How to World Cup Like a Boss! Social Media Ultimate Guide

Want the latest World Cup social media trends? Whether you’re a football newbie or seasoned veteran, Upper 90 Studios has assembled the ultimate social media guide for all your World Cup needs.

On this post, we’ll reveal essential social media resources and stats to level-up your World Cup knowledge while lowering your time spent chasing trivial content.

Social Media Ultimate Guide Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup

1. Hashtags

Hashtags can be a simple and effective research tool that enables people to see what’s trending in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

WHAT hashtags should you use?

Trending Hashtags 2018 Russia FIFA World Cup

Our criteria for ranking the best World Cup hashtags included popularity – how well the hashtag performs against other top-ranking hashtags – tweets per hour and retweets per hour.

Most Popular Hashtags

  1. #WorldCup
  2. #WorldCup2018
  3. #FifaWorldCup
  4. #Russia2018
  5. #Mundial

In the World Cup popularity contest, the hashtag ‘Mundial’ comes in fifth overall. It’s an insight that should not be discounted as the U.S. Men’s National Team failed to qualify.

Turn the lack of a U.S. presence into a positive by engaging fans of Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Mexico, and Colombia with #Mundial. Can you name the star player for these teams?

Official World Cup Hashtags in 5 Languages

  • English: #WorldCup 🇬🇧
  • Spanish: #Rusia2018 🇪🇸
  • Portuguese: #Copa2018 🇵🇹
  • French: #CM2018 🇫🇷
  • German: #WM2018 🇩🇪

2. Platforms

According to a new survey, nearly half of the world’s online population will be tuning in to the World Cup. The survey of over 80,000 internet users across 42 countries uncovered the best platforms to reach the football content consumer.

Tuning in to Russia 2018 World Cup:

  • Globally, 55% of male and 37% of female digital consumers will watch
  • Latin Americans (65%) are most likely to watch online or on TV
  • Record global audience of 3.4 billion expected to tune in

Being active on social media can get tiring quickly, especially if you can’t find an audience.

WHERE should you post?

Best Social Media Platforms for FIFA World Cup

YouTube is king. Over 93% of all World Cup engagers will consume some of the tournament’s content on YouTube. It’s no surprise as video is now 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search results than a traditional web page.

Facebook (87%) is another popular medium where users are expected to tune in to Russia 2018, while Instagram (63%) and Twitter (54.8%) aim to close the gap globally.


3. Influencers

BREAKING NEWS! The social media landscape has changed. Brands are now posting like the individual while individuals are more like brands.

Why not get your news directly from the source? FIFA’s official account (@FIFAWorldCup) is building a sizable following on popular social channels with:

  • Over 40 million followers on Facebook
  • 7.2 million followers on Instagram
  • 5.81 million followers on Twitter

WHO should you follow?

World Cup Teams Instagram Followers

National Teams

This is the first true digital World Cup. Viewers who can’t commit to watching full games may opt for snackable content on social media. Instead of waiting for highlights of their team on Sportscenter, football fans are now going directly to the source. Which national team accounts do you follow?

As of June 2018, the World Cup team with the most followers on Twitter is Mexico (5.7 million).

World Cup Teams Twitter Followers

Most Followed National Teams on Twitter

  1. Mexico (@miseleccionmx)
  2. Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol)
  3. Brazil (@CBF_Futebol)
  4. France (@equipedefrance)
  5. Germany (@DFB_Team)

Players

Distributing content through players is a highly effective method to engage the digital World Cup fan.

According to Opendorse, today’s athletes have more than 6.5 billion social media followers, twice the influence of leagues and teams combined. The average engagement rate for athletes is more than ten times that of teams.

World Cup Players Social Media Followers

Most Followed Players on Instagram

  1. Cristiano Ronaldo cristiano
  2. Neymar neymarjr
  3. Lionel Messi leomessi
  4. James Rodriguez jamesrodriguez10
  5. Luis Suarez luissuarez9

Social Media Ultimate Guide

FIFA World Cup Brazil FansBeing active on social media doesn’t automatically guarantee engagement. We’ve analyzed the latest data to identify vital World Cup trends for you to stay on top of. From social media stats, to players and national teams, feel free to use this guide to your advantage.

We are big fans of infographics. You don’t have to be a numbers person to absorb data quickly when it’s presented in a visual format that is easy to understand.


What do you think of How to World Cup Like a Boss! Social Media Ultimate Guide? Leave us a comment and bring on the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia!

-Bruno