social media strategy for the pittsburgh riverhounds
By Tolomé Mazariegos
Riverhounds fans celebrate during a game at Highmark Stadium.
introduction
Originally called the Riverdogs, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds played their first match in 1999 against the Cincinatti Riverhawks. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship and have played their games at Highmark Stadium since 2013. The coach of the team is Bob Lilley, and the Riverhounds also have a women’s team called the Pittsburgh Riveters SC. They are a professional soccer team.
target audience and strategy goal
The target audience of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds are Soccer fans within driving distance (50 miles of Pittsburgh) who don’t currently attend games. This includes all people who may be interested in sports games, but specifically targets those who are most likely to go. People aged 18-34 have a high level of involvement with sports games as well as with pre and post-game activities. The goal of this strategy will be to increase ticket sales to Riverhounds games.
Key tips for social media strategies
In our modern digital world, social media is as important as ever to a business and cannot be ignored. In Social media marketing, platforms like X, Pinterest, and Instagram are used to promote a business and engage with audiences. Sprout Social reveals that 84% of social media users have an Instagram profile and 61% use Instagram to find items to buy. In addition, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube rank relatively highly behind Instagram. On Instagram, the kinds of content users are most likely to interact with is short-form videos, static images, sponsored influencer content, and gifs and memes. Learn more about mobile engagement from one of my peers here.
A chart showing the most popular social media channels for product discovery.
When beginning to draft a social media strategy, one must first look at the strengths and weaknesses of the brand to decide what the response should be. Based on this data, the social media sources that are getting the least amount of engagement should be prioritized. When I did a social media audit for the NHL, this strategy worked very well. Check out some of my other work to gain new perspectives on this industry. In order to track performance of content on social, brands should create trackable links.
3 steps to success:
Create more optimized reels on Instagram to attract young users.
Follow TikTok trends to increase TikTok following.
Partner with sports influencers to increase reach.
short-form content
The data indicate that short-form content is one the most popular forms of social media content. The Riverhounds currently have 32.5k followers on Instagram, and they post reels fairly frequently. The reels that get the most engagement are usually ones that focus on the players themselves, whether individually or as a team. For example, one reel with 18.3k views and 779 likes is celebrating the first professional goal of player Jorge Garcia. Creative posts with players, like the one in which players are asked to draw the Riverhounds logo by memory, also get lots of views.
The Riverhounds are doing well with scheduling and posting content frequently, but they should focus more posts on the players since these reels gain the most engagement from their audience.
follow tiktok trends
TikTok is the third most-used social app by social media users, according to Sprout Social. On TikTok, 36.2% of user are between the ages of 18 and 24. 33.9% of users are between 25 to 34 years of age (Master Mind Behavior). The Riverhounds should pay attention to popular trends among their target audience. Social media trends, especially TikTok trends, rise and fall all the time, so it’s important to stay updated. The vast majority of views on TikTok come from the For You page, and it is often the trendiest content that winds up there.
To get on the For You page, brands should use trending audio and incorporate skits and challenges into their content. Research shows that the most effective form of messaging for modern audiences is a humorous approach. Duolingo does a great job at following trends and infusing most of their content with humor to give a playful and fun impression.
partner with sports influencers
Lastly, the Riverhounds should partner with popular sports influencers to make content to post on their socials. When a content creator encourages their fans to go support another brand, the brand also encourages their followers to support the creator. This creates a beneficial relationship that helps both accounts and keeps fans engaged.
The Riverhounds should partner with Amanda Vance, a Pittsburgh-based sports influencer with 535k followers. Amanda makes commentary videos, memes, speaks with players and sports stars, and posts pictures at popular events. She also runs a service that offers her bet picks for a membership fee. Amanda Vance is a perfect choice for this team, seeing as she is popular and is from Pittsburgh. Another potential match would be Mark Madden, a well-known sports radio host also in Pittsburgh.
A screenshot of Amanda Vance’s post showing her messing around with Ravens fans.
Conclusion
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have a decently sized presence on social media, but could do more to expand it. People aged 18-34 are most likely to be persuaded by social media content to engage with the Riverhounds, and they make up most of the audience of apps like TikTok. If the Riverhounds produce more short-form content on Instagram and TikTok that plays into trends and spotlights players, they will increase their reach there. If they seek out partnerships with popular sports influencers and commentators like Amanda Vance and Mark Madden, they will widen their audience even more. If the reach of the Riverhound’s social media is increased, then more people will be aware of them and will buy tickets to games when they hadn’t before.
references
Mangam, Matthew. “Oppo Research: 5 Things about Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.” Hudson River Blue, Hudson River Blue, 6 May 2025, www.hudsonriverblue.com/oppo-research-5-things-about-pittsburgh-riverhounds-sc/.
“US In-Person Sporting Event Experience Market Report 2025.” Mintel Store, 28 Apr. 2025, store.mintel.com/report/us-in-person-sporting-event-experience-market-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
“Social Media Marketing: What It Is and How to Build Your Strategy.” Sprout Social, 30 Apr. 2025, sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-marketing-strategy/.
https://www.instagram.com/riverhoundssc/?hl=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@riverhoundssc
“Diving into Tiktok: Revealing Essential Statistics & User Demographics.” Master Mind Behavior: At-Home ABA Therapy In NJ & GA, 2025, www.mastermindbehavior.com/post/tiktok-statistics-facts-and-user-demographics#:~:text=Age%20Distribution%20of%20TikTok%20Users,35%20years%20old%20(SOAX).
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-to-go-viral-on-tiktok/
“Consumers Looking for Humorous Messaging from Brands - Marketing Charts.” MarketingCharts, 2022, www.marketingcharts.com/advertising-trends/creative-and-formats-119444.
https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/amandacaseyvance/?hl=en