Written by: Erin Brothers
Influencers span across industries, platforms and cultures. They attend culturally significant moments, document them and share them, reaching millions of people online. In doing so, they can turn a major, worldwide event into something that feels more personal, accessible and impossible to ignore.
The FIFA World Cup is a perfect example.
As one of the largest sporting events in the world, the World Cup doesn’t need influencers to generate attention. What influencers do bring, however, is a new way for fans – and entirely new audiences – to engage with the tournament.
In the United States, soccer has traditionally taken a backseat to sports like football and basketball. But with the World Cup matches in stadiums across North America, marketers have an opportunity to introduce the sport to audiences who might not have paid much attention to it before.
Social media is playing a major role in this shift. Influencers are sharing everything from player content and fan celebrations to tournament storylines and game highlights. As that content spreads across platforms, it reaches people who may not follow soccer but are drawn into the excitement, energy and cultural significance that surrounds it.
For many, the World Cup experience won’t begin in a stadium or even on a television broadcast. It will start on their social media feed. Via the algorithms, users will see creators attend matches, celebrate with fans and capture the electric atmosphere of the tournament in real time. The content creates buzz, sparks curiosity and invites people into a conversation they may never have joined otherwise.
Even those unable to attend can feel connected to the event through the online community built by creators around it. This exposure gives people a reason to pay attention, learn about the sport and become invested in the tournament. In places where soccer is not deeply woven into the culture, influencers help make the sport feel more relevant by presenting it in a way that is relevant and accessible.
The World Cup may be played in stadiums with exclusive tickets, but much of that cultural impact now happens online. Influencers extend the experience beyond the fans in attendance, bringing the excitement, community and emotion of the tournament to audiences around the world.
This is the power of social media and influencer marketing: not creating awareness for an event that is already globally recognized, but expanding who gets to experience it.
