Barça surpasses 400 million followers on social media

FC Barcelona has surpassed the extraordinary number of 400 million followers on its different social networks. This spectacular figure is further proof of the club’s global reach, and how it is leading the way in the digital ecosystem with regard to sport and entertainment. And that’s not just in terms of followers, but engagement too.

Facebook is where FC Barcelona has most followers, no fewer than 136 million, followed by Instagram (118) and Twitter (71). But that’s just on its main accounts. The club also has huge followings of the women’s football team, the other professional sports, the youth teams, the Barça Foundation, the Barça Academy and the Barça Innovation Hub, for example. And it also has accounts in different languages, as many as eight on Twitter.

And it’s not just about the big three either. Barça has 33 million followers on Line, which is huge in Asia, 12 million on YouTube, where it is the leading football club, and 9 million on TikTok. There are 24 million on the club’s other channels, such as Viber and Snapchat, and the China-specific Weibo and Douyin. Barça has 13.5 million followers in China, ahead of Chelsea and Manchester United.

Since 1 July 2020, Barça’s online community has grown by 35 million, enough to fill the Camp Nou 350 times. The main Instagram account (@fcbarcelona) is the one that has grown the most, by 10 million, while there has been 101% growth on TikTok. The content category that has seen the most movement is the Barça women’s team (@fcbfemeni). Their treble winning campaign has led to 62% growth on Twitter and 25% on Instagram.

By combining news with entertainment and carefully following trends on each of the platforms in order to provide fans with the kind of content they most enjoy, FC Barcelona has not only attracted new followers but also new engagement. The figures prove it. In 2020, Barça amassed 1,603 million likes, shares, retweets and comments. According to Blinkfire data, there were 2,994 million views of Barça’s different posts.

Such a strategy to connect with its audiences is one of the main reasons why Barça tops the global list for sports clubs on four of the five biggest social media channels, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok. It’s only on Facebook, where it isn’t the number one club.

This has all happened hand in hand, in 202/21, with the creation of CULERS Membership, the club’s new loyalty programme. It has helped boost the sense of belonging to the club, and offers a wide range of benefits to subscribers, including a membership card, unlimited access to Barça TV+, discounts on tickets and branded products, and a special shirt.