The man who raised Real Madrid on the internet: What can Red Star and Partizan learn from his words?

Its been a long time when gloating and anger because of the result of your beloved club you shared with only the team you watch the game with. It's not enough, now everybody can know it, by simple posting of the status.

Recommended

VOTE FOR IVANA TO WIN! Serbian in the competition for the best athlete of Europe!

However, its has became old as well. Now your club is here, on the click away from you. Now you will write a comment to it directly, from the epic hymn to the most primitive curse, and no one can stop you from praising or reprimanding the club as if it was your own family.

Such immediacy between clubs and fans was introduced by social networks, and for the fans, communication on the digital level has become more important than conventional press conference in the halls.

How to handle all of those things? Clubs found themselves in the middle of all that, they had the same dilemmas how to start the adventure in the totally unknown, digital world. Even the great Real Madrid.

REAL INVESTED IN SOMETHING AND THEY WEREN'T SURE IT WILL PAY BACK AT ALL

Foto: AP/Tanjug

When he arrived in 2007 in Madrid as business consultant with the experience in digital communication, Oscar Ugaz had his hands full even before he started working. He came into the traditional environment which had to apply some innovations they didn't even know if they will pay off.

- Football clubs are very traditional organisations, with the same way of doing business. They make money from selling ticket, classic sponsor contracts, TV rights... they are not open for innovative ways of making money. It is a logical reaction, because they go from the start that they have to pay the employees, the players and they just have the time or the money to invest in new digital way. Still, digital brings less money, if you compare it to the entire budget - said for the interview for Telegraf Ugaz, former head of digital communications of Real Madrid and one of the speakers at the upcoming "Football Fest".

Today, the page of one of the most famous clubs in Europe has over 90.000 fans on Facebook, and massive flow towards official site where people around the world can buy products our club offers. But ten years ago, Ugaz came with his ideas on Santiago Bernabéu and all he got was pale looks.

- The application of digital innovations is very hard. You don't even know if there is market, if the sales will go alright, if it will pay off. Clubs want fast results for something that could return to you only in the future/ In the traditional organization you got no time.  It is a hard task, but its all normal reaction. Sometimes it can happen with the sponsors, who ask from clubs settled forms, because they don't see them as innovative subjects who would apply ideas.

WHAT ABOUT THE PLAYERS? 

Maybe Real has 90 million fans, but Christiano Ronaldo has 116 million.

- The players in between, they have their agenda, work plan. When everything started 5-6 years ago, clubs jumped in the digital world. The players are different story, they did not understand how the things were going on. Older players did not get that, than the younger players, who know what they supposed to do, know that its east because they have their own mobile phone, they don't need their club for it. They make their own profiles and start talking with the public - explains Ugaz.

He had to unite the players, who were already the stars in the online sphere, with the club that is just learning the online alphabet.

Foto: AP/Tanjug

- That is why its hard to establish the cooperation with the players. Clubs and associations tried to establish rules of behavior on social networks but they are updated daily. Players do it too fast, and the clubs are trailing behind. But you as a club can't control the players, it is impossible, at least not 100%. Try to put it in the contract, but some platform can appear that did not exist in the time of signing. Players know very well they don't have to give that to the club. "You have the right on me, but i have the rights to create the content for my fans the way i want"/

It is interesting that the greatest football fans of the nineties did not decide to nurture their popularity in this way.

- It is a modern thing. Because someone was young in the nineties, now he is a middle aged man. You would have to be digital migrant, to catch up, otherwise you are lost. Now those people are older, but if they did not have contact with it, they remained outside of it. It is different for me, because i work with it, but most of people our age use phone or Facebook on some basic level. Not even the professional football player did not use the phone or consumed the content on the same and specific way.

BARCELONA PLAYER "SWIMS" THE BEST IN DIGITAL 

We wanted to know if there is some Serbian football player that stands out with his performance on the networks, but Ugaz did not notice anyone. When it comes to the world stars, expert from Venezuela claims:

- Many of them have a team that work on professional way. In football those are mostly classic names... Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Many use that to activate traditional sponsorship. But someone who is really different is lets say, Gerard Piqué. He is very innovative, does great things. Press often goes crazy about him and attack him because he bypasses them, because he decided to talk to his fans over Periscope. It is his relationship, he doesn't need press, who are now afraid. I think that the guys like him have the best time on the networks. It is not a surprise, he is conscious about everything,  he is the owner of digital company himself.

Foto: AP/Tanjug

WHERE DO SERBIAN CLUBS MAKE MISTAKES? 

Lesson i learned in Real that clubs like Red Star and Partizan must adopt.

