The Social Video Experiment that Drove 22x Instagram Follower Growth for Varsity Maine
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In Maine, high school sports are a uniting force. Thousands flock to Bangor, Portland and Augusta for the annual statewide high school basketball tournament in February. For several days, often from early in the morning to late in the evening, the gyms are electric. Small-town businesses shut down for the occasion.
For sports editor Bill Stewart’s team, it’s all hands on deck during all three high school sports seasons. Stewart’s team of reporters and editors cover sports for the publications of the Maine Trust for Local News, including the Portland Press Herald, Sun Journal, Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal.
“Our circulation area is huge, and Maine is a very unique state, with different town-by-town personalities,” Stewart said. “Something that ties them is their passionate fan base, no matter where you live. In big towns and small towns, you see that at the games.”
To tap into that passion, in early 2024, the Press Herald pitched a short-form video initiative to The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lenfest awarded a $25,000 grant to elevate the sports coverage and bolster the team’s digital capabilities. That investment led to a 22x gain in Instagram followers since 2024.
The team purchased iPhone Pros, microphones and other video equipment, and empowered reporters to get creative with producing quality digital content. During the spring 2024 season, the sports team debuted the Varsity Maine YouTube channel, creating 132 videos that generated 18,000 views. By repurposing the videos for Instagram, the Varsity Maine Instagram following jumped from 739 in January to 5,400 by late June. On the Sun Journal website, readership of high school sports stories jumped by 18% year-over-year.
“As passionate as the fan base is, we’re trying to meet that,” Stewart said. “We’re trying to deliver something to the fans and community they can be invested in.”
The Varsity Maine Instagram now boasts 16,600 followers, more than 22 times the following in June 2024. The brand’s overall growth of the last two years has served as a jumping off point for high school sports sponsorships, including from Maine State Credit Union, which sponsors the texting programs and the Varsity Maine newsletter through the 2026-2027 school year.
The challenge now is keeping the momentum going. For the 2025-2026 school year, Stewart’s team launched three text messaging programs around high school sports, one for each season. The Varsity Maine newsletter remains popular. Plus, the team’s “mic’d up” content, featuring the voices of key players during the games, has taken off.
“Our reporters go far beyond just covering games and writing recaps,” Stewart said. “They’re going to practices and capturing the dynamics of these teams. They’re talking to athletes on video. We’re telling you who won, but also why that’s important and what that victory or loss means for that team through commentary and analysis.”
For Stewart, the positive results go beyond the numbers. When he hears his daughter and other high schoolers talk about videos they’ve seen on Varsity Maine, he knows the work matters.
“We’ve heard strong community feedback, especially from the young people we’re trying to connect with,” Stewart said.
Stewart tips the hat to the eight sports reporters, the digital team and multiple editors involved in making Varsity Maine the popular source for local sports news it is. He said readers appreciate their quality storytelling and video skills, and the passion the sports staff has for their work.
“Their passion for it meets the passion of the state’s sports fans, and I think our readers see that.”
