‘Social media as a key to fan participation’: Inter Milan and Manchester United at SFS23

Inter Milan and Manchester United are two of the most important clubs in Europe. Their digital experiences were the focus of the panel ‘Driving fan engagement around the world’, moderated by Salvatore De Angelis of Nielsen Sport.

Roberto Monzani, Media House Director of Inter, talked about what happens around the Nerazzurri club: ‘We often ask ourselves how content is monetised. It depends on many factors, starting with brand values. I have seen different eras of the club, not always successful from a sporting point of view. What I see today is incredible participation. This is a story that started in social channels. It’s not just putting up a phone, you have to pay attention to the details. I also mention here the colleagues from Genoa who, with a different proportion, do an exceptional job. We need to be attractive to foreign countries, where they look at what we are, without additional influences’.

Monzani also spoke about the partnership between Inter and Paramount+, which has led the film company to produce various content for the milanese club.

Nick Speakman, Global Head of Social Media at Manchester United, instead gave the Red Devils’ point of view: ‘We have to try to be close to many cultures, many ways of being. It’s a challenge, also because we deal not only with a great heterogeneity of people, but also of devices. We need to have great quality in the content, which we produce thanks to fantastic equipment and professionals. It is also not easy to be diverse in publications: from matchdays to players to fans. We plan and work, trying every day to do the best we can to also adapt to an audience that is constantly changing’.