Owen Mawer | Social Media Manager at LaLiga

Hi Owen, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. Firstly, can you tell our readers about yourself, what you currently do and how did you end up where you are right now?

Currently I am an English Social Media Manager at LaLiga. My role is to manage the LaLigaEN Twitter account as well as assist with the publication of English content across other social media platforms and our website. On top of this, I assist with projects that run across the globe, specifically giving support from a digital point of view.

I started this role in February 2022 and arrived here in a rather unconventional way. I began learning Spanish at secondary school aged 13 and soon after found myself following Spanish football and Spanish-speaking footballers playing in England. I continued studying the language in A-level and was given the confidence of my teachers to go and study it at University. After completing my studies at school, I studied International Business and Spanish at the University of Leeds. My time here included creating contacts with the Spanish community in the city and enjoying a year out in Barcelona in 2020. At that time I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my career.

Then, during the COVID pandemic, I found myself interested in writing and so created my own blog called Remontada. Inspired by the content of Mundial Mag and other publications in the football/culture sphere, I wrote about links between Spanish/Latin American culture and football. My work was recognised by Premier League footballers and that was the first time I realised that perhaps it was something I could base my career on. From here I worked with LaLiga Lowdown, blogging and working on their social media. Similarly, I worked with The Guardian backed The Set Pieces and then worked as a Staff Writer at Spanish newspaper Marca, for their English site. After gaining this experience, a full-time opportunity at LaLiga’s HQ presented itself and I applied, the rest is history.

As Social Media Manager at La Liga, can you explain what that entails and your general day-to-day responsibilities?

Generally speaking, I communicate with my fellow English-speaking colleagues to establish a daily social media plan, check emails; especially checking updates on things like campaigns and sponsored posts. After everything is in order the task is to schedule and react with live tweets going out. Interacting with LaLiga clubs and players is a key part of what the English social media team do.

On a matchday, my role changes into something more dynamic. When fixtures are on we do live coverage, which looks like: sharing line-ups, posting images from the match, clipping highlights of the match and sharing those, creating graphics and editing them for FT tweets.

Can you point out a project that was a success or a particular achievement that you’re proud of during your time with La Liga so far?

Most recently we had to think of unique coverage that we could create whilst LaLiga had stopped for the World Cup. Along with colleagues, we decided to make the most of the second divison (LaLiga SmartBank) carrying on during the 6 weeks-or-so we had without domestic LaLiga Santander matches. Here, I was able to manage the international aspect of this project: arranging interviews in English as well as other languages with players, aiding in video editing and making a social media plan to ensure that the videos had the best chance at being engaged with. I am proud of this project as we were able to take the challenge of not having LaLiga Santander matches on and turn it into a brilliant way of shining a light on our second division on the international stage.

What are the most enjoyable and challenging parts of your role?

Being able to interview the likes of current and former players is something I had always dreamed of. Interviewing a boyhood hero of mine like David Villa is something that will always bring great joy, both in the moment and reflecting on after. In addition, being able to share moments from matchdays (videos, images, stats) and having our fans interact with that is a huge perk of the role.

As for challenges, football is a constantly changing and dynamic industry. Therefore, from a digital perspective we must be flexible, aware of current affairs and communicating relevant changes to our fanbase. This is the nature of the beautiful game and the world in which we live in, but it would be naive to say that it is not a challenge: albeit a fun one.

What are your thoughts on the current state of the social media market for freelancers and what key tips can you share on finding new clients?

Right now, I feel that it is a great time to get into social media as a freelancer. As so many companies and clubs grow, the importance placed on digital is greater than ever. This presents plenty of opportunities to go for and carve out your own experiences. As per the latter, I would suggest making yourself attractive to the club, company or whatever it is you’re going for. Have at hand a portfolio and create connections with clients, giving you the chance to showcase your expertise. Communication is the most important part of freelancing, you have to constantly communicate and build the network.

What general advice would you give to individuals looking to pursue a social media role in sport, in particular football?

As someone who spent a number of months freelancing for social media accounts, I feel that the current state demands someone to be creative in every aspect. The most important thing when starting out is to have experience, something which is hard to come by. That is what initially led me to make my own blog and social media account with it. I based the tone and language of both these outlets on the things I enjoyed reading, that way it was good fun for me to have my own zone to create in. From there you can really let your talents and personality speak. Football social media is everywhere and ever-growing. Now is the time to find your voice and go from there, don’t chase followers, always learn and, most importantly, keep it fun because that is what we’re all here for.

Can you share 3 useful social media tools or resources which you find helpful to fulfil your role?

Blinkfire: creating and editing reports for market-specific analysis.

Socialblade: checking on daily follower changes.

Twitter analytics: best way for checking top tweets and engagement in a quick way.

Working in sport, can be hectic, so what do you do to switch off outside of work?

It can be! As is clear, I have a passion for Spanish culture and language so focusing on that is something that brings me a feeling of fulfilment. Aside from that I’m a big fan of films and music, so a cinema trip or gig visit is often around the corner.

More recently I have tried to try something new, so I started going to boxing classes to break up playing short-sided football matches with mates. A proud Haligonian, I enjoy visiting Halifax and hanging out with family and friends when I can.

And finally Owen, where can people find you on social media to connect?

I can be found on,

Twitter: @OwenJamesMawer.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-mawer/.

Instagram: @remontada_blog.

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