2020 has gone down as one of the most successful years in FC Bayern's history. With the treble of Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Champions League, as well as the German and European Super Cup, Hansi Flick's team was by far the most successful club team in Europe. Amidst all the victories and triumphs, Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski & Co. were followed up close by the FC Bayern club media team. This meant that FC Bayern fans were always able to share in the goals, titles and emotions via the record champions’ various social media channels. And this was particularly important this year, as almost all matches had to take place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 600 million interactions on social media
Both the official FC Bayern website and smartphone apps, as well as the social media channels, were able to set a range of records. With reach in the double-digit of billions and growth of more than 11 million followers, FC Bayern was extremely successful with its social network accounts. In total, there were more than 12 billion digital contact points with followers from all over the world on Instagram and more. Fans interacted with FC Bayern posts more than 600 million times.
The Champions League victory graphic cracked the magic number of 1 million interactions on Instagram in less than 24 hours.
On Instagram, the FC Bayern account has now broken the barrier of 25 million followers. Fans worldwide clicked the 'Like' button more than 400 million times last year. On the up-and-coming platform TikTok, FCB recorded the strongest percentage growth (227%) of all football clubs worldwide. The best performance was achieved by Alphonso Davies' outstanding solo effort against FC Barcelona, which picked up over 30 million views.
On YouTube, fans were most enthusiastic about the penalty challenge between Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller, which was viewed around 9 million times. Furthermore, FC Bayern is also pleased about an extraordinary growth of more than 36,000 new followers on LinkedIn, which corresponds to an increase of 157% - the most when compared to national and international competitors.
The video of the penalty challenge between Lewandowski and Müller has already been viewed over 9 million times on YouTube.
Special services on the website and app
Fans who mainly visited FC Bayern's website and phone apps were also offered a lot. The focus here was on match coverage. With the live text commentary, web radio, match highlights directly after the final whistle, live press conference streams and many breaking stories around the matches, nothing was missed. In addition, the website and apps are the ‘home’ of all official club news, including injury updates and transfer confirmations. On top of that, tickets - as and when possible again - and all fan shop items can be purchased digitally here.
Another service of the website, which is offered in eight language versions, is the content hubs on various major topics such as The Best FIFA Awards vote, FC Bayern's 120th anniversary, title wins or the Champions League final tournament in Lisbon. In addition, these platforms came up with a special design for the club’s sixth Champions League title.
Podcasts, 51 magazine & TV channel
As a special highlight, the record champions launched their own podcast last year. It started with Thomas Müller, team manager Kathleen Krüger and club ambassador Giovane Elber. As of now, 13 episodes are online (in German). This is another format that brings FC Bayern to life in these times. Just like our club magazine ‘51’, which always lands in members' mailboxes at the beginning of the month. Or our TV channel FC Bayern TV LIVE, through which fans can follow FC Bayern around the clock.
Click here for all previous podcast episodes:
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