By the Numbers: A Look at the MLB Regular Season
October is here. And, for baseball enthusiasts it’s the most exciting time of the year, as the Playoffs and World Series are played over the next month amounting to epic comebacks, home runs, extra innings, and some cold, cold weather.
At Blinkfire, you guessed it, we’ve been analyzing the MLB‘s and teams’ social posts, engagement, and sponsorship exposure throughout the season. While the Boston Red Sox may have held the best record in the MLB, the story on social is a whole lot different.
MLB Teams’ Social Media Engagement
The LA Dodgers led the MLB in total engagement earned on social media with more than 63 million engagements from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. From the chart below you can see that Instagram is the most engaging social channel for all teams. The New York Yankees are an interesting team to point out in that Instagram’s engagement made up less than 50% of the total engagement from the season — while the nine other teams’ majority of engagement came from Instagram. One reason could be that during the regular season the Yankees only posted 178 times on Instagram compared to the Dodgers’ 1,932 and the Boston Red Sox’s 1,192. If the Yankees had published one to two times more, their Instagram engagement numbers could have doubled or tripled. We’ll definitely be watching the playoffs to see how the Yankees posting strategy may change on Instagram.
Instagram Engagement Rate
One team to point out is the Milwaukee Brewers. From their wildcard victory against the Cubs to the extraordinary play of left fielder Christian Yelich, the Brewers have been a hot team on the field and on social.
While the Brewers were not a top team in terms of total engagement earned, their engagement rate on Instagram is worth noting. Of the 10 teams with the highest Instagram engagement rate, the Brewers came in second. What was most telling is that they have the fewest number of Instagram followers of the nine other MLB teams. Winning, engaging fans, and signing star players helps with engagement rate and follower growth. And, over the course of the season, the Brewers grew their Instagram channel by 17.1%. The teams with the next highest follower growth rate were the Philadelphia Phillies at 14.83% and the Atlanta Braves at 14.32%.
We’ll be keeping a close eye for out the Brewers social game to see if their engagement rate and follower growth continues to increase, especially if they keep winning. Stay tuned.
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