Do basketball highlights on LinkedIn make sense?
Keep reading for details on the latest Regular Hoops content series. And stick around for my social media landscape analysis & inclusion goal.
Your Connections Hoop (YCH)
We celebrate friends, colleagues, and ourselves through a professional filter on LinkedIn… But there is more to our identity than work.
This is why Regular Hoops launched Your Connections Hoop—a LinkedIn-exclusive content series about regular people and their passion for basketball.
YCH posts feature (1) a basketball mixtape and (2) a wholesome caption.
Basketball Mixtape: 30-second video of the spotlighted individual(s) from a pickup basketball run
Wholesome Caption: Overview of the spotlighted individual(s) and their responses to questions like…
🏀 Why did you start playing basketball?
❤️🔥 Favorite basketball moment?
💯 Story behind your go-to jersey number?
These elements add character to your LinkedIn feed, as you’re introduced to 1-2 individuals on a personal level.
Check out my first YCH post here!
TL;DR—My goal is to connect LinkedIn users with relatable individuals and bridge relationships rooted in a shared passion for basketball. This makes cold outreach more personal, leading to authentic connections.
Social Media Landscape Analysis
In addition to the post’s features, I analyzed social media usage, following, and daily time spent before releasing YCH.
Usage & Following Trends:
This chart reveals how I view social media platforms today:
LinkedIn users only connect with people they know on a professional level
TikTok users follow random accounts related to personal interests—the polar opposite of LinkedIn
Instagram and Twitter users sit in the middle of the LinkedIn and TikTok “extremes”
Upper left corner users have active, public accounts
Bottom right corner users have smaller, private accounts
Average Daily Time Spent:
Despite LinkedIn’s exclusivity in the “Professional Usage/Follow People You Know” category, US Adults spend over 5x more daily minutes on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
This happens because LinkedIn feeds are mostly updates about a distant connection’s new job. Or said another way: the LinkedIn dopamine release is weaker than the Instagram, Twitter & TikTok dopamine surge.
TL;DR—My goal is to produce entertaining, yet professional LinkedIn content. This sparks genuine engagement and strengthens the LinkedIn experience for Regular Hoops followers.
Inclusion Goal
I want people to feel represented by YCH. This means highlighting different gender, racial, and ethnic identities & spotlighting different roles, industries, and career stages.
So far, I’ve only highlighted college students. But as I publish more and graduate from college, YCH will reflect inclusivity.
By the end of 2023, I hope to see a diverse community of “Regular Hoopers” featured on YCH. But it’s one thing to speak about it… I’ve now got to be about it.
PS—Shoot me a message if this resonated, or read how Regular Hoops went from 0 to 2,500 Followers in 10 Days.