The Kalanidhi Maran owned team debuted in the 2013 season of the IPL and managed to reach the playoffs only to get eliminated against Rajasthan Royals. Despite making a late entry to the IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad have managed to make a strong “Orange Army” for themselves on the social media platforms.
Here we take a look at their presence on these media individually:
Facebook
On Facebook, the Sunrisers Hyderabad has more than two million likes. Their fan base has increased by 412, 144 fans since the inception of seventh season of the IPL. The team has a fan following from almost all parts of the world with majority of fans coming from the Indian subcontinent and the gulf countries.
Most of the content shared on the Facebook page is in the form of photos or external links except for the live match coverage that keeps the fans updated. The use of #OrangeArmy and #HurrahHomeground is quite popular and makes it easier to keep a track of the tweets pertinent to the team.
The page allows fans to post their opinions which are visible to whoever visits the page. The fans make use of this feature often to make their feelings regarding the performances known. However, the page admins never respond to anything that is posted on the page. Every update on the Facebook page over the last seven days has received an average of 4,719 likes, 494 comments and 167 shares. Even in this, updates that have carried images have received the maximum interactions. The team also holds competitions from time to time which help in keeping the fan engagement at a high level.
Twitter:
On Twitter, Sunrisers Hyderabad have around 240K followers. The content being shared is almost similar to that being posted on Facebook but the updates are more frequent and concise. In all, 9,257 tweets have been sent thus far in addition to uploading 1,060 images/videos. Another interesting thing to notice is that Sunrisers Hyderabad twitter account quite liberally retweets some of the tweets made by its official sponsors to gain more interaction.
As is evident from the picture, Sunrisers Hyderabad has been creating buzz in their desired age group with 51% of mentions coming from people between the 13-20 age group. They could perhaps work on getting mentions from the 21-30 age group. While talking of mentions, it is evident that the number of mentions received on match days increases when being compared
to days when the team is not in action.
Also, the sentiment thus far has been largely positive owing to some decent performances on the pitch this season. In addition, any negative comment posted is generally targeted at an individual player, not the team.
YouTube:
Since joining YouTube in the beginning of December, 2012; Sunrisers Hyderabad have managed to gather 6,355 subscribers and have received more than 700,000 views on its videos. The videos are not categorized into playlist and make it tedious to look for a particular video. The videos are generally small in length and provide an up close and personal look into the lives of the players and the coaches on the run during the hectic schedule of the IPL.
Instagram:
Instagram is used to share behind the screen images that provide a personal touch to everything and everyone involved with the team. The Instagram account has 2,384 followers and has made 53 posts that receive around 150-250 likes per post.
Google Plus:
Unlike many other teams in the IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad has a strong following on Google+ as well and have managed to garner 66,573 followers along with 2,450,118 views. They have also created a community called the Sunrisers Hyderabad FanClub which has over 1,700 members.
However, due to unpopularity of the platform itself, the interaction level is very less.
Android App:
Created by SunTV Network, the SunRisers Hyderabad android app has been downloaded an approximate 8,000 times and allows fans to get engaged in some real time gaming where the fan gets to play the captain of the team and take decisions in real time.
Other than that, the app provides general info like schedule, scores, social media updates, news along with selling team merchandise.
