Best bookmaker for social media

Paddy Power remains the clear leader with its quirky social media campaigns. But tipster site bettingexpert.com says other bookies are outperforming it in some channels.

The online betting scene has exploded in recent years and with it has come a rise in social media activity. The focus on attracting new customers has now shifted from traditional advertising techniques to social media interaction.

Bookmakers use media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as an efficient way to expand their pool of customers.

With millions of people using some form of social media on a daily basis, social media provides bookmakers with immediate access to both new and existing customers.

In this article we are going to explore how 25 of the world’s most popular bookmakers use social media to attract and retain their clientele.

Which brands do we focus on?

We’re going to compare how these bookmakers utilise the following social media platforms:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Instagram

What is it exactly that we’re looking for? We’re going to examine and compare the following criteria:

• Number of followers on Twitter
• Number of followers on Facebook
• Number of followers on Instagram
• Number of Tweets
• YouTube video views
• Most popular YouTube videos
• Number of YouTube videos

Which are the best bookmakers for social media?
From the data we’ve gathered, we can see that Paddy Power and bet365 dominate the social media scene, sharing between them the most Twitter and Facebook followers. Betfair comes in third place, with almost one million combined Twitter and Facebook followers.

Top three bookmakers
1. Paddy Power
2. Bet365
3. Betfair

Most followers on Twitter:

1. Paddy Power = 643,094
2. Bet365 = 381,808
3. Sky Bet = 364,876

Most followers on Facebook:

1. Bet365 = 1,814,802
2. Paddy Power = 1,556,288
3. Unibet = 861,302

Even non-bettors are familiar with Paddy Power’s social media campaigns. With its somewhat irreverent and cheeky humour-filled Tweets and Facebook posts, Paddy Power has certainly brought plenty of attention to its brand.

Paddy Power’s popularity has spread to a number of (so-called…) celebrities. It has convinced the likes of former footballer Rhodri Giggs and actor Sid Owen to poke fun at themselves in a series of advertisements on social media and television. The Giggs advert, in particular, caused somewhat of a stir, with the current ‘Loyalty Is Dead’ advertising campaign.

There’s seemingly no one who can escape Paddy’s humour. Fan Denial has proven to be one of the most popular additions to its quirky social media interactions, with light-hearted ridicule of fans who express their dissatisfaction in Twitter and Facebook posts.

There is, however, a serious side to Paddy Power. Via its social media channels Paddy Power provides a series of sports blogs and reports providing unique insights.

In addition to its general Twitter site @paddypower, users can also access a dedicated customer service page @AskPaddyPower.

Bet365 provides serious competition for the most popular social media channels. Bet365 appears to have a more conventional approach, with the focus on odds and promotions.

Rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ account, there are individual Twitter pages for various countries provided by bet365. This means bettors in selected countries can access sites that focus on betting where they reside.

Betfair may be a surprise addition to this list, but with a million social media followers it is obviously doing something right. This is particularly the case when it comes to YouTube, with Betfair (and Paddy Power) dominating the competition.

Coming up just behind our top three are Sky Bet and William Hill. Betfred, Unibet and Coral are also close to breaking into the top three best bookmakers for social media, but Paddy Power, bet365 and Betfair currently lead the way.

Which bookmakers have the most Facebook followers?
Let’s crunch the numbers. Bet365 currently reigns supreme in the followers stake, with an incredible 1.8 million members of the public following its Facebook page. Paddy Power lies in second place, with Unibet rounding out the top three.

Which bookmakers have the most Twitter followers?
Paddy Power is well ahead of its rivals in terms of Twitter followers. With more than 600,000 followers, Paddy has almost double the number of followers than second placed bet365.

However, there’s not much in it between bet365 and Sky Bet, which lies in third place with more than 360,000 Twitter fans.

Which bookmakers have the most YouTube views?
What’s interesting about YouTube views is that, generally speaking, those bookmakers with the most Twitter and FB followers don’t tend to do as well in terms of views on their YouTube videos.

Betsafe make its first appearance in our top five lists, with more than 32 million views of its video offerings. It lies in third place, behind Betfair and, of course, social media powerhouse Paddy Power.

Which bookmakers have the most Instagram followers?
Unsurprisingly, it’s that name again – Paddy Power has the most Instagram followers to add to its terrific numbers on other social media channels. It again takes the number one spot, ahead of Betsafe and Sky Bet.

Bookmaker social media: our verdict
Paddy Power is easily our number one in overall social media interaction. Topping our lists in both Twitter and Instagram followers, it also comes second in YouTube views and Facebook fans. It seems that a quirky take on the latest sports events is the way to go.

But Bet365 also has huge social media appeal, while Betfair has increased its presence in media platforms, which is likely to have a big impact on new customers within its sportsbook.

Social media is the way forward in terms of attracting new customers and we expect that more bookies will start taking this form of advertising and interaction more seriously in the coming years.

About bettingexpert.com
Providing expert tips and in depth betting theory, bettingexpert.com is the world’s biggest social network of sports betting tipsters. Its global community of experts compete for prizes by sharing their strongest tips on upcoming matches across 25 different sports to help millions of sports bettors place knowledge-supported bets, with the best odds available from a variety of bookmakers. Betting Expert is owned by Better Collective, the leading developer of educational platforms within the igaming industry.