VHL Instagram for Dummies

[Zetterberg 863]

Hello again, so recently there’s been a tiny bit of drama around the recruitment teams methods of recruiting. Today I’d like to focus on what I find the most important the VHL Instagram. In my last post I got criticism for not providing solutions, So I’ve made a complete guide on how to actually use Instagram to promote the leagues brand and I have created my own Instagram account with examples.

Also I’d like to change my opinion on one of my points in regards to using NHL player’s likeness. I think it’s fine

because of how small the VHL is HOWEVER, It’s still legally questionable so it should be a caution we are aware of. 
 

(Disclaimer: I’m away on a trip so I didn’t have access to a computer meaning I couldn’t make examples of everything, but it should put across the main point.) 

 

1. Aspect Ratio:

When creating a post Instagram will automatically scale it to fit on your screen and will accommodate any photo. That is not the same if you decide to post a reel which has a fixed aspect ratio which is why we see the big black spaces filling up most of the current VHL insta’s posts. Photos should not be posted as reels keep them as photos and that solves the problem, you don’t need smoke effects and music over every still image. You should in general post using the classic 1080x1080px however it’s not necessary. 

 

2. Reels:

As mentioned before every single post made by the current insta is a reel. I’m assuming this is done to take advantage of the high traffic of users scrolling through reels to get more attention on posts. First I want to say reels is an important tool to be used when advertising on Instagram, however not when your post aren’t ads or more importantly not videos. The only still images that get attention on reels are screenshots of twitter, that’s it. Anything else put it in a regular post. So how does the VHL use reels then? Video ads, watch Kazxi’s ads on the game slapshot rebound, they are good examples of what I’d envision a vhl ads should feel like, obviously the content will be very different and focused on VHL activities. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs6SMFRNodi/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

that’s my idea at least but just as long video form content aimed at bringing in members is getting posted I’m happy.
 

 

3. Types of Posts:

Now one thing that I don’t think I made very clear on my last post is not every post has to be advertising. It’s ok to have a mix as long advertisement is present. In my mind there’s 3 types of posts, Ads, league retention posts, and a mixture of the two. Ads as mentioned in the reels section should be focused entirely on bringing in members.

 

League retention is more making content specifically for your followers, posting community graphics would fall under that as well as media spots, VSN posts, and basically anything you’d need a prior knowledge of the VHL to understand. These kind of posts are ok if they aren’t the entire Instagram. They should not be spread out into multiple posts. Add all the images into one singular post (in my example they are all on one image but using multiple slides in one post is also an option depending on how you want to present it) and throw in a title image to give the post some context. 
 

The mixture would be standings, stats,  trade announcements, and championship posts. It’s enough context for someone to understand what they are looking at even if they haven’t interacted with the VHL before. 

 

4. Branding: 

Branding is important, all posts should reflect the VHL brand identity which means careful attention and care should be used when designing a post. This includes the image pixel quality, and the quality of the image itself. That does mean jersey swaps and how well an image is cut. Using beginner artist works I think is fine in the occasional community post but shouldn’t be involved in larger scale league branding. Every single time you post you should keep this in mind, when people click on the vhl profile we want a good impression.

 

5. Example:

This example shows both the league retention and mixed posts as mentioned in Types of Posts, I didn’t include an ad because (as I mentioned before)  I’m on trip, and because of the amount of effort to do it should be the job of someone getting 6 tpe a week in job pay. But anyways here’s the insta: https://instagram.com/vhlsim_?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

 

I did see the current account posted a trade which is a good step in the right direction, despite the arguments I’m glad you guys listened and have shown you’re open to improvement. Hopefully this conversation helps get the recruitment going in the right direction. 
 

 

@Moon @Subject056 @Triller

[samx 1,173]

Genuine question who is gonna care about trades and standings if they aren't in the league? What random instagram person is gonna care if Bob was traded for Joe in a fake hockey league. 

 

I don't see that being an any more effective way to do things.

 

As well as instagram isn't really meant to be a retention thing. Like idk about you but I'm surely not going to the vhl instagram to decide if I want to stick around or not lol. Recruitment job isn't really retention. It's to get people interested in the league it then becomes gms and the community's job to make it a place they want to stay.

[Zetterberg 863]

2 minutes ago, samx said:

Genuine question who is gonna care about trades and standings if they aren't in the league? What random instagram person is gonna care if Bob was traded for Joe in a fake hockey league. 

 

I don't see that being an any more effective way to do things.

 

As well as instagram isn't really meant to be a retention thing. Like idk about you but I'm surely not going to the vhl instagram to decide if I want to stick around or not lol. Recruitment job isn't really retention. It's to get people interested in the league it then becomes gms and the community's job to make it a place they want to stay.

