In the past two years, the fastest-rising sports brand on social media around the world has undoubtedly been Leeds United.

How fast?

In just two years, or strictly speaking, less than two years, Leeds United reached over 40 million followers on Facebook, 30 million on Twitter, over 3 million on Instagram, and more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube.

This simple series of numbers might not say much until you compare them with other teams.

Besides Facebook and YouTube, Leeds United ranks first in the sports world on two emerging social platforms, Twitter and Instagram, even surpassing American sports clubs.

Even on Facebook and YouTube, Leeds United ranks among the best in football, if not number one.

For example, on YouTube, Leeds United has twice as many subscribers as Barcelona and more than Real Madrid.

Many people say Leeds United is the fastest-rising sports influencer brand on the Internet.

Alongside the rise, the team has invested considerable money in this area.

For example, Leeds United's new media team rapidly expanded from a few people at the start to 20 now. The head of the department was hired from the United States by a headhunter with a high salary and is fully responsible for the new media operations.

Leeds United serves fans around the world in ten different languages on social networks.

For example, on Twitter, Leeds United's Arabic account has over one million followers.

By comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo, known as football's number one on social media, has just passed 20 million followers on Twitter.

Kaká has also been working hard on Twitter. He has 16.2 million followers, while NBA star LeBron James has only 9.3 million, and Neymar, who just joined Barcelona, has only 7.8 million.

Of course, Leeds United's fan base is still some distance away from American entertainment stars, such as Justin Bieber, who has 42.4 million fans.

Gao Shen is still the one with the most followers on Twitter, but his growth momentum is not as strong as before. He has just passed 50 million, slightly more than Justin Bieber, who ranks second.

However, there has always been a claim that Gao Shen has a close relationship with Twitter and is a shareholder of this American company, so Twitter has been quietly increasing his followers behind the scenes.

This claim is just a conspiracy theory.

Twitter is preparing to go public. Gao Shen already told Su Qing that once Twitter goes public, its stock price will experience an upward trend. It would be better to sell and cash out when the opportunity arises.

If he remembers correctly, Twitter's market value rose for a period after listing, then began to decline.

Based on Twitter's current valuation, the 5 million euros that Gao Shen invested are now worth at least 1.5 billion.

After five or six years, he made that much money, so it has still been a very good deal.

Gao Shen has also decided that after selling Twitter shares, the funds will be reinvested, including in companies like Generation Lithium Battery, BYD, which Buffett invested in, and Meituan, a food delivery and group-buying company.

It can be considered an early strategic layout.

Now, Gao Shen holds shares in companies such as Apple and Penguin and has made a lot of money.

There is also Bitcoin. Gao Shen has collected some over the years, but not much. When the price is right, he will sell slowly.

This was mainly a reminder from Su Qing.

If Gao Shen holds too many bitcoins, international speculators will not speculate on them at all. They might speculate on other virtual currencies, and then the bitcoins in Gao Shen's hands will not have much value.

If Gao Shen holds enough bitcoins, there is no need for him to speculate himself. Even if others follow suit, Gao Shen has so many on hand that if he sells, everyone will follow, and he will not be able to sell them.

Therefore, Gao Shen now chooses to make money quietly and watch from the shadows.

…

Leeds United's investment in its new media department is no secret in European football.

It was not until the collaboration between AXA and Leeds United that it drew some attention, though not much.

This is mainly because AXA Insurance is also in a wait-and-see mode, and the contract is only for three years.

This old insurance company wants to test the waters and see whether Leeds United can bring them fresh vitality in new media.

The most important part is the package plan for Internet promotion.

Leeds United's new media capabilities are clear to see. Any social post can get over a million views, which is astonishing. At the same time, Leeds United's new media operation is very restrained.

Many brands bombard fans on new media, such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich. They post many messages every day, sometimes even dozens.

Leeds United only posts one or two pieces of content a day at most, but each is guaranteed to be high quality.

For example, the new media department will arrange for players to participate in charity videos.

Currently, Leeds United's most popular video on YouTube is a carefully edited clip of the team visiting a community kindergarten to play a match against young kids, where the players are knocked around and even humiliated by nutmegs and tricks.

Many people love this video.

