As the year winds down, we thought it would be a good time to count up all the metrics and see what were the top posts on Instagram. Overall, we posted more than 120 times this year and shared more than 450 stories on Instagram. We increased our reach from last year by nearly 8 percent, and added nearly 350 new followers.
Honorable mention: Alumni Game 40th Anniversary Photos
It’s the 40th anniversary of the Humboldt Lacrosse team so it’s fitting that a post from the alumni game gets a nod. The photos were taken by the intrepid Savana Robinson, who captured some great images of the affair. Despite having the second-most likes and being in the top 10 of both shares and likes, this post still failed to crack the top 10 overall, but looking through the photos still makes us crack a smile.
10: Season opener 2023
To kick off our top 10, we begin with a post from the 2023 home opener and photos by Jeff Bertotti. In 2022, only five posts got over 100 likes, but we immediately knew 2023 would be different when the season’s first game easily topped that. By year’s end, nearly 30 posts had hit the century mark for likes 🤩
9. Snow Practice Today (AKA “The Adorable Snowham”)
A major winter storm hit Humboldt County in late February, bringing strong, cold winds and snow down to sea level. But when life gives you frozen lemons, make the best of it, as our plucky crew did after practice was canceled due to the weather.
8. Sidelines Scene
At first, we didn’t know what to say about these pictures. They weren’t really “action” shots of catching and throwing the ball, and only one player was even looking at the camera, but they definitely found an audience. Besides being our most-liked post of 2023, it was also one of the most shared. And we figured out what to say too: “Thank you, Enzo for the photos!”
7. Troy Johansson’s spotlight
We knew we had something special when we saw Troy play in high school. Smart, strong, and a good guy off the field, we’re looking forward to seeing our big middie from Lakewood develop as a player and person over the next few seasons — and it doesn’t hurt that any post he’s in seems to get tons of engagement 😊
6. Recruiting Map
Thanks to the hard work of our coaching staff and a half-billion-dollar investment by the state of California, Cal Poly Humboldt is back on the map! We currently have recruits in eight states and are planning prospect days this summer in southern California and attending recruiting camps in Oregon.
5. Recruiting Sneak Peek
Our most-shared post in 2023 was a sneak peek at some of the incoming freshmen of 2023. Shared over 105 times, we’re looking forward to seeing these guys share the field for the next few springs!
4. JJ O’Hara spotlight
JJ is a Force to be reckoned with on and off the field. A beast in the weight room, he’s also got a strong social media game too, easily pulling the fourth-highest reach of the year with his spotlight.
3. Team captains
Our trio of team captains took the third spot in 2023, and we suspect the “mom” factor had a heavy effect on this post’s traffic.
2. Campus Visit
In April, Troy and his family made the big drive up to Humboldt from LA County to check out our campus and meet the team. Lucky for us, he brought his camera! We love our campus and have seen it often, but it’s always fun exploring it again through the eyes of someone discovering its beauty for the first time.
1. Hogs Win!
HOGS WIN!!!!
The only post to rank in the top 10 of all four metrics used (reach, likes, shares and comments), our No. 1 was a no-brainer. After essentially re-building the program from scratch in 2022, the Hogs notched their first win since before the pandemic in 2023. It was a big deal, and we are soooooo glad Cassie was there to capture the post-game celly of the happy Hogs!