It’s not meant to be the driver that’s the ads, but yeah if you see standings pop up you have the context it’s possible you’ll want to know more. And as for the retention it’s not meant to be the be all end all but ask yourself who’s following the vhl insta. Do you honestly think no one in the league will be interested in seeing those types of posts? See now I’m confused because the priority of the insta before the first post made was exclusively for “retention” yet you still attacked me then and defended them. so idk if you have an actual opinion or if you just have a vendetta against me…

[a_Ferk 766]

13 minutes ago, samx said:

Genuine question who is gonna care about trades and standings if they aren't in the league? What random instagram person is gonna care if Bob was traded for Joe in a fake hockey league. 

 

I don't see that being an any more effective way to do things.

 

As well as instagram isn't really meant to be a retention thing. Like idk about you but I'm surely not going to the vhl instagram to decide if I want to stick around or not lol. Recruitment job isn't really retention. It's to get people interested in the league it then becomes gms and the community's job to make it a place they want to stay.

VHL is full of nerds and the target audience will probably be interested by that

[samx 1,173]

1 minute ago, a_Ferk said:

VHL is full of nerds and the target audience will probably be interested by that

I mean I guess I wouldn't be interested in random stats from a fake hockey league out of context but maybe I'm not nerd enough lol. 

[Nykonax 1,564]

12 minutes ago, samx said:

I mean I guess I wouldn't be interested in random stats from a fake hockey league out of context but maybe I'm not nerd enough lol. 

I mean i imagine there's still some value in building a following of current users, because maybe in like 3 years you've quit the league and forgotten about it, then you get a random vhl post in your ig feed since you never unfollowed, and you're like "damn VHL was fun I should check out how it's doing now". Though I do agree random standing posts are not going to be driving new traffic to the site

[samx 1,173]

25 minutes ago, Zetterberg said:

It’s not meant to be the driver that’s the ads, but yeah if you see standings pop up you have the context it’s possible you’ll want to know more. And as for the retention it’s not meant to be the be all end all but ask yourself who’s following the vhl insta. Do you honestly think no one in the league will be interested in seeing those types of posts? See now I’m confused because the priority of the insta before the first post made was exclusively for “retention” yet you still attacked me then and defended them. so idk if you have an actual opinion or if you just have a vendetta against me…

 

I just don't see this being any more effective than what they are doing. Its not that they shouldnt do it but I dont see it being solution to the problem at hand.

 

I also see alot of the same instagram users in my explore page constantly even if i dont follow them. So yes who is following them, its good and well to cater towards but people who are following the instagram are also probably the people who are here and more likely to stick around in the first place so retention should be less of a focus. 

 

But I also think instagram is a silly way to advertise in general. It's too maybe this maybe reach the right audience which is very much not in anyone's control. 

Edited November 16, 2023 by samx

[samx 1,173]

2 minutes ago, Nykonax said:

I mean i imagine there's still some value in building a following of current users, because maybe in like 3 years you've quit the league and forgotten about it, then you get a random vhl post in your ig feed since you never unfollowed, and you're like "damn VHL was fun I should check out how it's doing now". Though I do agree random standing posts are not going to be driving new traffic to the site

 

See if I quit the league and I follow the instagram more than likely after the first post I see from them I will unfollow them. But that's a me thing and maybe a majority wouldn't do the same. 

[Grape 677]

We should turn the VHL insta into a shitposting meme page where the punchline for every meme is just the VHL poorly shoehorned in. It works surprisingly well for idiots like myself.

[Spartan 4,402]

8 minutes ago, samx said:

 

See if I quit the league and I follow the instagram more than likely after the first post I see from them I will unfollow them. But that's a me thing and maybe a majority wouldn't do the same. 

I'm not going to lie, you don't strike me as someone who's in this league for the hockey/sims aspect. So I don't really think that your preferences about what you'd want to see on Instagram is our target demographic. Some people are here for the community and the people and that's fine. But you have to recognize that with your known indifference for your player(s) in the past, you're really not the type of person we'd want to make ads for.

[Triller 1,659]

These are all fine suggestions and for the most part is how a brand run instagram account operates.  Usually that brand has to build a following and takes more than a few months to do so on the platform.  It is a good thing it isn't being started from scratch.  Obviously no one here is paid to do this and it will have to scale accordingly to adapt to the ever changing lives of those who are contributing their time.  I am glad you agree though that posting a standings or stats image requires a ton of extra context or no one would care.  Also a full screen image/ad/reel should be 1920x1080 vertically.  You can make it square if you'd like but that only benefits the thumbnail and we'd rather people click to find context I would imagine.  I would also recommend still images with no filter effect, animation or even music to not be posted to a reel.  Reels need to be flashy and if you are going to just post a still than there is no reason to use a reel.

