LEVERKUSEN. Bayer 04 Leverkusen has reached the next digital milestone: Since February, the Werkself has been one of the three clubs with the most digital fans in Germany. Thanks to the strong growth, Bayer 04 now has more than eight million subscribers and followers on its twelve social media channels.
In German football, only FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have more digital followers. For Holger Tromp, Director of Communications at Bayer 04, third place is confirmation of the path we have taken: “We have been investing in the digital sector for years and are pursuing a clear plan with a focus on growth and brand building. We are pleased that this strategy works with creative and high-quality content, and that we can show constantly increasing impressions and engagement figures. At the same time, it is an incentive to continue to convince our supporters, both regionally and internationally, and to bind them to us in the long term.”
From Twitter to TikTok
On August 20, 2010 it was “Bayer 04 goes Twitter”. Thus began the black and red social media journey. Shortly afterwards, Bayer 04 started their Facebook channel, which now has 2.8 million fans. The Instagram channel followed in 2014, which was the third from the Bundesliga to break the 1 million mark in 2020 and now has 1.8 million followers. Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn and most recently TikTok two years ago have completed Bayer 04’s social media architecture for the time being.
Internationally in particular, Bayer 04 opted for a clear digital strategy at an early stage and have been communicating with specific target groups in four languages for years – German, English, Spanish and Chinese (Sina Weibo, Douyin, WeChat). With almost 400,000 subscribers, the English-language Twitter channel of the Werkself is one of the most quoted in digital, international football events. Through the creative and pointed content as well as a strong community management, the Leverkusen team has developed a unique selling point, especially in North America.
TV documentary Havertz: 2.3 million viewers
Bayer 04 now reaches almost a billion digital touchpoints a year across all platforms and channels. To this end, around 40,000 pieces of content are created each year in the newsroom in Leverkusen and with international partners – including high-end productions such as the TV documentary about Kai Havertz (2.3 million viewers on YouTube so far). Viral highlights such as the flag quiz with Lukas Hradecky or short videos by players like Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong or Bayer 04 legends have meanwhile been viewed millions of times. In addition, Bayer 04 regularly creates and places content on the social channels with almost all partners and sponsors.
Bayer 04’s social media channels and followers at a glance:
– Facebook: 2.84 million (since 2010)
– Instagram: 1.86 million (since 2014)
– Sina Weibo: 1.71 million (since 2018)
– TikTok: 685,000 (since 2020)
– Twitter DE: 429,000 (since 2010)
– Twitter EN: 398,000 (since 2015)
– Twitter ES: 145,000 (since 2015)
– Douyin: 77.000 (seit 2020)
– YouTube: 57,000 (since 2018)
– Snapchat: 63,000 (since 2016)
– WeChat: 50,000 (since 2018)
– LinkedIn: 7,500 (since 2020)
–
