Last week Instagram dropped a trio of updates, but one stands out for sports marketers.

Reposting lets you share other accounts’ posts directly to your feed, creating new ways for leagues, teams, athletes, and brands to keep fans engaged.

Most in sports aren’t using it yet, which means there’s a short-term window to stand out.

Here’s how to take advantage before everyone else catches on.

Instagram’s New Features

Instagram just rolled out three updates:

• Reposting — Share posts from other accounts directly to your feed.

• Instagram Map — Discover posts and stories via location tags.

• Friends Tab in Reels — See what your friends are watching.

Two of these are interesting. One could reshape how leagues, teams, and athletes distribute content.

The Real Opportunity: Reposting

Most sports properties haven’t touched reposting yet — and that’s a missed play. This is about more than just hitting “share.” Done right, it’s a low-effort way to:

• Leagues: Amplify players, teams, media partners, affiliates, and even fan content.

• Teams: Boost player posts, league updates, partner content, and fan pages.

• Players: Highlight team and league features plus standout fan accounts.

• Brands: Amplify UGC and brand ambassador content that features your brand.

Why it matters

The magic happens when everyone in your ecosystem participates creating a steady loop of content circulation triggering a snowball effect.

Additionally, reposting fan content signals that you value your community, encourages more UGC, and deepens engagement.

The Pro Move: Optimize your content to be reposted and prompt your audience (and partners) to share. 

Examples

ESPN seems to be the brand embracing reposts the most. They are sharing content from their affiliates and leagues that broadcast on their network.

The NBA has been sharing player and team content from various affiliated accounts.

I’ve seen a few other accounts repost a handful of similar content, but I’ve yet to see any major apparel brands or athletes try out the new feature.

My assumption is that many brands are fearful that reposting may take away from consumption of their own content, which is valid.

Time will tell what the best reposting strategy will be and I’ll be sure to let you know when it does.

Quick Hits on the Other Two:

• Instagram Map: Any post or story with a location tag can surface here. It won’t be a massive driver, but location tags are now a no-brainer - especially for events.

• Friends Tab in Reels: A new layer of share-ability. No optimization needed yet, but worth watching for how it affects discovery.

Bottom Line: Don’t wait for reposting to become standard in sports. Start using it now and get your players, partners, and fans to do the same.

Want to level up your social media game?

If your team isn’t capitalizing on athlete arrivals or you just want to sharpen your social strategy, let’s talk.

Whittingham Sports is offering a free social media audit to sports properties, athletes, and brands who want to grow faster and monetize smarter.

No fluff. Just insights, ideas, and what’s actually working.

Send an email to [email protected] with SOCIAL AUDIT in the subject to get your free audit.

Thanks,

Kyle

Learn more about Whittingham Sports