At the same time, pranks and interesting training moments within Leeds United, and even small, unintentional gestures by the players, are captured by the new media department, edited into various entertaining videos, and posted to spark fan interaction.

On match days, the approach is different.

Gao Shen told the new media department that most fans who follow Leeds United online cannot come to the stadium. Letting them feel the match atmosphere and club culture through social networks is the core of content production.

The new media department focuses on the match, from building momentum and warming up, to real-time updates, to post-match feedback. Whether winning or losing, they can find many topics to trigger interaction.

By the end of last season, dozens of official tweets around a single match often received tens of thousands of comments, 600,000 retweets, and more than two million likes, with very high-quality engagement.

Now, Leeds United has a very mature social media rhythm and has begun to grasp the preferences and tastes of online fans, which will bring huge advantages to the club's subsequent operations.

There are also dissenting voices.

For example, some British media previously argued that Leeds United's investment and output in new media were seriously disproportionate.

One main reason is that the growth rate of Leeds United's commercial revenue cannot keep up with the growth of their social networks, which means the investment in new media has not brought many tangible benefits.

Even AXA's 15 million euros per year sponsorship is seen more as an experiment, and since it lasts only three years, it might not be renewed.

Therefore, many media criticized Leeds United for being like sensational Internet celebrities rather than a football club.

Even within Leeds United, many questioned Gao Shen's decision.

But Gao Shen received strong support from Su Qing and Lucas and insisted on pushing this plan forward.

Just as he told Lucas, once you enter this track, you must stick to it with unwavering determination.

…

"AXA is willing to sponsor us 15 million euros a year. That is indeed a drop in the bucket for them, but it also shows that this traditional insurance company recognizes the value of new media and is experimenting," Gao Shen said to Lucas.

Leeds United may seem to be losing money to build awareness now, but it does not matter. They must persevere no matter what.

"Even if they do not cooperate with us, I believe they will still try new channels and methods. In the future, more and more traditional industries like AXA will pay attention to new media and the Internet. This is our advantage."

Over the next few years, it will be difficult for Leeds United to retain their star players. The appeal of the traditional commercial field lags far behind the traditional giants with many stars, so the focus must be on new media.

As long as they establish an advantage in new media, and once Leeds United stabilizes and accumulates to a certain level, they will have the confidence to retain star players. Combined with their advantage in new media, Leeds United will usher in a breakthrough.

This is the top-tier strategy that Gao Shen tailored for Leeds United.

"I know it is difficult for everyone right now, and it is hard to push many plans forward, but this is normal. After all, we are just a team in our second season after promotion to the Premier League. Having a major financial group like AXA believe in us is already great, isn't it?"

At this stage, big brands sponsoring Leeds United not only bring sponsorship, but also provide endorsement for the club's brand.

However, Leeds United spent more than half a year negotiating the AXA Insurance project, which was not easy and involved many concessions. The Internet promotion business plan alone was more than 30 pages.

Many of Real Madrid's brand promotions on the Internet are just a few lines of text. Gao Shen saw them firsthand. They are very simple.

Yet those few lines might cost an extra one or two million euros, or even more.

This is the advantage of a wealthy club, which Leeds United cannot emulate.

In the future, when Leeds United has that level of confidence, they will be able to reach it.

For now, it is not possible.

"Believe me, Fernando, this path is the right one, and it will be our only chance to overtake," Gao Shen said confidently.

If Leeds United wants to gain a foothold in European football, they must have sufficient income, in other words, money.

Where does the money come from?

Either, like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Monaco, you have a wealthy backer behind you.

Or, like Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Bayern, you have outstanding revenue generation.

Gao Shen told himself he is not a moneybag. Even if he sold all his shares, how long could he keep burning cash?

Therefore, he must do everything he can to help Leeds United generate revenue.

But professional football is a pyramid where the winner takes all, and the top teams almost monopolize the commercial resources.

If Leeds United wants to overtake, they must choose a new track.

There is no future in following the old path.

Lucas has complete faith in Gao Shen, and so does Borrell.

From their cooperation in recent years, they have always known that Gao Shen has never missed in terms of overall direction.

They believe it will be the same this time.

(To be continued.)

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