CrowdTangle was originally launched as a platform designed for social organization and change. In less than 10 years, it has become a tool trusted by everyone from BuzzFeed to Mic and nearly every major sports team across all of the major leagues in the U.S.
Not only does the platform thrive because of its accessibility, but also because it can be used in different ways by everyone from social media managers to c-suite executives.
“We usually start with the social and digital teams because they’re the doers and they are the ones who have to create reports, so our goal is to make their lives more efficient and easier,” said Carlin Scrudato, Strategic Partner Manager for CrowdTangle. “Then, we move on to the audience or analytics teams, sales and commercial teams, and then all the way to the c-suite. They all may use it in different ways, but essentially all of them are using it to understand and make smarter decisions about their social strategy.”
Now, the 18-person team inside of Facebook is taking the tool to the fans leading up to and during the World Cup thanks to the CrowdTangle Leaderboard and the CrowdTangle Live Display, some of the first publicly available features of the platform. The reason? Allowing fans who want to take a deeper dive the opportunity to track the conversations around their favorite teams or players in real time.
“The leaderboard was something that people have been asking for and we thought the World Cup would be a great way to bring it to life,” said Scrudato. “Fans will be able to see teams, federations, and the athletes by country. So, if they want to track France or Brazil they certainly can do that.”
The tool will also be useful for journalists tracking stories outside of their native time zone, something that Scrudato sees as a way for the conversation around the tournament to extend even longer.
But, when it comes down to it, the new initiatives are aimed at delivering the platform into as many hands as possible
“Obviously part of the reasons why these tools were launched was to help reporters and journalists track conversations in real time, but I think the big thing here is that they are now publicly available, enabling the fans of the World Cup and football, in general, to follow along as well,” said Scrudato. “I can share this with my family or I can share this with my friends in Brazil, Colombia, or England. It’s simple to understand and offers the more engaged fan a deeper level of information.”
The leaderboard putting emphasis on athletes is purposeful. Given the fact that both internally at CrowdTangle, and externally with their partners the excitement is about the players and the conversation around them during the World Cup.
“For us and our partners, that’s going to be a really big focus. Being able to see that first authentic content, whether it’s from Ronaldo or James Rodríguez is going to be fun because not everyone is going to Russia. The goal is to bring a community of people together in a way that feels authentic.”
While the World Cup only lasts a month every four years, football content, especially on Instagram, is going to continue to be a focus for Scrudato and the CrowdTangle team.
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“We want to build our product based on feedback within our roadmap. I think you’re going to see a lot from Instagram. For global football, it’s the most followed sport on both Facebook and Instagram which continues to provide exciting opportunities for us.”
For fans and journalists alike, the opportunity to monitor the world’s favorite sport on some of the largest social platforms couldn’t come at a better time. In what is sure to be the most digital World Cup to date, CrowdTangle is hoping to add a new layer to the experience no matter where someone may be watching.
