Big Ten Network Uses Facebook Reels and Collabs to Increase Visibility of Women's Basketball

May 16, 2023
Results
As a result of this strategy, Big Ten Network produced (March 2023):*

• Over 220 FB Reels uploads
• 5.5M FB Reels Plays
• 66% of content mix was FB Reels Collabs
• +9x YoY in FB 3 sec views VOD
• +8x YoY in FB reactions, comments, and shares VOD

*data from the Big Ten Network Facebook Page; compared to March 2022
Background & Challenge:
Reels and Collabs allowed us to reach more users on Facebook than ever before. Generating awareness of Big Ten women’s basketball and its programs is a continued priority at BTN and it plays a critical role in the growth of the sport.

—Jordan Maleh, VP of Digital

The Big Ten Network is a joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and FOX Networks and covers college athletics at 14 of the country’s premiere universities. They are committed to supporting women’s sports, as it comprises 54% of their televised and streamed events.
Given the overall strength of the league, four teams finished ranked inside the top 10, and star players like National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark and Diamond Miller, the No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft, the Big Ten Network saw an opportunity to expand the women’s basketball community on social media.
By programming via Facebook Reels, Big Ten Network set out to:

• Increase visibility of women’s basketball on social media
• Reach unconnected audiences, or those who didn’t follow their Page
• Drive more consumption of their video content

Strategy
Big Ten Network made women’s basketball more visible by converting short-form video to Facebook Reels, utilizing Collabs, and highlighting star athletes:

• Facebook Reels for Short-Form Video: Big Ten Network posted almost all <90 sec. video as Facebook Reels to reach more unconnected audiences. In turn, this approach increased distribution and engagement across all video types (i.e. VOD and Reels).
• Strategic Collabs: They Collabed with school-specific Pages to reach fans of teams featured in their content.
• Highlighting Star Athletes: Big Ten Network featured star athletes in the on-screen text, thumbnails, and captions of their Facebook Reels in order to grab users’ attention.

Big Ten Network also followed Facebook Reels best practices by:

• Optimizing for 9:16 vertical consumption
• Tapping into their archives to increase their video inventory
• Focusing on high-impact moments including comeback victories and record-breaking baskets

Looking Forward:
Big Ten Network will continue to use Reels to drive consumption of their content. They have begun monetizing their Facebook Reels with In-Stream Ads to grow on-platform revenue. They will build upon the momentum of this historic season to keep growing women’s basketball and women’s sports in general on social.