EDIT: Updated with graphics from the 2022 Super Bowl, enjoy!
The Super Bowl is what I call a two-screen experience – people are watching the Super Bowl on one screen and they’re doing it with their phones in their hands while they’re watching to see what everyone’s saying about it. If you’re a business or brand — THIS IS AN ENGAGEMENT GOLDMINE.
You should consider getting in on the conversation and I’m outlining ten different posts along with when to post them below.
Some of the best ways to engage people are with polls and asking your fans questions throughout the game. Paired up with a cool photo or graphic, these can be (and have been for me) VERY ENGAGING POSTS!
—->GRAB THE SOCIAL POSTS HERE (NOTE: These are plug and play and generic, so anyone can use them. BUT if you want your own branding in there or these are not your style, use my ideas and create your own! (I did mine in Canva!))
Here’s how to post them and when:
Here are some post ideas you can use on your Facebook or Instagram pages — you can use any or all of them throughout the game (just make sure you’re posting at least 15 minutes apart so your posts don’t stomp on each other. Sometimes Facebook won’t show one post over the other if they’re posted too close together.) All times in Eastern.
- WHO WILL WIN? Post once at 6 p.m. (a half-hour before the game) asking people — WHO’S GOING TO WIN? Post a photo and have them vote for their favorite team in the comments. Make sure to chime in within the comments as your brand yourself, respond with comments and GIFs. People are AMPED UP and anticipating this game, the teams, the commercials, food, all of it, and they’re just sitting there waiting – this is a great time to start engaging. (LINK TO PHOTO)
- GO TEAM! 6:30 p.m. If you’re a HUGE FAN one way or the other, post right at the start of the Super Bowl, post something rooting for your favorite team. This could be a photo graphic that says “Go Rams!”or you and your family or just you in a jersey, a boomerang or video of you jumping up and down amped up, a GIF – however you want to do this and whatever your personality is. These are the moments you get to bond with your customers over something that’s NOT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. (LINK TO PHOTO)
- “What did you think of the National Anthem?” After the National Anthem: Ask people what they thought. Pair it up with a photo if you want or ask the question and add a fun background. BELIEVE IT OR NOT – This is a very divisive topic! When Lady Gaga sang it and it was asked on social pages how she did – the posts WENT CRAZY! Because she was amazing! This year, it’s country music star Mickey Guyton. People feel very passionate about how our National Anthem is performed, get people talking on your page! (LINK TO PHOTO)
- “What’s your favorite thing about the Super Bowl?” This always does well for me – Ask people what their favorite part of the Super Bowl is and what they look forward to the most, the commercials, the food, the halftime show, or the actual game. Pair it with a photo that has a picture of all four, or a photo of your personal favorite, or even just the four choices on a fun background and have people answer in the comments! This post works well either before or near the beginning of the game. (LINK TO PHOTO)
- What’s your favorite Super Bowl commercial? Some brands aren’t going all in on commercials but there are still some funny ones! (YOU CAN WATCH THE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS HERE and get a preview!) (LINK TO PHOTO)
- “Using a GIF, comment below how you think this game is going:” People from both sides will chime in with funny GIFs. (POST A GIF)
- OMGGGGG THE HALFTIME SHOW! Gen-X-er here so I have some excitement about this year’s halftime show with Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop, and Kendrick Lamar. So ask: “What did you think about the halftime show?:” Again – totally controversial topic, believe it or not, people either LOVED IT or HATED IT. Remember JLo wearing her tight onesie at age 50? (My hero.) Janet Jackson’s “costume malfunction?” If the show is boring – it’s STILL a passionate topic. (LINK TO PHOTO)
- Any standout moments: Post immediately after something crazy happens – whatever that crazy thing is, get into the moment with everyone talking ASAP. This can be just a status update with no photos, it could be a crazy gif, anything. Just start talking.
- “Comment below with a photo of your Super Bowl party” – Lots of people are going to be home with their own families this year having their own Super Bowl party instead of partying it up and this gives them a chance to party on social and feel like they’re somewhere from the comfort of their own living room.
- Celebrate the winner! Whatever your celebration looks like – if you’re excited about who won, post about it! Post you and your family or friends jumping up and down! Create an Instagram Reel or TikTok about it. Video of yourself in slow motion jumping up and down. Selfies, whatever.
If you want to go all in, post these on all your social platforms:
- Post each idea on Facebook, then IG.
- Have relevant hashtags for IG ready to copy and paste in your notepad in your phone or in a doc on your computer.
- Start brainstorming now how you can turn some posts into Reels on IG (which is so big right now)
- Can you do any lives? (Are you running any specials, are you planning any socially-distanced events?) Don’t do this during the game, do it before or after.
- Take your IG posts and turn them into IG stories, use interactive polls on your stories and send it to your Facebook page stories as well. Polls are REALLY GOOD for stories!
- Make a TikTok, download it and send it to Reels (Remember to strip off the TikTok watermark and if you need to know how, here’s how.)
Or, you can just pick one platform and stick with it. Either way, be intentional and have a plan.
HOW TO EXECUTE
NOTE: The best time to post about most of these real-time topics are AS THEY HAPPEN. So I’ve included some pre-made graphics for you to download and create posts to put in your “drafts” section of Facebook or IG so you can post them the second they happen. And I MEAN the second they happen. When that last note is sung of the National Anthem – post that post. When the curtain closes on the Halftime Show – post that post. The second it’s over. THAT’S WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING. They want a forum to share their opinions like right now! If you wait, they’ll have already engaged on another post. Timing really matters!
If you don’t want to post multiple times because you want to enjoy the Super Bowl, post once at the beginning asking your audience who they want to win, and then continue to engage in the comments throughout the game when you have a second. You can use that post and the comments section to continue onto other topics, like talking about the commercials – if there are any buzzworthy ones (like Baby Mr. Peanut), or the halftime show all within the comments of that one post. That post will continue to get engagement and this will still be a good way to keep people engaged and insert yourself into the conversation.
Social posting during the Super Bowl should be authentic. These posts should absolutely be said in your way, using your voice, and if you could absolutely care less about the actual game or either of the teams and you’re in it for the food – SAY THAT. Be honest! Have fun! If you don’t want to insert yourself or your brand into this conversation online in any way, that’s fine too. But it really is one of those topics that almost any business, brand, industry can get in on.
Grab these free, pre-made graphics for your Super Bowl social posts.
Also check out my Facebook Live where I talk about this very thing.
And enjoy the game!
More free stuff:
GRAB my ALL-in-One Social Media Planning Guide for Businesses, which includes:
- 56 Ideas and Inspiration for Social Media Gold
- Simple and Next Level Social Media Tools for Creating Amazing Posts
- The ABCs of Social Media (How to ALWAYS BANK CONTENT)
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