It seems as if this year’s Wimbledon is the most social to date, with organisers using new social media tactics and technology to draw viewers. For those, (including The Practice team), sadly not in attendance, the move will help connect the event’s global audience like never before.

A first in the history of the tournament, user-generated content such as tweets, images and votes, have been appearing alongside each match on Henman Hill’s big screens in a move to spark audience engagement. And to encourage further participation, Wimbledon’s legendary queues outside have also been graced with the presence of a Twitter Mirror, allowing attendees to take selfies as part of the event’s #selfie challenge.  The first day of the event was marked on Twitter with the hash tag, #WelcomeBackAndy, which users were encouraged to include in their tweets, as well as @Wimbledon, for the chance to win an autographed digital photo of last year’s Champion, complete with the recipient’s Twitter account name. With a global digital audience of 20 million, it’s clear that Wimbledon wishes to appeal to online fans, just as much as it does those who manage to see the action in person. And it is this which organisers are clearly determined to strive for, particularly in their partnership with London-based start-up, Grabyo. Grabyo, whose technologies are also being used in the World Cup, allows editors to literally grab video clips of their own footage, making it easier to share across social media channels in real time. It’s evident that Wimbledon is keen to use social media to appeal to a greater audience who wish to experience highlights, rather than a full broadcast.

As well as upping their social media initiatives, the All England Lawn Tennis Club has also revamped their Android, iPad and iPhone apps, to attract new and existing users. The new look features stunning clean fonts and images, while tabs showcase player profiles and statistics, updates, scores, videos, the Wimbledon blog, and an official merchandise shop. Updated technology also means that users are able to tailor information to their specific interests. And if that’s not enough, the AELTC has also enhanced its SlamTracker tool, designed by longstanding partner, IBM. This, found on Wimbledon.com, allows users to see scores, statistics and analysis of each match. With a new “Keys to the Match” feature, over 8 years of Wimbledon data is mined in order to predict player patterns and wins. Before each match, IBM’s system runs a head-to-head profile for both players in order to ascertain how this individual data might influence outcomes.

In a bid to track the expected increase in social media usage at this year’s event, the tournament has started using its own Wimbledon Social Command Centre tool. This platform, hosted by IBM, is like any other social monitoring tool, (albeit a highly sophisticated one), and will allow the team to keep up to date with all content across Twitter, Google + and Facebook. The advantage of this, which AELTC content and communications manager Alexandra Willis notes, is that content on the Wimbledon website can now be adjusted in accordance with what users are talking about, to enable the most relevant experience. With 19.7 million unique views and 433 million page views last year alone, the move will surely be beneficial for driving an even greater volume of traffic.

Will you be keeping up to date with the tennis via Twitter, Facebook, and Wimbledon’s redesigned apps? And do you think that social media is becoming increasingly more important in sporting events? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.