In the world of sports, the hunger for real-time updates is insatiable. The battle for the best platform to report live scores and deliver game information is fierce. While Twitter (now renamed “X”) has long been the go-to choice for breaking news and updates, a new contender has emerged to steal the spotlight — Meta’s Threads.
Below, we uncover seven reasons why we expect Threads to reign supreme over Twitter for sports teams and leagues. Both social media platforms provide real-time updates — perfect for reporting live scores in a team or league account as well as sharing immersive digital media and all-access content. So buckle up, and get ready to discover the exciting new world of Threads for sports!
The Rise of Threads
While Twitter has long been a dominant force in the realm of real-time updates, its popularity might be waning for a variety of reasons.
We won’t get into the details of company ownership, politics or the spread of misinformation as punditry there is plentiful. Twitter has never really undergone a significant redesign since 2014. The platform’s sprawling nature and diverse content make it challenging for sports fans to find the information they seek quickly. Twitter’s broad focus, encompassing various topics, dilutes its effectiveness as a dedicated platform for following your favorite league, team or player. However, it’s important to note that Threads doesn’t (yet) have a ‘following’ feed or a straight timeline feed where every post is available in historical order from every account you follow.
Additionally, the relentless influx of non-sports-related content can detract from the live sports experience, leaving fans frustrated and overwhelmed. Twitter’s new strategy to push as many users as possible into paid subscribers is certainly a turnoff for many sports fans. Not to mention the fact that Twitter, with it’s new management team, has arbitrarily limited refresh rates for everyday users, which capped how many times you could check to see if your team has scored another goal, leading to a very disappointing experience.
Threads, with its specialized and organized (non-linear) approach, has emerged as a breath of fresh air for sports fans. Its focused nature, streamlined user interface, and real-time engagement features have garnered significant attention, causing a shift in user preferences. As more fans discover the benefits of Threads, we see Twitter’s grip on live sports score reporting weaken, giving rise to another new era of sports engagement.
1. Threads Is Organized for Sports Fans
As a fan, picture this: Your favorite team is competing in a crucial match, and you want to stay updated with every thrilling moment. On Twitter, updates can get lost in the vast ocean of tweets, making it hard to find relevant information.
However, Threads offers something new by allowing users to create organized and dedicated threads solely for reporting live scores within an account. With just a few taps, you can follow the one thread dedicated to your team and effortlessly stay in the loop with every score update.
2. Uninterrupted Sports Focus
When it comes to following live sports, distractions are the enemy. Twitter bombards users with an overwhelming amount of content, ranging from memes to political debates.
Threads, on the other hand, offers a focused and streamlined experience dedicated solely to live scores. By eliminating the noise around the account you care about, Threads ensures you can immerse yourself in the game without any unnecessary disruptions. It’s like having a private box seat at the stadium, free from distractions.
3. Real-Time Fan Engagement
What’s better than simply receiving live score updates? That would be engaging with passionate fans and getting more fans who aren’t at games to follow along! Sure, anyone can check a score app, but colorful commentary, along with shared all-access content, keeps fans entertained and immersed on any social media platform.
Threads provides a platform where fans can share their thoughts, emotions, and excitement during the game. This is a very different experience than Instagram. With dedicated comment sections and the ability to reply to specific updates, your team can connect with casual and loyal fans and spearhead the collective experience of supporting your team. This is true digital fan engagement.
4. Threads Is for Community Building
Getting live score updates and seeing photos and video highlights is great, but engaging with other passionate fans on match day takes the social experience to a whole new level.
Unlike Twitter, which seems to encourage trolling, Threads provides a platform where fans can come together and share their thoughts, emotions, and excitement during the game. Most fans will sign up using their Instagram credentials, where most users use their real name or a nickname that reflects them. On Instagram, anonymous accounts and even brand accounts are definitely not preferred. So, we expect most Threads users to represent themselves, which should reduce trolling.
Secondly, with dedicated comment sections and the ability to reply to specific updates, Threads actively encourages interaction among fans. You can connect with fellow supporters, express your enthusiasm, and revel in the collective experience of supporting your team. Threads goes beyond being an update-only platform — it’s designed to facilitate friendships and community building for fans that share the same love for a sport, team or league.
5. Personalized Notifications
In the fast-paced world of sports, every second counts. Twitter’s notification system can be overwhelming, bombarding users with a flurry of updates across various topics.
Threads and Twitter both allow you to personalize your notification preferences. By choosing to receive notifications specifically from a specific account, you’ll never miss a beat. Whether it’s a goal, a touchdown, or a buzzer-beating three-pointer, Threads ensures you’re always up to date with what matters most to you.
