Catching up with us in 2013, Manchester United have launched an official Twitter account to engage with fans.
The page, which uses the handle @ManUtd will initially launch in English, with foreign language versions to follow.
The club already had a press office account, which tweeted official club news, but this has now been rebranded as ‘Man Utd spokesperson’.
An historic first tweet today, heralding the Moyes era, said: “New era, same spirit. The season starts here. Let’s do this. #mufc”
It was retweeted more than 6,000 times in just one hour.
A statement on the club’s official website said: “The micro-blogging services will allow fans around the world to engage with the club in a way they have never experienced before with iconic artwork, behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive content sent directly to their news feeds.”
The club have also announced a Sina Weibo account which will provide content in Mandarin to the service’s 500million users.
Sina Weibo is a hybrid of Facebook and Twitter for Mandarin speakers.
Manchester United already have a strong social media presence, with more than 67million ‘likes’ on their Facebook page.
Richard Arnold, Manchester United group managing director, told the club’s website: “Connecting with our fans is a key part of the club’s strategy.
“We have invested a lot of time and resource into providing the best media offering for its fans, which is evident from the recent MUTV acquisition and today’s Twitter and Sina Weibo launches.
“Every month there are over five million Manchester United related social media posts and the level of engagement we have with our fans via social media is amongst the highest of all top global brands.
“I look forward to these new ventures further extending the club’s interaction with its fans around the world.”
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