Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.In this current turbo era of Formula One, Mercedes AMG F1 have had an almost unprecedented level of success not seen since the days of McLaren Honda. Three straight clean sweeps of both the World Drivers’ Championship and the World Constructors’ Championship have left the Silver Arrows in a buoyant mood in recent seasons. But it isn’t just on the circuit where the team have been at the top of the standings.
#InternationalKissingDay #F1 pic.twitter.com/E3QBm3e7Rd
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 6 lipca 2017
The team have also been ahead of their rivals on social media, with their twitter account being among the 100 most followed sports accounts on the social network with 1.83m followers. That’s 20,000 clear of their closest rivals Red Bull on 1.81m while Ferrari on 1.79m make up the podium places. In fact, only McLaren join them with a seven-figure twitter following, despite their relative woes on circuit.
On Facebook, Mercedes also lead the way with over 11m likes, with Red Bull way back on 7.8m and Ferrari on just over a third of their Brackley rivals with 4.2m likes. While on Instagram, the stakes are as tight as this season’s Formula One world championship fight as Mercedes lead on 1.5m followers, with Red Bull just 100,000 short and Ferrari back on 1.3m followers.
Videos such as the onboard shot of Nico Rosberg at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, in which fans almost got a driver’s eye view of the 2016 World Champion performing donuts, are key as fans look to connect with the teams and their drivers more and more in this ever more digital world. Red Bull are also known for inventive promotional videos such as the caravan race around the Red Bull Ring ahead of the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix – the team’s home event. The in-depth and often enthusiastic race commentary provide across the Silver social platforms go further to encapsulate emotions felt by an ardent Mercedes fan during a Grand Prix.
Japery with teams such as Force India and Renault add to the feel-good theme around social media and Formula One, with Red Bull also known for interaction with their fellow F1 peers. With the giveaways and competitions linked to the team, Mercedes make themselves more marketable than many other Formula One teams with their fan interaction. That extends to following, retweeting and replying to fan queries and less serious posts to the team.
Mercedes hasn’t just stolen a march against its F1 rivals on the tarmac, but in the digital world that has finally engulfed Formula One, the team are a leading light.