#SokkahTwitter and the case for participatory brand engagement

Photo: Twitter/jonzey0

The #SokkahTwitter community has proliferated Australian social media feeds (primarily on Twitter, but it exists in other guises elsewhere) as a collection of fans that support football in the country – principally the professional domestic competitions, A-Leagues, but with a presence from Australia’s national teams to grassroots sport.

Heinonen (2013, p.2) describes online communities as groups that “gather people with focused needs and interests”. We see these communities, and participate in them, as part of our normal social media interaction every single day - and this is Australian football fans' manifestation of the phenomenon.

#SokkahTwitter has developed into a hub for highly engaged, socially savvy fans to discuss their sport’s hottest topics – often with a focus on quirky elements and with an emphasis on humour. In truth, explaining this group in such dry, professional terms feels reductive and would likely offend its key contributors, so it’s best to let them share what they’re all about:

The engagement level of this particular community presents a fascinating opportunity for brands in the industry; namely clubs, leagues and sponsors. Such a highly concentrated, engaged content-thirsty cohort of these brands’ target market would seem an ideal chance to maximise reach and frequency of key messages and improve product sales, be it utes or club memberships and tickets.

But these brands also know an unsophisticated approach is fraught with danger. They’re well aware that #SokkahTwitter has formed and grown with their brands at best as peripheral contributors – it can continue to do so without their interference.

That’s not to say these brands have no influence at all in this community. Heinonen (2011) developed a customer motivation-input model that aims to detail the scope for brands to engage in these communities in a sophisticated, non-intrusive and effective way. The model outlines potential company strategies to capitalise on the intersection of these elements, identifying three primary motivations for joining these communities (entertainment, social connection and information), and three levels of customer input (consumption, participation and production).

Heinonen's (2011) consumer motivation-input model.

Australian football brands show evidence of this in their interactions with the #SokkahTwitter universe, from light-hearted games of Connect 4 with top content creators A-League Memes, to producing their own content that matches that found in the community to maximise engagement and brand familiarity.

The direct return on investment in the form of conversions is minimal from these practices, with gains largely intangible such as reputation enhancement. Playing the long game with relatively passive strategies goes against the instinct of social media marketers – but ultimately, it’s the most effective way to engage with communities that are more than happy being left alone.