MrRichardClarke | Sports Digital Consultant and Journalist

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Sport’s Content Strategy’s 'List of Lists' - looking back on 2018 and ahead to 2019


It’s that time of year. Everyone is rolling out their ‘list’ articles, looking back on the digisport lessons from 2018 and spotting trends for 2019. Here’s an amalgamation of this year’s articles, with comments from yours truly. And here’s my List of Lists from two years ago.

2019 Will See a Change in How Sports Are Processed Over Social Media (AdWeek)

Nothing earth-shattering here but let’s not dismiss “will continue to” predictions because they are not so sexy.

Key quote: “Since the start of 2017, entities from the big five U.S. sports leagues (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL) and NASCAR have posted more than 6.3 million social posts, resulting in 16.7 billion engagements. Nineteen percent of those 6.3 million posts were branded posts.”

Social media predictions for 2019: a return to personal authenticity (FastCompany)

Love this round-up from the CEO of Hootsuite. It is based on their survey of 3,000 business owners.

Key quote: “Dramatic growth and global popularity changed intimate spaces into wild, sometimes scary, digital jungles, filled with dubious actors, suspect claims, and aggressive sales pitches. But users have clearly had enough. They’re insisting on more value and transparency in exchange for their time and information.”

Spot on!

The Unpredictions: which industry trends do marketers want to leave behind in 2018? (TheDrum)

Here’s some…ahem…unpredictions. I’d love to see the end of the word “disruption” and ‘less superficial brand worthiness”.

7 Digital Trends In Sport For 2019 (SevenLeague)

The ‘Unpredictions’ piece pushes back against “voice in everything” noted in Seven League’s interesting list.

Social Media trends in 2019 (MerchantCantos)

Again, it’s general. Again, not wrong. Just call it clarification.

2018 in review: the sports business year in deals (SportsPro)

Sportspro’s month-by-month of the big deals

From goal gifs to Bundesliga banter - 18 top tweets from '18 (BBCSport)

BBC Sport’s top tweets of the year. There are lots from Germany and, inevitably, lots of my favs not there. As entertaining as these are, trying to “break Twitter” for the afternoon does not by itself create a high-quality account.

A Rundown of Sports Technology Innovation Throughout 2018 (SportTechie)

Five Predictions for How Technology Will Change Sports in 2019 (SportTechie)

A US-based list from SportTechie, hence sports betting takes top billing in both their innovations and predictions list. The way that rolls out will be extremely interesting in the next few years.

The biggest gaming trends of 2018 (DigitalTrends)

This Year’s Most Engaging Moments (Hashtag Sports)

Here’s where you go for Gritty the mascot, Juju’s highlights and breakfast sandwiches.

Traina Thoughts: Most Absurd Sports Stories, Burning Hot Takes, Memorable Social Media Moments of 2018 (SI.com)

…and there’s always one of these…

Year in Review: Top sports social media fails of 2018 (Yahoo)