Follower Engagement With Published Content on Facebook: The Case of the Lithuanian Football A League
Abstract
Background. Social media platforms have become a primary tool for sports organisations to communicate with fans, shifting from simple information dissemination to fostering emotional engagement. In the context of professional football, understanding which content dimensions and formats drive follower interaction is crucial for effective strategic communication.
Aim. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of content posted on the Lithuanian Football A League’s Facebook page during the 2025 season on follower engagement.
Methods. The research employed scientific literature analysis and empirical data collection through content analysis. A total of 1,080 posts on the Lithuanian football A league’s Facebook page were analysed. Follower engagement was measured using the Engagement Rate (Romero-Jara et al., 2023) metric across different content dimensions (Sport, ESG, Marketing, Institutional, Commercial) and formats (Photo, Video, Text).
Results. The findings revealed that while the sport dimension dominates the communication flow, the highest relative follower engagement is generated by social responsibility (ESG) content and video format. In contrast, commercial posts showed the lowest engagement levels. The results indicate that the current strategy focuses on informative sport content, while interactive and emotional storytelling remains underutilised.
Conclusions. Lithuanian football A league primarily functions as an informer on Facebook, only partially exploiting the potential for deeper follower engagement. To enhance engagement, the organisation should diversify its content by increasing the frequency of video formats, behind-the-scenes insights, and interactive elements, moving from a one-sided information stream towards community-oriented communication.
Keywords: Social media; sports fans; fans engagement; football A league
References
1. Flavián, C., Ibáñez-Sánchez, S., & Orús, C. (2019). The impact of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies on the customer experience. Journal of Business Research, 100, 547–560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.050 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.050
2. Kang, J., Su, C., Lan, J., & Chen, L. (2024). Effects of the subscription-based partitioned pricing strategy of digital content platforms on user willingness to purchase. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 19(4), 3305–3330. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer19040160 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer19040160
3. Liu, H., Chung, L., Tan, K. H., & Peng, B. (2024a). I want to view it my way! How viewer engagement shapes the value co-creation on sports live streaming platform. Journal of Business Research, 170, 114331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114331 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114331
4. Liu, H., Tan, K. H., Kumar, A., Singh, S. K., & Chung, L. (2024b). Value co-creation in sports live streaming platforms: A microfoundations perspective. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 71, 12674–12685. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2022.3204451 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2022.3204451
5. Margetis, G., Tsagkatakis, G., Stamou, S., & Stephanidis, C. (2023). Integrating visual and network data with deep learning for streaming video quality assessment. Sensors, 23(8), 3998. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23083998 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s23083998
6. Nanta, T. M., Noermijati, N., Rohman, F., & Hussein, A. S. (2025). The effect of digital touchpoint usage experience on customer loyalty mediated by digital engagement and customer satisfaction. Businesses, 5(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/businesses5010003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/businesses5010003
7. Pan, L., Pan, X., Mo, X., & Xia, T. (2024). Factors influencing willingness to continue using online sports videos: Expansion based on ECT and TPB theoretical models. Behavioral Sciences, 14(6), 510. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14060510 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14060510
8. Samudro, B., Susilo, M. H., Armadito, M. R., Handayani, P. W., & Fitriani, H. (2024). Users’ satisfaction regarding continuance intention of subscription video-on-demand platforms for watching football matches: A Stimulus-Organism-Response perspective. SAGE Open, 14(4), 21582440241289685. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241289685 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241289685
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). Published by Lithuanian Sports University.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