- Just because you are a club it doesn't mean you will always have followers. Maybe at the start, but you have to give the fans something that no one else has, and if you don't give it to them, you won't be a priority anymore. You will have some attention because of the official, but because of that relative they want, you are losing the fan's interest and engagement - claims Ugaz.

When we showed him (Instagram) pages of Red Star and Partizan, with only partial view Ugaz saw details, because of which, we conclude, two greatest Serbian clubs mistake in talking to their fans.

- When i see those two accounts i see the same pictures that can be found in papers, comments bellow photos are short, there are not many hashtags to intensify the conversation. The content is not visually extraordinary - shortly commented Ugaz, and explained the essence:

- Idea is to create the relevant content. If you share that same photo with me, the same comment i will find in media, people will follow the papers, because it will be more critical, more opinions. You mustn't be boring. Fans follow clubs because they believe it will give the more direct approach to the club, "behind the scenes", to show what is really going on. Clubs can't do that 100 percent, but they must offer their fans the exclusive content to draw their attention. Regular photos are boring, everybody have them, no one will notice them. 

On the other hand, clubs from smaller environments can be in advantage, claims Ugaz.

- Smaller markets can create more content, they don't have limitations of greater football associations and can innovate more. Smaller teams are there as well, they can't lose anything, they can only profit.

"WHY ARE YOU QUIET?" 

Series of defeats, bad management decisions, resignations... Negative comments and massive "hate" arrive from every direction, and Ugaz, who worked with Real for four years, explains:

- Your head must not be in the sand. It is stupid to disappear and keep quiet. It happened before. When you win you are like: Yey, we won, we are the best, but when you lose you are silent, they put the report on the site and that's it. It is stupid to do it, because people are angry, both players and fans. If you are cheering for Star of Partizan, you will be angry, but you wont stop following and loving the club. The worst thing is to hide, because you can't do that, the defeat is part of the sport. 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNER PAYING FACEBOOK?

It became evident that social networks became ad space. There is no networks that brings you more activity and flow more that some other.

- Every of those platforms can offer the biggest results. If you pack trash, you will have trash. You have to understand that platforms are not free. Because Facebook wont just like that send your message to 80 million fans. Every platform is turning to advertisement, and to break the ice, you have to pay. That sounds really crazy for a football club, because they got used to be paid for the content. It is just a part of digital strategy, clubs must be the real owners of their content. Reaction happens on social networks, and it is up to you to accept what the fans are saying. Because no Real, nor Barcelona are the owners of Facebook analytics, those are the users of Facebook.

This is a visual generation. Platforms are like that the best, because people don't look benevolently toward other texts, claims Ugaz.

Foto: Tanjug/ AP

- I would say that the video is most important, but photos should not be forgotten, they can be very strong and tell a story. In football there is a lot of action, lets start with the highlights. Text is something on what people don't want to lose time. Visual production of the content is the most important. Highlights re not the most important, because Manchester City offers camera in the tunnel, and the fans are watching what's going on insinde the stadium, and not the video every channel broadcasts. 

One more thing - you can't ignore what the fans are talking, you can't force communication upon them to respect the rules of talks on some networks.

- It's like being on the party, you see a group you would like to join, but you can't do that with some of your incoherent story. First you listen what are those people talking. You introduce to them, talk to them about what they already talked about. So i want to see what are the people talking about, and in the same time, increase my own content. You have to know the dynamics of every platform and its rules that can change.

- On the Instagram, the point is in attractive photos, with filters, from specific angle, where something is told, odd, special. The way you will share it depends on the hashtags, over the which people will search you, for conversation you have to join as well. If you don't use that cod, or the hashtag, you will remain without conversation - explained Ugaz.

Foto: Promo

In the end, essentially, if the club decides to go in the digital world, they first must realize why is it there. Borussia Dortmund has a philosophy that the club should be with the fans every day, from the first morning coffee to the bedtime. 

- Before you start with the campaign, you have to do research, what do you want from it? How will you measure the success of the strategy? Then you have to see how are you resources; you need money, team, people, media... You also have to have the rights and access to players, to come to their training, to participate with them to make some content and to connect you to the fans. After that there is a plan, and you say, i want to make this kind of content, this much video tapes, photo shootings..." and to make a scale of content. Only then you can make a non stop campaign. You can't sustain it without resources, and the club provides it. After six months you will come and ask for more money. You have to realize that the management buys something before they received it. Everybody must understand what are you doing - concluded Oscar Ugaz.

Oscar Ugaz is main spokesman on the area of digital business strategy. He held lectures in Spain, Denmark, Great Britain, USA and South America. He is a lecturer on MBA programs in international business schools like Hult (Great Britain), Said - Oxford (Great Britain), ESIC (Spain) and Real Madrid UEM (Spain).

(Telegraf.co.uk / B. Mekic)