Here’s how Santa Cruz built an engagement rate of 1.2% from Jan. ‘21 - Mar. ‘22:
Instagram Formats
High Engagement Content
Strategy Tactics
As of April 2022, Santa Cruz has 1.4M Instagram followers. From January 2021 to March 2022, they saw an average engagement rate of 1.2%. Santa Cruz has taken an involved approach to their Instagram content by using storytelling around four main content segments including Product, Community, Episodes and Athletes.
Top engaged content overall features Build Upgrades, Bike of the Day features and Product Launches.
From January 2021 to March 2022, Santa Cruz’s Instagram account saw +9% growth. Santa Cruz has seen steady growth averaging at +0.6% per month with little fluctuation.
Carousel posts saw the highest total engagement (4.5M) as well as the highest average engagement rate (1.34%). Following carousels, image posts garner a higher average engagement rate compared to videos.
Santa Cruz makes an average of 22 posts per month on Instagram. Months that have seen higher engagement rates vary at about 19 posts a month. February 2021 saw the highest average engagement (2%) with 12 posts made.
Santa Cruz’s content from January 2021 to March 2022 falls into the following segments:
PRODUCT. Product posts make up 18% of Santa Cruz’s content. This content features new product launches, build and upgrade options and product details.
COMMUNITY. Community posts make up 43% of Santa Cruz’s content. This content features company information, press & reviews and MTB tournament updates.
EPISODES. Episode posts make up 10% of Santa Cruz’s content. This content serializes content into parts such as How to Bike, Old vs New, and Five Riders Rides.
ATHLETES. Athlete posts make up 29% of Santa Cruz’s content. This content features riders to support their accomplishments and follow them on various adventures.
Out of the four segments, Product posts saw the highest average engagement rate (2.3%) followed by Community posts (1.4%). Community posts saw the highest number of posts (142) followed by Athlete posts (94).
Santa Cruz’s Instagram saw an average monthly posting cadence of 19 posts a month. Specific content categories within the four segments that saw the most saturation include Tournament Updates (78 posts), Athlete Support (34 posts) and Bike Checks (27 posts).
Content categories with the highest average engagement rate include Build Upgrades (3.2%), Bike of the Day (3%), and Product Launches (3%). Top performing categories all fall into the product content segment.
Content Category:
All the Options. Build upgrade posts introduce new colour and build options for buyers based on existing bike models from Santa Cruz. These posts can be used to let your audience know their feedback is heard. Use comments to see if buyers want specific colours and provide it for them.
Post Tactics:
57K Engagement
54K Engagement
Honoring Builds. ‘Bike of the Day’ is an opportunity for Santa Cruz to honor custom builds from partners, fans, riders and buyers in collaboration with mountain bike publication Vital MTB.
Post Tactics:
66K Engagement
60K Engagement
What’s New? Santa Cruz followers are highly receptive to new bike launches on Instagram. This content category focuses on all new product drops and how they’re promoted organically.
Post Tactics:
87K Engagement
64K Engagement
Relationship with the Press. Santa Cruz is consistently cross-promoting and celebrating publicity created by respected partners in the mountain biking industry.
Relationship with Athletes. Santa Cruz is invested in rider ventures and success. Posts are often made to urge their audience to support riders through expeditions and tournaments. The Instagram account often reposts athlete projects like Danny MacAskill’s “The Slabs” and Sam Dale’s “Home Is Where You Send It”.
Investment in Competition Success. Santa Cruz wants their audience to feel up to date and aligned with the happenings of mountain biking tournaments. Active effort is made to update followers with rankings at world championships through Instagram posts.