Recapping 2023 on sports social media, we took a look back at the major North American sports and motorsports teams to see which social media posts performed best last year.
Evaluating the top pieces of content for these leagues gives a snapshot of the kind of content that resonates with fans the most. Interestingly, none of the top posts were about winning a championship, and only one was about a major player signing or trade. The majority were viral, one-off pieces of content that resonated with fans for their comedic effect, storytelling or emotional impact.
north American Men's Sports Leagues
In MLS, the Messi moment was of course the biggest story of the season, and Inter Miami CF’s official post welcoming the global soccer star was one of the biggest posts in all of sports. The Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Dodgers went viral on Instagram Reels to earn the top post in the NFL and MLB, respectively. For the star-studded NBA, the Golden State Warriors post with arguably the league’s two biggest superstars resonated with all basketball fans. Similar to the Eagles, in the NHL the Detroit Red Wings had a piece of fan-focused content go viral.
North American Women's Sports Leagues
The New York Liberty had one of the biggest posts across all North American sports this year, men’s or women’s, with Sabrina Ionescu’s stunning 3-point performance at the WNBA All-Star Game. The NWSL’s KC Current teamed up with the Kansas City Chiefs for a funny post that the all of the city’s sports fans could appreciate.
motorsports Organizations
Joe Gibbs Racing tapped into the “satisfying content” market to earn nearly 100 MILLION views on Instagram Reels, even after the NASCAR season ended. For the other organizations, podiums were the focus of their successful content. In F1, Aston Martin’s signing of Fernando Alonso paid off immediately on social media, giving them the #1 Formula 1 team post in the first grand prix of the 2023 schedule. INDYCAR’s Arrow McLaren also tapped into F1’s popularity, celebrating McLaren’s INDY and F1 podiums in one weekend.
