Sports highlights of their televised game against Waitakere. Good form on Instagram though, for what that’s worth.
4) SOUTHERN UNITED
https://twitter.com/southern_united
https://www.facebook.com/southernunitedfc/
Here’s a media team that’s doing a great job. Really serving it up at the moment. The one area which is lacking is the video side of things which, being such a new option, it seems like some clubs just haven’t embraced it yet. Maybe waiting to see what others do first… suffice to say that those who do it and do it well are very well represented near the top of these rankings.
The rest of the deal though, Southern are right up there. The isolation of being right down the bottom of the country has its downsides but it also has the huge upside of Southern having this fantastic community spirit aspect to their socials. Love seeing that. Also love the way they integrate their male, female and youth squads within the same brand (futsal too… but nobody really cares about futsal). Live match coverage is solid. They also did a wonderful job of embracing their offseason signings and their squad release was not only immensely creative and enjoyable but also one of the first ones made public (by a good distance of time too).
Also wanna give mass credit to a lovely resource I only discovered recently which is their website. Most clubs have sites and most are just there for fixture lists and maybe some squad details. But Southern’s site have full on lineup info for every game with match reports and everything. Not the most detailed reports to be fair but they get bonus points because they’re written by striker Markus Fjørtoft. Putting that Duke University education to good use. There are the odd bits of extra video too, like this reworking of a popular Premier League routine, which is delightful. And there’s even a podcast! Now that is worth some bonus points.
5) TASMAN UNITED
https://twitter.com/TasmanU
https://www.facebook.com/TasmanUtdFC/
Shout out to Tassie because if this had been written a couple weeks ago then they’d have been nowhere in sight but in the past week especially they’ve hit some new levels. Can’t give them max points by any stretch because the egregious lack of starting lineups and subs notes has left my spreadsheet cripplingly empty on the Tasman United page over the five games so far (the only complete one was because they were away to Team Wellington who don’t miss a beat). But there’s been an explosion of video content on their FB. That’s led into a much healthier presence on TW and a general fresh and modern feeling to the club. See how easy it is to change perceptions?
Tasman ran a Q&A with captain Ryan Worrell the other day, that was superb. They’re teasing some more player interaction stuff and that’s also superb. Accessibility with players is one of the major advantages of other kiwi sports leagues so the more the merrier in the Premmy. Anything that makes guys seem fun and relatable is something that makes them more endearing which makes people more likely to want to support them on Saturdays and Sundays. I’d say get some of that up on youtube too, maybe even twitter, make it as hard to miss as possible. Glad to see the goals from the weekend surfacing too – next step is to get full replays & highlight packages going.
Tasman did start the season shockingly on the ol’ socials so I’m guessing they must’ve already done what I said before and found a keen social media coordinator to volunteer and bloody brilliant, top work. I’d have jumped at that opportunity a few years ago if it had been available so there’d be dozens of similar jokers in every club vicinity if you care enough to look. A real positive turn from Tassie… just don’t forget the fundamentals. I need my starting XIs, mate.
6) CANTERBURY UNITED
https://twitter.com/CU_Dragons
https://www.facebook.com/CanterburyUnitedDragons/
After Sky Sports dropped the ban on amateur footage, Canterbury United were the one team who immediately showed max ambition with that, going straight into livestreams for their first two games. Always applaud ambition, TNC is nothing if not ambitious ourselves, however there is work to do here. The streams weren’t on a great quality on facebook and the Eastern Suburbs game especially was tricky to follow. I know a few clubs have been turned off streaming for that reason, because it’s easy to do but hard to do well, but you also don’t learn if you don’t try so fair play for getting in on the game. Next is to get a higher angle and a better zoom function (note to all: an eyePhone ain’t cutting it).
Every now and then their FB page has also popped up with player/coach interviews, which is decent to see. Not convinced by their twitter efforts though. Lineups and match facts there’s no issue. The Dragons are one of the majority that doesn’t bother with away game coverage however they get all the news out there when the lads are at home. A tidier structure to their tweets would help, granted.
Another slight annoyance is how varied it all is, without a huge amount of synchronising between platforms. Not only platforms but also brands, with the opener streamed on the CU Pride FB page, the second home game on the CU Dragons page and a lot of news coverage ending up on Mainland Football’s accounts, since they don’t have a website of their own. Also they used to have a decent youtube going but that’s been dormant for a couple years now. The video coverage is a great start. Would kinda prefer a unified Dragons/Pride focus that lifts up both teams, rather than leaving them to fend for themselves, tbh.
7) WELLINGTON PHOENIX
https://twitter.com/WgtnPhoenixAcad
The WeeNix should have a massive advantage over the rest of the competition because of their affiliation with an actual, honest to God professional team… but I’m not really sure they get anywhere near the leg-up they should be getting from them. Where are the videos, for one thing? The Wellington Phoenix have made a real attempt to boost their youtube account this season and have done a commendable job of it with player access, press conferences and delayed highlights. But it’s all senior team stuff. Nothing at all on the reserves. A club is a community and this is probably part of why players feel there aren’t the long term opportunities for young kiwis at the club.
