Strategy report · Updated Aug 4, 2026
What's working for @thecorporatehooper on Instagram.
Will Custis | The Corporate Hooper
44.3K followers · 462 posts
“NYC | Business and Buckets Building @hoopfuelnutrition - supplements for hoopers”
Engagement rate
3.25%
Per post, last 90 days
Posts per week
2.1
Niche avg 4.0
Average likes
1.4K
41 avg comments
Post mix
Last 90 days · 462 posts indexed
01
Top-performing posts
The three posts pulling the most engagement in the last 90 days.
reel 32.99% engagedThere is no quick program or hack… just years and years of consistently and finding what worked best for me! I do have the Rec League Ready program with everything I did and I put all my workouts from travel workouts to bodyweight to quick hit workouts and more in so other corporate hoopers have a resource but the program isn’t going to just make you good or reach your goals… only you can do that through locking in
carousel 17.23% engagedFrom undergrad at Wake Forest to living in Charlotte to NYC this is every job with salary I’ve had and where I’ve played basketball during my 20s! Been a grind but it’s cool to think of the level of basketball I compete on now and how much better I got all while progressing in my career to ultimately be able to take a shot at becoming a founder and growing HoopFuel to the premier supplement brand for hoopers worldwide! Inspo via @the_varunrana
reel 6.47% engagedRucker Park Opening Game June 16th 6pm 😤 What a privilege it is for me to even have a team in this iconic league and be able to compete against other high level players. My background should have me done with basketball and doing hyroxs and running marathons but I was able to carve out a new path and can play competitive basketball year round for money now. Really cool how far we've come but it's only just the start!
02
Content pillars
AI-clustered themes the account posts about, with example posts pulled live from Instagram.
03
Posting rhythm
Cadence and timing patterns over the last 12 weeks.
2.1 posts/week
Niche benchmark · 4.0/week
Best days
Monday · Wednesday · Sunday
Best hours
7-9am · 12-2pm · 6-8pm
04
Signature hooks
Caption patterns the account reuses across high-performing posts.
The real [topic] is [surprising reframe]!
Used 4×
The real money in basketball is in everything that surrounds the game!
There is no quick program or hack… just years and years of consistently
Never stop chasing a hoop dream and making it a reality!
Comment '[KEYWORD]' for the [link/episode/article]
Used 5×
Comment 'HOOPFUEL' for the l!nk to the episode
Comment 'HOOK' for the full episode sent to your inbox
COMMENT 'HOOPER' for the link to the full episode
From [past] to [present], here's how I [achieved outcome]
Used 3×
From undergrad at Wake Forest to living in Charlotte to NYC this is every job with salary I've had
I came to NYC 3.5yr ago with no name in basketball and just hustled my way to building a brand
Dropping the Charlotte files back when I worked consulting at EY and would just play pickup
Turn your [everyday basketball thing] into a [business outcome]
Used 2×
Turn your pickup run into a side hustle!
Content is the highest return activity you can do as a hooper to generate opportunity and demand
Follow along to see [ongoing story or outcome]
Used 3×
Follow along to see how we do
Follow along to see if we can do the improbable and win the league
Follow along as I create and scale a supplement and nutrition brand for hoopers
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Strategy summary
What's working, what to fix, and what to ship next.
TL;DR
The single strongest lever for @thecorporatehooper is the personal origin story combined with a real business at stake. Post 15 (7,506 likes) and post 11 (2,804 likes) are the two highest performers in the window, and both use a transparent, timeline-driven narrative that no competitor in the basketball-creator space can copy. The account has a clear identity advantage: a founder who actually plays, actually competes at Rucker Park, and actually built a brand. That specificity is the moat.
The biggest leak is cadence. At 2.1 posts per week against a healthy benchmark of 4, the feed loses momentum between spikes. Several reels like posts 1, 6, 14, and 18 are third-party reposts promoting podcast appearances, and these average well under 100 likes. UGC and podcast clip reposts make up roughly 27% of the feed but contribute almost none of the engagement, diluting the account's signal for the algorithm.
The Business and Buckets event (post 26 at 2,268 likes, post 17 at 373 likes) proves that community-first content converts. Doubling down on event recaps, Rucker Park game series, and founder POV education while cutting low-performing reposts would materially lift average engagement per post.
Working
4- Personal timeline carousels and salary transparency posts drive outsized engagement, as seen in post 15 with 7,506 likes.
- Rucker Park game series with a narrative arc keeps followers returning and signals real competitive credibility.
- Business and Buckets event content blends community, brand, and basketball in one format that clearly resonates.
- Raw gym rants and first-person opinion reels like post 10 consistently outperform polished brand content.
Risks
4- Posting frequency is too low at 2.1 per week. Increasing to 4 posts per week would compound reach without sacrificing quality.
- Third-party podcast clip reposts average under 70 likes and should be replaced with original POV content or cut entirely.
- Hook variety is narrow. Several top posts rely on the same comment-for-link CTA, which trains the audience to skip rather than watch.
- Game recap reels lack consistent series branding, making it hard for new followers to find entry points into the Rucker Park story.
Ship next
5- Build a 4-post weekly content calendar: one game or event recap, one founder POV education reel, one personal story post, and one HoopFuel brand moment.
- Launch a named Rucker Park series with a consistent title card so each episode drives viewers to the previous one.
- Replace low-performing podcast reposts with a 60-second original reel summarizing the one best insight from each episode.
- Create a recurring Business and Buckets event recap format posted within 24 hours of each run to capture peak interest.
- Test posting on Mondays and Wednesdays between 6 and 8pm to align with the engagement patterns visible in the highest-performing dates.
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