Sydney and Hawthorn battling in AFL social media shootout as GF fever feeds internet buzz

Just days ahead of the AFL Grand Final between Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans, the Hawks have managed to edge out the team seeking to snatch their crown in the social media stakes, the Adobe Digital Index has revealed.

As the two teams made their run to the showdown at the MCG on Saturday, they have been generating massive social media buzz across blogs, Facebook, Google +, Reddit, Twitter, Dailymotion, Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr, VK, Disqus, Foursquare, Metacafe, WordPress, and YouTube.

In the 30 days leading up the Grand Final fans of both clubs from around the globe took to the internet to show their support, but the Hawks may have already won the psychological social media battle, edging out the Swans in the number of mentions.

Fan reactions have ranged from joy their team had made it to the biggest game of the year, to surprise they had done so. 14% of Hawthorn’s social media mentions expressed surprise the defending champions had made it to the Grand Final again, while just 7% of Swans mentions were surprised.

Chris Skelton, managing director of Adobe Australia and New Zealand, said passion for Aussie Rules had spilled over into the ongoing inter-city rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney.

Says Skelton: “The match-up between Sydney and Hawthorn has really fired up the fans and the Hawks seem to have found an edge with their followers across social media, but clearly there is not much in it as Swans fans have also been out in force supporting their team and their city.”

The Adobe Digital Index tracked both teams as they made their way through the finals series, capturing the number of mentions of “AFL Grand Final” and the sentiment people were expressing.

Former Hawthorn player Buddy Franklin, who will run out wearing the red and white, proved not only to be the most mentioned player on social media, but also the most polarizing.

Franklin’s huge Twitter following of more than 280,000 fans resulted in him getting more than two-and-a-half times more mentions than the most mentioned Hawthorn player, the Hawks co-captain Luke Hodge.

But while Franklin managed to garner plenty of attention, 46% of mentions related to sadness or surprise about his appearance in the big match against his former team, while 54% related to joy or admiration.

The analysis of more than 500,000 social mentions relating to the Grand Final also showed that the Australian football code is punching above its weight on a global scale, gaining almost as much social media traction outside its home country as the National Football League in the United States.

Geo-tagging social media mentions revealed that 19% of the social media buzz is coming from outside Australia, compared to 21% of the social media buzz surrounding the NFL which comes from outside the US.

Says Skelton: “The AFL may not be a global sport in terms of participation, but this figure clearly shows it has a huge following beyond Australian shores.

“To be only marginally behind the NFL in terms of support outside the country where the sport is played is an amazing result.”

Some 81% of all mentions came from Australia, with 6% from the UK, 5% from the US and 3% from Germany, reflecting the global appeal that the AFL has managed to generate.

Key Findings

• The battle for the Grand Final social buzz champ is dead even; Hawthorn has a slight edge over Sydney over the last 30 days. The state of Victoria is producing 32% of the buzz from within Australia, with New South Wales a close 2nd.

• Buddy Franklin leads the player buzz going into the final against his former team, but not all of the buzz is positive; Buddy has two-and-a-half-times more mentions than Hawthorn buzz leader, Luke Hodge. Buzz is mixed with 54% relating to joy or admiration and 46% of social buzz relating to sadness or surprise.

• The Australian Rules Football League (AFL) has only slightly less international appeal than the American National Football League (NFL); AFL (19%) and NFL (21%) produce similar percent of buzz from outside their home country.