As far as the Nix Academy twitter goes: thumbs up. It’d be nice if they covered away games as well as they cover home games – not really sure why teams can’t squeeze one media guy onto the plane/bus for away trips, you have to prioritise this stuff and when you think about it those away games are when you need to reach your fans the most, since I doubt they’re travelling with ya – but with their home games they get all the relevant data out there. For writers like myself it’s essential to know who’s playing, when subs are made, who scored goals and when… all the important notes. Those that don’t bother… I mean, I can’t write what I don’t know and your Premmy Files coverage won’t be very thorough if that’s the case.
I’m assuming that NZF supply the lineup graphics template that a lot of teams use. The WeeNix are especially keen on that and good on them. They’ve also always got a photographer doing fine things… just wish there were video highlights too. Also don’t see many write-ups on the ressies on the Nix homepage. Honestly, they shouldn’t be doing this alone.
Hey and, you know, what’s up when CB Liam Moore’s got better match footage then half the clubs out there?
8) HAMILTON WANDERERS
https://twitter.com/HamWanderersNZ
https://www.facebook.com/BlueArmySc/
A confusing one here. What’s absolutely beyond doubt is that they’ve upped their social game this season. Upped their footy too, shot Ricki. It used to be that you could barely get a starting lineup out of them, let alone live updates, but they’ve been better at that recently, at least for home games. Not gonna give you every chance and I suspect they miss a few subs too but the goals are there at least. That’s cool, that’s an improvement. Although there’s not much else.
The Blue Army facebook page is quite good, they do some little video things every now and then. The main problem is that it’s all so messy. The Tron Wands are reliant on a lot of community hands for their coverage and as such it all ends up in different places. The photos are on one bloke’s account (up the canaries!), the goals from the Hawke’s Bay game were shared to the FB page by assistant coach Kale Herbert in the form of video of the video, two of their home games have emerged as full broadcasts on youtube but on another dude’s account, some of the best HW updates come from the chairman’s account… that kinda thing.
It’d be a lot easier to find it all in a branded central location – particularly the video which I thought was really good for what it is. Wind-noise aside, it was easily watchable. Nothing wrong with throwing a full replay up there asap. If it exists then set it free. It’s all promotion. It’s all growing the game and the league and the team.
9) HAWKE’S BAY UNITED
https://twitter.com/HawkesBayUnited
https://www.facebook.com/HawkesBayUnitedFC/
My favourite resource for HBU is the Hawke’s Bay Today write-ups, which give a local focus on the team which it’s hard to find for most teams – Southern United also get that luxury from the excellent Otago Daily Times. Not anything to do with the clubs but yeah, local news coverage is valuable and the large conglomerates who buy up these papers and then fire all the reporters in ‘cost-cutting measures’ are disgraceful. Capitalism kills, man.
Counter culture complaints aside, Hawke’s Bay United are a team I’ve spent a lot of time defending in recent Premmy Files, with their current winless record influenced by a really rough fixture list. But the defence stops with regards their social media stuff. They’re not silent but outside of sponsor promos there isn’t a whole lot of substance to their facebook. Skip over to twitter and they have gotten to live tweeting their last few home games but not exactly in the most reader-friendly manner. For one thing, twitter 101 is that if you’re going to lead with a user tag then you drop a dot before it so it doesn’t show up as a reply and go missing from your timeline where fastidious writers go trawling afterwards to try locate it…
And, like, list the names in a column if you can’t get the NZF graphics going. This is a bit messy to read when they’re all in a row. No sign of match footage that I’ve come across yet (I realise I may have simply missed a lot of these things which would affect what I write here… but social media is about accessibility so if I couldn’t find it then you didn’t share it publically enough – how’s the average joe gonna find something when the pros are coming up empty?).
The saving grace is these vids they’ve been doing, starting in preseason (and still oddly getting labelled as preseason when the clips are clearly no longer a preseason taping), with a bit of extended insight from players. Cool little enterprises, these. Would be better on their own HBU channel though.
10) WAITAKERE UNITED
https://twitter.com/WaitakereUTD
https://www.facebook.com/WaitakereUnitedFC/
Do they even have a social media presence? Not really. There’s an inactive twitter account and an active one which doesn’t tweet much. They did manage to adequately live tweet last week’s game, functionally if not particularly colourfully, but that game was live on telly so… yeah. Coulda live tweeted it from the couch. That’s literally the only game they’ve done anything for all season on twitter. Not getting any points for that, sorry.
Video? Nope, haven’t seen any. Coach Chris Milicich is a quality twitter personality but that doesn’t count in these rankings. The Waitakere United facebook is a bit better, although still nowhere near where it should be. Honestly, this is an Auckland based club. Put up a note at AUT or something. There’s no excuse for not being able to promote your own club, that’s unfair on the players who represent it.
On top of all that, I’m also pissed at Waitakere for sending a goalkeeper to the NZF promo launch, modelling in a jersey that he’ll never actually wear, especially a brand new import keeper who can’t answer questions about the league yet because he hasn’t played in it. That was a tad silly, methinks.
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