Draft day is as big of an event for your fans as the first game of the season. The anticipation of who your team will be adding to the roster can be seen and felt across media outlets weeks before the draft even begins.

And with things (mostly) back to normal, this year's draft is sure to deliver some incredible moments you’ll need to be ready for.

Capturing that excitement and magic is hard to do on social media if the content itself falls flat. This is why we put together a list of 11 fresh content ideas for your draft day social coverage that are sure to wow your fans and drive engagement.

We’ve even split out the ideas between, before, during, and after, so you can feel confident you are delivering the content your fans will be craving throughout the whole event. Let’s dive in!

Before the draft

• Pre-draft triviaIf there were Olympics for fandom, trivia would undoubtedly be one of the events. Your fans take pride in knowing your organization inside and out, what better way to get them engaged ahead of the draft than by putting their previous draft knowledge to the test.

• Capture some draft event fashionJust like other red carpet events, everyone will be arriving in style. Capture the best fits and turn that into some in-feed content (carousels work great here) or create clips for video content you can share across Reels or TikTok.Pro tip - Consider creating some “pre-draft fashion filters” to further brand these photos or videos and make the content stand out even more.

• Ask fans for pictures and videos of their draft setupFor many fans, draft day is as much a holiday as Christmas. They’ve invited their friends, decorated their home, busted out the snacks and are eager to celebrate. Ask them to share pictures or videos of their draft day setup via the “Add Yours” IG sticker. If you haven’t used it yet, here’s a great explainer article from Minter.ioPro tip - Don’t forget to repurpose all of this UGC by sharing some kind of recap highlighting your fanbase and the pictures or videos they shared. Turn it into a long-form blog post talking about the event or turn the videos or pictures into a longer video highlighting the best setups that got sent in!

•  A graphic of your available picksBefore the draft gets underway, create an in-feed graphic or story graphic that lists out the picks/rounds your fans should be watching for. As with every draft, your team's original picks may very well change, but having them accessible via a post or story makes it easy for your fans to follow along.

During the draft

• Utilize templates for each round or pick of the draftDon’t just settle for simple photos or videos, with 32 teams and a ton of other media outlets covering the draft, those simple posts won’t have the impact you need to stop the scroll and capture attention.A better approach is to create templates unique to each round or pick so that your content stands out and all you have to change are text-based details. With our new Templates feature, you can now upload your PSD files straight into the web portal and edit them all within the mobile app!

• Get a Twitter thread goingYou could take the usual approach of tweeting every time there is an important announcement like a pick or trade, but with the average lifespan of a tweet now only being 15 minutes, those tweets will quickly be forgotten.Instead, use the conversational power of Twitter to your advantage-start a draft coverage thread. Keeping all the updates and content in one thread, will drive far more engagement and keep your fans up to date all in one spot. Pro tip - Give your thread and fans a unique twist on your coverage, and ask for your fans to reply to your updates with GIF only reactions. This creates a fun incentive for your fans that is sure to lead to high engagement.

• Utilize repostsOnce players are selected, they will more than likely take to their own social media to announce the news. What better way to welcome them to your organization and fans than by reposting it.Pro tip - Don’t repost without any branding. Consider creating a “Welcome to the team” specific background that neatly frames the repost. You can read more on how to do this here.

• Integrate sales opportunitiesWith so many of your fans' eyes on your social content, there’s never a better time to get merch, ticket, or philanthropic sales opportunities in front of them. IG’s link sticker makes it incredibly easy to drive traffic for these opportunities. Just be mindful of how many sales activations you push, and how well they integrate with your other draft-related content.

After the draft

• Post Draft InterviewsEmotions and excitement will be running high after the event. Let the fans hear from the players on what this moment means to them and ask the coaches how they feel the event went overall.Pro tip - Don’t forget to add captions to your video content. 80% of people say they’re more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available according to a study done by Verizon. Luckily, with Slate's automated captioning feature, this becomes effortless.

• Recap the picksThere will still be many of your fans who miss the event entirely or miss out on key picks/updates from the event. Recap all your picks by showcasing each player the team has selected.Pro tip - Utilize a multimedia layout so you can fit multiple players into a single piece of content, reducing the story frames or carousel cards you end up using. This is especially helpful if your team has a good amount of picks.

• Ask fans how they thought the draft wentSome fans will be blunt and share their displeasure, but remember, social media is meant to be social, so get the conversation started. Ask how they thought the draft went via IG stories and share the most popular responses.Pro tip - Create a filter or background specific to this activation and use Instagram's question sticker to gather responses. Remember to create your filter with a space for the sticker so that it's seamlessly integrated into the content.

Well, there you have it. 11 fresh content ideas for your draft day social coverage! We hope this list gives you some more ideas and executions to consider. Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on Slate’s product offerings, as well as our latest blog posts! Happy drafting!