 

I agree we can hold all members who have jobs to a certain standard but when jobs start to branch into needing professionally trained skillsets that not all members posses and no jobs here actually require, a step back is needed to remind everyone that this is meant to be a fun hobby.  Turning it into a requirement to meet a certain standard that was never defined makes it a job that most people would quit.

 

You tagged 3 people in this post.  Created a guide for "Dummies". Is it a correct assumption that you believe all this, specific to instagram content, is to be created by those "Dummies" tagged or do you have creators in mind that want to spend most of their time in the VHL creating ads and content for instagram?

 

@Zetterberg

Edited November 16, 2023 by Triller

[Steve 1,920]

1 hour ago, Zetterberg said:

Also I’d like to change my opinion on one of my points in regards to using NHL player’s likeness. I think it’s fine

because of how small the VHL is HOWEVER, It’s still legally questionable so it should be a caution we are aware of. 

It should be fine if you are not making a profit off of someone's picture. 

[samx 1,173]

Just now, Spartan said:

I'm not going to lie, you don't strike me as someone who's in this league for the hockey/sims aspect. So I don't really think that your preferences about what you'd want to see on Instagram is our target demographic. Some people are here for the community and the people and that's fine. But you have to recognize that with your known indifference for your player(s) in the past, you're really not the type of person we'd want to make ads for.

I mean when I joined the league it wasn't for the community. It was for the actual game and league. So sure yeah I've stuck around alot because of the community but I do enjoy the stats side of things and I enjoy the actual process of the league. There's levels to enjoying the stats side of the league but you're correct in the fact that idgaf if my player gets x,y and z awards. I do care far more however about team stats as I find that way more interesting to look at rather than an individual player.

 

I'm not saying cater to what would get people like me interested. But I am pointing out a perspective of someone who is on instagram and what would interest me. That's gonna vary person to person but for as many stats people as we have in the league we also have a whole lot who are not stats people and a whole lot that fall somewhere along the spectrum. 

 

[Nykonax 1,564]

27 minutes ago, samx said:

 

See if I quit the league and I follow the instagram more than likely after the first post I see from them I will unfollow them. But that's a me thing and maybe a majority wouldn't do the same. 

I mean true, but then your at least making the active decision to not rejoin, when someone can totally make the opposite decision.

[Zetterberg 863]

12 minutes ago, Triller said:

I agree we can hold all members who have jobs to a certain standard but when jobs start to branch into needing professionally trained skillsets that not all members posses and no jobs here actually require, a step back is needed to remind everyone that this is meant to be a fun hobby.  Turning it into a requirement to meet a certain standard that was never defined makes it a job that most people would quit.

 

You tagged 3 people in this post.  Created a guide for "Dummies". Is it a correct assumption that you believe all this, specific to instagram content, is to be created by those "Dummies" tagged or do you have creators in mind that want to spend most of their time in the VHL creating ads and content for instagram?

Did you look at the video I linked as an example for an ad? Like tbh it’s not that much work at all you just create templates for your regular posts and make a short reel, something that literally millions of people do regularly as a hobby. Also recruitment has a massive team it shouldn’t be 1 person exclusively doing the insta. Stop acting like this is a full time draining job that you need a million qualifications for. It’s also not a daily task like genuinely it’s post a couple times a week by using templates and then make a 30sec ad once or twice a month 

[N0HBDY 1,118]

Keep my recruitment team out ya mouth!

[Baozi 1,658]

As a former social media brand manager I agree with brand building. Just probably hurts your message to call people dummies when trying to convey your message though.

[STZ 5,360]

As a former child I agree with having my feelings hurt by the term dummy.

[rory 1,916]

As a dummy those yellow books go hard

[Zetterberg 863]

14 minutes ago, Baozi said:

Just probably hurts your message to call people dummies when trying to convey your message though.

Yeah was going for the dummies book line thing but I can see how given the past conversations that wasn’t taken the proper way

[Baozi 1,658]

6 minutes ago, Zetterberg said:

Yeah was going for the dummies book line thing but I can see how given the past conversations that wasn’t taken the proper way

 Yeahhhh 

[Moon 591]

@Zetterbergu may wanna use this for reference next time you are running an instagram....

[Berocka 2,263]

4 hours ago, Zetterberg said:

Yeah was going for the dummies book line thing but I can see how given the past conversations that wasn’t taken the proper way

It was pretty obvious in my head you were going with the book thing

[Motzaburger 1,590]

[a_Ferk 766]

1 minute ago, Motzaburger said:

True