I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The metrics leapt off the Creator Studio page.

  • 95,811 impressions
  • 92,291 accounts reached
    • 90% weren’t following
  • 6,860 interactions
    • 6831 likes, 29 comments

That’s just one post, not one week of posts.

It was published on Wednesday, May 18, 2021, at 1 pm CT, so it’s been live less than 72 hours as of this post and putting up those kind of numbers.

I had a strong feeling it would do well – but I had the same feeling about a bunch of others during this yearlong initiative that we’ve been doing at the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) to celebrate the near 100-year history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships (The first meet was held way back in 1921). I guess you can tell what happened with those others since I’m not posting about them.

One of the most important things I’ve learned as a social media manager over the years is to trust your gut (There are three other words that resonate with a social media manager quite well, too, but they aren’t fit for print). It’s virtually impossible for every single post you make to pop – unless you have a massive, engaged following – but it’s important to harness that immediate burst of creative energy and see where it takes you.

As it pertains to this most recent post about Kendall Ellis’ heroic anchor to send USC to victory in the Women’s 4×400 Relay at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, I knew I wanted to show, not tell. I already told the story quite well on the USTFCCCA website, so it was time to show. A picture with a caption wouldn’t do, so I found the race on YouTube, clipped the anchor leg and let the video work its magic.