5 Inspiring Sports Social Media Campaign Examples You Can Learn From

Explore some of these social media campaign examples so you can stop guessing and start getting real results

Every successful social media campaign has a strategy. That strategy may be more or less developed. It could be detailed down to the minutiae, or it might be free form. What they have in common, however, is that they speak to a specific audience.

There’s a lot to learn about your social strategy from reading tips and researching hashtags, but sometimes you just need to look at some social media campaign examples to get inspiration. And for a sports team, these are some of the best models around.

Keep fans informed and watch your branding efforts come to life with Everwall. For folks at home, you can even embed the feed on your team’s website. Start building your social wall today!

5 Successful social media campaign examples (and why they work)

1. The University of Maryland in Baltimore County

The University of Maryland in Baltimore County (UMBC) is the ultimate underdog success story. (Never mind the fact that their mascot is the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.) Their social media feeds took off in March 2018 when their basketball team did the impossible. During the NCAA tournament, UMBC (ranked in 16th place) upset the number one ranked University of Virginia by 20 points.

Impressive, indeed. But it’s arguably UMBC’s social media team that won. Their cheeky replies to taunts on Twitter, their light-hearted answers to questions, and their continuing witty Tweets are legendary. 

In this Tweet, they mix up pop culture with a nod to their victory, referencing their 16th place ranking and the first-place ranking of UVA, Tweeting that Lil Nas X has had the number one record for 16 weeks. Add to that the quip about the fact that they are short on content since it is summer, and you have a winning combination, as evidenced by 1,400 “likes” and 85 retweets. Not bad for a small college that few people had heard of until recently.

2. The Carolina Panthers

Professional football faces an offseason, too, but that doesn’t seem to bother the Carolina Panthers. While this Tweet is no action shot or a dramatic team photo, it is beautiful, and it does include the Panthers’ stadium and logo.

“Make this your phone background ASAP!!” might not be the most catchy Tweet ever, but in this context, it works incredibly well. You have a fantastic sunset, a perfectly centered skyline, and, of course, the Panthers’ branding. It’s also clear that the team knows its fans. This Tweet garnered almost 4,000 likes. Better still, there are close to 200 comments, many of them screenshots from fans of their new phone background!

3. Vegas Golden Knights

Over in the world of professional hockey, a relatively new team is on the ice, and on top of the social media world. The Las Vegas Golden Knights may not be the first team you think of when you talk about the National Hockey League, but they know their city, and its penchant for fun.

Pictures of star players on the ice are pretty standard for hockey teams, but the Knights know how to play with that. Posting a photo of one of their players as a teen on the ice, along with commentary about his “great hair” really brings personality and relatability to the team.

4. University of Oregon

At the University of Oregon, the women’s track and field team is world-class. The university’s social media team commemorated a big victory with a stellar video. The team won the National Program of the Year for the 10th time in 11 years.

The video production is full of contemporary culture with upbeat music over clips of winning races, long jumps, javelin throws, and cheering crowds. The bright, crisp piece has nearly 13,000 views and dozens of retweets. 

5. Arkansas Razorbacks

In Arkansas, the Razorbacks are spending the offseason building hype for the school’s teams with close-ups of turf, cleats, and the basketball court. Throughout their Instagram feed, however, is a colorful array of images. Along with the close-ups, there are plenty of aerial shots, vivid action shots, and bustling crowd photos. 

In short, their Instagram feed is beautiful. There are even a few moody images like this one of the stadium against the backdrop of storm clouds and lightning.

The real key to all of these social media campaign examples is knowing your audience. Look through any of these accounts, and you’ll see that there is a rapport between fans and the teams.