Times have change drastically since the founding of Formula One in 1950. In the 50s, technology was just starting out and the idea of computers or cell phones was preposterous. However, today it has become a rare moment to see a person without at least one of these devices. The world has been more connected that it ever has been and people have the ability to have endless knowledge at their fingertips. One of the most common used of this technology for the average human, is social media: the web that keeps the entire world connected. Most companies have jumped onboard the social media bandwagon; however, Formula One has yet to do so.
So why has such a global business been so hesitant to connect with its fans? The biggest reason for this rejection of social media is simply the lack of profits. Unlike broadcasted television, social media lacks to ability to bring in money. Perhaps part of the issue is that Formula One’s current leader is 83 years old and was not born with this technology. Whatever the reason, whenever Bernie Eccelstone is asked if Formula One will join the social media community, he simply says: “No. We’re commercial… If they find people to pay us then I will be happy.”
Anyone who has tried to find highlights from a race knows that the only legal videos are found at the Formula One official website and are not published until the weekend following a race. Even most video hosting websites, such as YouTube, have an automatic filter to ban all Formula One content. Even if the odd video sneaks past the filter, it is only a matter of time before it is discovered and removed. This can be frustrating for fans and prevents potential fans from being drawn in by the sports unexplainable awesomeness.
So how should Formula One’s social media plan change? Well it is an overstatement to even call it a plan, since there is not activity happening. Formula One needs to get with the times and create official accounts for sites like Facebook and Twitter. The FIA also needs to allow more Formula One content to be shared on video websites. It is understandable that the sport would not like to have full races hosted on the internet, especially since most of the races are broadcasted through paid TV services, such as Sky Sports F1. Allowing some race highlights or onboard laps or crash footage would be a huge improvement and potentially bring in new fans.
Although there are no current plans to execute any of these changes, viewers are hopefully. With an ownership change underway, fans could expect to see some – if not all – of this issues fixed in the upcoming seasons. For the meantime, hopefully the damage caused by this lack of social media will be very limited.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in any analysis contained within this article are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
