How to Get Rid of Instagram Flaws Once and For All

I audited the Philadelphia Eagles on Instagram this past winter for one full week. I am not a sports connoisseur or even a “true fan” of them - being that I am from New Jersey, but I do know a bit about social media. Hence the blog “Martina’s Social.” The Eagles have over two million followers and are on top of staying up to date to current events and news. However, they could be doing a better job with their content and activity on Instagram. 

Here are two ways the Eagles are struggling (and footsteps companies should not follow in):

1. Failing to Engage with Fans

The number one aspect the Eagles do not execute well is engaging with their fans. According to Buffer's article named, "How to Engage With Your Social Media Followers Quickly and Authentically," there are many easy ways to do that. Throughout my audit week, the Eagles did not respond to or like any comments on Instagram. The fans have even made several jokes in the comments that the Eagles will not see or respond to any comments. This is a pattern with many companies, however, the Eagles should be responding and interacting with fans being that they don't get many comments. They typically get around 122-320 comments on each post. One of the ways to engage with followers according to the article is by the use of questions. They do ask questions - see these few examples. 

What’s the point of making your caption a question, when fans will comment but the Eagles account will not comment back or engage with them?

2. Failing to Maximize Captions

Another way the Eagles are not achieving is through their captions. According to Social Insider’s article named “12 Steps To Boost Instagram Engagement In 2020,” a way to boost Instagram engagement is by writing longer captions. I think the Eagles can do a better job with this because many times they only write a hashtag as a caption. Sometimes they even post a picture/video and don’t explain what is going on or who is in the picture/video. For example, on January 13, 2020 they posted a picture of Carson Wentz and the caption was #FlyEaglesFly. Another example is on January 22, 2020 they posted a picture of a player wishing them a happy birthday but did not say the name or tag their profile. 

For the January 22, 2020 post, I had to go through several comments to figure out what this players name was. People like me who just follow their Instagram account or are not a die hard fan, they would be confused and have to figure out who this player was. If the Eagles write longer captions, or in this example, tag players, their followers would have a better understanding of what’s going on without having to do further research.

According to The Bradley Business Group’s article, “How NFL Teams Use Social Media to Engage Fans,” fans don’t want to be left out. It is important for teams to use social media platforms, like Instagram, to engage and interact with fans as well as a way to establish their brand and increase their reach. 

Being that the Eagles are an NFL team and not a company (like Nike or Apple), it is harder to create content because your audience is so broad. It is also harder to post because the Eagles #1 priority is not to market products or get more followers to sell products. However, their #1 priority should be to engage with fans because essentially, that's the only thing they can achieve from Instagram. 

What Are Your Thoughts?

Do you know of any other NFL teams that engage with their followers? Please share, like, or leave a comment below!

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