Building your match-day pack
4 min read
A club that communicates well doesn't publish one visual per match, but a series, from a few days before to the day after. It's the biggest workload, and the best place to save time: every piece shares the same data.
The typical weekend series
Six pieces cover the essentials. When starting out, better to hold three consistently than six every other week.
In chronological order:
- D-2: the match announcement: against whom, when, where.
- D-1: the line-up: the starting eleven.
- Match day: kick-off: the game is under way.
- During: goals or key moments, published live.
- After: the result: score and scorers.
- D+1: player of the match, or the weekend round-up.
Three visuals held every week beat six every other week. Regularity builds an audience; irregularity scatters it.
One set of data for the whole series
The six pieces rest on the same foundation: two teams, a date, a venue, a squad. Entering all that six times creates wasted time and inconsistencies. You enter the match once, the series is generated from there.
Visual consistency beats variety
A recognisable series is read before it's even read. Consistency rests on very little: same typeface, same logo position, same strip. Changing style every month loses that benefit.
Live posting is its own constraint
Live posting is done on a phone, in the noise, with a shaky connection: anything requiring precision is out. A goal has to go out in three gestures (scorer, minute, score), so the template is prepared the day before.
More teams without more work
Four teams means up to twenty-four visuals a weekend. The way out: a full series for one or two teams, a grouped round-up for the youth sides, and everything that can be prepared midweek is.
Who does what, when you're not alone
With several people, the problem is no longer time but coordination. The stable split: one person prepares midweek, another publishes at the ground, on the same templates, in a shared workspace.
Frequently asked questions
- Which visuals should you start with?
- The announcement and the result. Those two carry the most sought-after information. The line-up comes third, because it requires keeping a squad up to date.
- How long does a full pack take to produce?
- By hand, starting from an existing template, allow one to two hours for six visuals. With templates plugged into a database, production drops to around ten minutes, live posting aside.
- Should all six visuals go on every network?
- No. Instagram carries the full series well thanks to stories. Facebook, where amateur clubs often have a wider but less reactive audience, is fine with just the announcement and the result.
Enter the fixture once, the visuals follow
Announcements, line-ups, results and player focus, generated from your data.
Try it freeRead next
- The match announcement, without the clutterThree pieces of information are enough. Most clubs put eleven, and nobody remembers the kick-off time.
- The result visual, in victory and defeatThe score is the one thing everyone is looking for. The rest is there to tell the story, or to take it on the chin.
- Making a team line-up that's readable on InstagramThe most anticipated post of the week, and the most often botched. Eleven names on a six-inch screen takes preparation.