THE INFOGRAPH
More stats, more graphs, anyone could be forgiven we’re more of a data driven site then an actual surf site talking about surf products like we initially envisioned (there’s a bunch of board reviews coming shortly, and winter wetsuits too). But in the meantime, hit up this infograph about the surf sites you read every day.
Why did we do this?
I was wondering how the WSL stacks up against the other leagues it, for some reason, holds in such high regard as their grail/goal – NBA mainly, but also NFL, NHL, MLB and so on. I did a bunch stats digging a while back and the results showed pretty clearly that while the WSL is pretty awesome at what their doing on IG, they’re equally as trash at what they’re doing on IG. But then how do the athletes with a million plus followers stack up against each other and the leagues they’re involved in…
There’s more to dig into here – likes, posts, engagement rates of athletes, leagues and comparisons of them all – and I won’t blow all the sauce on the first paragraph but to give a more definite ‘why’ did I do this? It’s to make you think about your Instagram in a more detailed way if you’re a brand, it’s to make you hold the WSL more accountable for the stuff they post if you’re a surfing fan and it’s to just play with some numbers because I enjoy it and I talk about it on a podcast (Surf Center!)
And for those wondering, or wanting to ask, I didn’t include the Premier League or UEFA as those guys post numbers that are up there with the Kardashians and Gomez’ of the IG world and it would have just blown the numbers right out.
Where’d we get the info from?
Instagram, Social Blades, Popsters, etc etc. There’s a tonne of apps and sites out there who give up the info pretty easily and quickly if you know where to look. And then I put into the spreadsheet with my engagement formulas, etc that a mate who’s a maths nerd helped me with and away we go…
The outcomes?
The WSL engagement rate is second lowest, with all the surfers we measured having an ER of almost triple the WSL, and all leagues minus the NBA beating them clearly. They, like most leagues, post at a rate that would give you RSI of the thumb in a week and the reason – I believe – is that there’s a tipping point of audience size (I’m unsure of the number atm) resulting in a shit tonne of likes happening, which then outweighs the dwindling Engagement Rate that generally occurs when you post that much. The NBA has it, Complex Mag has it, WSL has not yet hit it but they aren’t far off it – hence, I believe, their strategy of post anything and everything that is surf whether they came up with the content or not…
SURF CENTER PODCAST
In the below episode of Surf Center with Dooma and Chad I talk about this a little more in-depth – easier to spill it over 30mins then make sense of it via writing. If listening is more in your wheelhouse then reading, than press play on the below and listen away. My part starts at around …. but the entire show is worth listening to anyway…
OTHER SOCIAL REPORTS WE'VE DONE
We’ve been doing infographic style reports (like the Surf Brands one yesterday) for a minute, well since we started again, because I have some weird fascination with data. Hopefully you’re digging them, here’s a few of my favourites..
*The World Surf League in Dollars & Waves
*The Last 50 WCT Mens Events
*A Look at the Rip Curl IG Account
*Surfboard Brands on Instagram
If you have anything you’d like to see from us, in terms of social stats, etc, let us know and we’ll try to make some sense of the gibberish that the social media world puts out. Also, Tik Tok, thoughts?
And, a sneaky reminder that if you’ve made it this far down the page, here’s a link to buy an indepth Instagram Report on Quiksilver and General pants. It’s only $15 !!!
