Fans turned to Facebook and Instagram during Super Bowl LI as the Patriots beat the Falcons 34–28 in overtime at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Worldwide, 64 million people joined the conversation on Facebook—enough to fill the stadium almost 900 times over. 44 million joined the conversation on Instagram.
People discussed everything from New England’s incredible comeback to Lady Gaga’s halftime show to Audi’s “Daughter” ad. All in all, Facebook recorded 240 million interactions and Instagram saw 150 million interactions.1
Video on Facebook was a big part of the action. There were 262 million views of Super Bowl-related videos on the platform.
The Facebook and Instagram team huddled to analyze the top social moments, most talked-about players, most talked-about TV ads and more. Check out the infographic below to see how it all played out.
What it means for marketers
Marketers who apply what they learned from the Big Game will be well-positioned to win consumers’ attention during the Academy Awards, March Madness and other upcoming events. Consider sharing these tactics with your team.
Go mobile or go home: People may crowd around the big screen during sports events and award shows, but they also keep their smartphones close at hand. Develop a complementary Facebook and TV ad strategy to engage your audience before, during and after tentpole events.
Score a touchdown with video: Strive to capture attention within the first few seconds of your ad and evoke your brand early on. For more video best practices, watch this Blueprint webinar.
Engage fans on both feeds: People check both Facebook and Instagram during major events. When Facebook IQ studied what types of content tend to be popular on Facebook and Instagram during big cultural events, we found that people go to Facebook for reactions and opinions and to Instagram for an insider’s perspective. Experiment with sharing key moments on Facebook and offering behind-the-scenes glimpses or exclusive content on Instagram.
1. Interactions on Facebook and Instagram are defined as posts, comments and reactions.
Source: Facebook and Instagram data. Data is global and collection took place from 12am to 8:24pm PT (one hour after the end of the game) on Feb 5, 2017.
