Milan claim Chelsea made a ‘mistake’ by asking fans who they wanted to sign but insist ‘nobody is perfect’ after unveiling their plans to increase engagement.
Chelsea drew ridicule last week for publishing a story that linked them with Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli, before asking supporters on Twitter who they could sign in the summer, despite the club being hit with a transfer ban.
“Everyone makes mistakes, nobody is perfect,” Digital director Lamberto Siega told Milan Weekly Podcast.
“I was very lucky because when I joined Milan there was already a very strong social network team within Milan Media House with a lot of experience.
“It’s impossible to control all the posts. With the style of the club, the tone of voice, the guidelines of communication that are quite clear, and in addition to the knowledge and know-how of the people working there, we don’t need to check everything it would be crazy.
“It must reflect the club’s values and follow the social media rules. It has to be engaging for the fans or else you won’t be successful in this area. If you’re too serious it won’t create engagement and it won’t increase your followers.
“The new management is working on this to ensure it is in the right positioning so there might be some slight adjustments to the job they are doing in the future.
“We try to have elements of elegance, passion, a feeling of family and of working together in our posts that are part of the DNA of the team.”
“Overall in the social ranking including weibo we are ranked 11th which is not bad. Unfortunately if we look at the teams above us, all of them have been winning in recent years.
“Considering we have not been successful in these last 7-8 years (on the pitch) overall we are performing well. Of course our ambition is to be in the top ten.
“How do we get there? Content: [we need] the right content, engaging content, right presence in social media, right tone of voice.
“[Second is] sporting performance: it influences all the club’s activities from a turnover perspective, sponsors, ticketing, number of fans worldwide, number of digital fans. I am confident we will be successful in the future.
“Milan TV is not available abroad due to the current distribution model and the complexity with the TV rights.
“We are working on a project we hope to announce soon where Milan TV can be accessed on a website or an app.
“We are working on a project that, if we get the green light, will revamp the website before the end of the year.
“There will be a better experience going on the site, optimizing the mobile experience versus the desktop one.
“In terms of content – we are working on a membership area that Milan will embrace very soon. It’s a cross pillar project that needs the right people in place.
“With a new chief of revenue starting soon, this is a must. It will take a little bit of time so I don’t think it will start this year but definitely will next year.
“With this membership plan, you will have a specific page and area on the site for the fans to get special privileges, discounts, and stuff like that.
“[A Milan app] is tied to the website project, Milan will definitely have an app by the end of the year.
“While I can’t speak for the management for this, what I can say is they have a clear view on how to create value on the business and sporting side.
“They are taking the right path in these areas in regards to the projects I mentioned.”
The Rossoneri’s main Twitter currently serves Italian and English audiences, so are there plans for two separate accounts?
“We are definitely thinking about that, strategically to split the account and have one in Italian and the other one in English,” concluded Siega.