Vill man synas det minsta ska man finnas på insta : En kvalitativ studie om elitsatsande fotbollsklubbars strategiska kommunikation

Sammanfattning:   Former studies indicate that social media is a good way to communicate with stakeholders which also makes it an interesting and relevant focus for this study. As football is becoming more and more commercialized, the demands that non sports related activities are professionalized are raised ever higher. Between the professionals and Sunday league football teams, we find Division 1. A Swedish football league in limbo between the professionals and the amateurs. A league where the clubs manage to survive on pocket money and seldom with the possibility to hire staff on full time. The clubs in Division 1 have been the subject of this research to map how they communicate on the image sharing app, Instagram.  The purpose of this essay is to, through the issue “What patterns can be found on Instagram among the football clubs in the Swedish third tier leagues?” shine the light on the small sports clubs, and their day to day activity and communication. In the long run it will contribute to more effective communication for small organizations.  The thematic analysis of the empirical material shows that the clubs in Division 1 often use Instagram by routine or for the sake of it, rather than with a cut out strategy or plan. Even though it’s evident that a social media presence has positive effects in itself when it comes to building an identity as a club, with supporters and other parties, there are several measures football teams can take to improve their communication on Instagram. Having a  clear cut plan and goals can achieve things such as getting more active and loyal supporters with raised ticket sales as a long term result.