6. User-Friendly Interface
Let’s face it—complexity can be a major turnoff. Twitter’s interface can be overwhelming for newcomers and even some seasoned users. Threads, on the other hand, boasts a user-friendly interface designed with simplicity in mind. Navigation is simple, allowing even the least tech-savvy fans to stay engaged and informed without any unnecessary hassle.
7. Comprehensive Thread History and Archives
Sometimes, live updates aren’t what fans are seeking. Many sports moments are meant to be relived and cherished. On Twitter, finding past updates can be a daunting task, buried under an avalanche of tweets. It’s virtually impossible to go back more than a few weeks in any single account.
Threads, however, provides a significant advantage by allowing you to access the entire thread history and archives. Whether you want to revisit a historic match or simply reminisce about your team’s past victories, Meta’s Threads offers a comprehensive record of posts and replies that are easy to find and keep a historical record. (We think this might have something to do with the new platform’s name).
Unlike Twitter, Threads preserves the magic of unforgettable moments, enabling fans to relive the excitement at any time.
Twitter vs. Threads: An Important Choice for Social Media Teams
The question isn’t whether Threads is a good alternative to Twitter. The real question is: Should your team or league’s social media team start using Threads to report live game scores, transfer updates, ticket availability, and basically everything that you’re currently sharing on Twitter? There are already quite a few great examples of sports brands doing some innovative things on Threads and they’re gaining followers very quickly (great post by Blinkfire).
At Greenfly, we think the answer is a resounding YES. Unfortunately, without a digital media platform like Greenfly in place, that could be twice the work for your to post on two platforms instead of one. Automation can certainly help!
Live Content Collection on Matchday
Capturing quality photos in a live game setting can be technically demanding. Factors like fast-paced action, variable lighting conditions, long distances, and whether to cover sidelines, spectators or the field can make it difficult to capture clear, authentic and timely photos and videos. Additionally, the limited time available during live games to capture decisive moments adds another layer of difficulty.
Posting photos on Twitter and Threads also requires a stable internet connection. In crowded stadiums or arenas, network congestion can hinder the ability to upload and share photos promptly.
Moreover, the fast-paced nature of live sports means that moments can quickly pass, making it crucial to capture and share images in real time. Any delays in uploading can result in missed opportunities to share exciting moments with your fans. We recommend setting up a dedicated private Wifi system for creators, but 5G-networked stadiums also have enough throughput to upload media quickly.
To manage these challenges of posting to multiple social platforms in a live match setting, many teams and leagues use a Live Content Collection program and workflow.
They designate multiple photographers or creators (either full-time staff or freelancers) and spread them around the venue to capture different shots from different angles. They can use a mix of pro cameras and mobile phones for even more authenticity. The technical challenge is then collecting all of this media centrally as the action unfolds for sharing on social platforms. Ideally, there is one person who publishes the best shots with a consistent voice and tone.
Yes, Greenfly Supports Threads!
The Greenfly platform solves this problem fully. Greenfly’s mobile app enables live media syncing to a shared, cloud-based media library. Each creator can upload photos and videos from their mobile phone, running the Greenfly app in the background, while they continue to capture more media. Or, photographers can sync media from their pro camera to their phone and also sync to the same centralized Greenfly library.
Since keyword tags can be applied to every asset automatically, the media is organized immediately as it syncs with a central library. Assets with game, team, date, photographer — and even player — can be automatically sorted into separate galleries. There they can be viewed and shared to social platforms with a few taps.
Additionally, with Greenfly’s +AI Vision, the contents of every photo and video can be scanned automatically, providing even more rich data, including every player or athlete, the type of scene, and visible sponsor logos. In the Greenfly library, everything is organized into galleries as each team or league sees fit.
With all media from all photographers available in seconds, social media teams can choose the best media for every moment, update and post. And, because media is accessible from anywhere, dispersed social teams can specialize in each platform. So one person can post to Threads and one to Twitter, making each experience richer.
Greenfly makes it easy to share media with fans in real time on Twitter — and now Threads! And, of course, Instagram, Tiktok, LinkedIn and Facebook, too.
Threads for Sports
Twitter’s popularity may be waning due to its sprawling nature, the company’s drive for subscription revenue, and its lack of specialization for sports. In contrast, Threads offers a focused, immersive, and community-driven experience that caters to the needs and desires of sports fans worldwide. Sports fans’ appetite for real-time updates and short-form digital media continues to grow.
Meta’s Threads has emerged as a great platform for live reporting of sports teams. Its enhanced organization, streamlined focus, real-time engagement, personalized notifications, intuitive user interface, and comprehensive thread history make it a new go-to platform for sports fans looking for news, updates and media.
In the race to provide the best platform for communicating with fans, Threads just might be the winner over Twitter.
