I’ve been testing out a new form of content that lives on Instagram Stories. It started accidentally after the Michigan SBIC x Regular Hoops Tournament and has continued to draw high levels of engagement.
The content series is called “Regular Hoops Recap.”
In this post, I (1) describe what Regular Hoops Recap is and (2) share some of my Instagram Stories data. Topics include…
⏳ Saving people time
📈 Viewership and retention data
🏀 MBA vs. Law School Basketball Game
What is Regular Hoops Recap?
Regular Hoops Recap tells the story of a basketball event by providing chronological video highlights with complementary text.
These recaps are best for unique basketball events that people cannot make 2+ hours to attend—but would be interested in watching a 1-minute summary.
For example, on April 11th I went to a basketball game at the Crisler Center that featured MBA and Law School students.
Unless you’re friends with one of the students, you probably would not attend this game. So I decided the go and publish a recap that tells the game’s story because it…
Had crazy moments
Taps into inner-school rivalry
Is relatable (just regular people playing basketball)
Here’s how I presented the matchup on the Regular Hoops Instagram Story…
Did that catch your attention? Do you want to see who won?
The next 12 videos on that Instagram Story reveal what happened. Throughout those videos, I also include engaging features (like polls) to get my followers’ opinions.
This incentivizes people to continue watching because the community can connect over shared & different beliefs.
On top of that, I tag every person involved in each clip. This leads to more story views because the tagged individuals repost it to show friends their highlights.
The best part of doing this is that people never expect to be tagged on a post showcasing their basketball abilities. It’s a nice surprise for those who love playing basketball.
And selfishly, it’s been a great way to network and meet people in a more authentic and genuine way.
Another valuable aspect of Regular Hoops Recap is that it is a new form of evergreen content that tells stories connecting basketball fans to basketball culture.
Said another way: Instagram Stories expire after 24 hours, but the Regular Hoops Recaps are relevant anytime and saved as Highlights. You can watch these recaps one year later, and they will still be interesting.
Head over to the Regular Hoops Instagram to watch some (< 1 minute). I’ve circled where you can find the recaps below.
Instagram Stories Data
Before starting Regular Hoops Recap, my Instagram Stories mostly consisted of reposted videos that Regular Hoops was tagged in.
Those one-off videos were great for building relationships with people who shared my videos, but they did not engage a mass audience. And I could tell based on the low viewership of my Instagram Stories.
I remember they would typically be in the 200-300 view range and the retention of viewers, if I posted multiple stories, would also be low. If my first Instagram Story had 300 views, my fifth one would have ~150 views (50% retention).
But in my most recent Regular Hoops Recap, my first story reached 635 views and the last story (which was video #14) had 475 views. That’s a 75% retention rate.
So not only did I increase the number of stories posted, but I also increased my viewership & retention numbers.
Closing Thoughts
This is one of my favorite forms of content to post now because it (1) takes less time to produce, (2) can be repurposed into several daily clips, and (3) features a higher number of Regular Hoopers.
If there’s a basketball event you think I should be at, please let me know. Skill-level does not matter. I’m just looking to tell stories that make basketball culture a more inclusive space.
PS—What do you think of my social media strategy? If you enjoyed this, then you’ll also like reading my experience posting on social media everyday for 100 days.