The world of baseball is full of curveballs, both on and off the field. The same goes for social media, especially when you're the Chicago White Sox, and you're planning something as paw-some as a Dog Day activation.

Enter Jordan Doyle, the Sox's Social Media Manager, who, along with her team, decided to bring in a heavy hitter—Slate, a nifty content management and social media tool. Doyle attests, "Slate has increased the quantity and also improved the quality of our gameday Instagram Stories, as well as streamlined our processes for in-feed sponsored activations." The aim? To make this Dog Day an event to remember for their fans and, of course, the dogs.

Play Ball with Slate! ⚾️

The Sox had a couple of straightforward goals for their Dog Day event. They wanted to boost their social media engagement, make their content pop, and support a local animal rescue group, One Tail at a Time (OTAT), in their mission to find homes for some lovely dogs.

So, how did they step up to the plate?

1. Welcome to the Team, Leo: The Sox signed Leo, a rescue Pitbull, as their #SoxSocial Correspondent for a day. Thanks to Slate, they could quickly re-share content from Leo's Instagram onto their Stories. Yep, Leo has his own Instagram—talk about being a good boy!

2. Ultimutt Dog Naming Contest: The Sox got their fans in on the fun with a contest to name six puppies from OTAT. Using Slate, they could easily add contest details and share updates with their followers. As Doyle puts it, "Under a minute! We spend more time proofing our work than actually creating."

3. Puppy Parade with the Players: Picture this: White Sox players walking in with adoptable puppies from OTAT. Adorable, right? These heartwarming moments were shared across social platforms with a little help from Slate.

4. Adoption Event & Tito’s Handmade Vodka: OTAT's adoption event and some cool attractions brought in by Tito’s Handmade Vodka (we're talking Tail Waggin’ Airstream and a Bark Bar water station) were also shared with the Sox's followers on Instagram Stories.

5. Personalized Content: The team used Slate to add some flair to their Dog Day content with custom backgrounds, filters, and graphics.

"We now have the ability to diversify posts and have a better balance of graphics and photos on Stories. Additionally, the Sox Social team now has the ability to create sponsored videos in Slate, which helps us push more posts out in real time."

— Jordan Doyle, Social Media Manager, Chicago White Sox

The Grand Slam 🏟️

Slate came in handy for the Sox, allowing them to make their content more engaging and accessible. With Slate, they could design custom graphics, re-share unique content, and maintain a consistent brand voice—pretty neat, right?

The results speak for themselves: their custom content generated around 200,000 impressions on Instagram Stories alone on the night of the event. That's a lot of dog-loving baseball fans!

The Final Inning ⌛️

Thanks to some clever planning, a team of dedicated people, and a helping paw from Slate, the White Sox hit a home run with their Dog Day activation. Their social media engagement shot through the roof, and they managed to raise awareness for OTAT's cause.

But would it have been possible without Slate? Jordan Doyle states emphatically, "No. We would have produced less and it would have been a slower roll-out plan."

So, here's the takeaway: whether you're a major league baseball team or just trying to get your pet rock Instagram-famous, the right tools can help you knock it out of the park. And sometimes, those tools might just include a Pitbull named Leo and a handy platform like Slate.

And perhaps the most surprising benefit? Doyle reports, "Our players are sharing our Instagram Stories now more than ever, thanks to Slate. It's helped us connect more with our followers, online fans, and even our players!"

Streamlining Content Creation with Slate

Creating branded content has never been easier with Slate’s powerful content creation tool — and that’s why so many sports social media professionals lean on us for all their social media marketing needs. The Slate app allows for social media content to be created with ease in new and exciting ways. Ready to take a look! Book a demo today.