*By Michael Teich*
Instagram, not Snapchat, is the preferred off-court platform for the LA Clippers to win over fans, said the basketball team's director of social media, Sandro Gasparro.
"Instagram is probably our most engaged platform and also our fastest-growing," Gasparro said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. "Most of our fans are there. We get a lot more metrics as well."
The Clippers on Monday became the NBA's first team to introduce player GIFs to Instagram Stories, choosing the Facebook-owned ($FB) app over the similar offering from Snap ($SNAP), which is based in the LA area.
Gasparro said the decision largely came down to user preference. With 400 million daily active users, Instagram Stories attracts more than double Snapchat's count of daily visitors ー which stood at 188 million at the end of June.
"It allows us to unlock the personalities of our players a little bit and show what they are like off the court," Gasparro said of the Instagram Stories platform. "It also allows our fans to really contribute to the conversation around the team in unique and fun ways."
The NBA's early adoption and savvy strategy for social media has created a strong, engaged fan base.
The NBA's Twitter ($TWTR) account has 27.3 million followers. The NFL, MLB, and NHL all fail to measure up, with 24.1 million, 8.2 million, and 6.14 million, respectively.
Gasparro said it's a team effort ー Clippers execs are collaborating with players to capitalize on the digital trend.
"We're definitely working really closely with our guys, not only in terms of supplying them with great content they can use on their channels, but also helping them craft their own content strategy," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/la-clippers-do-it-for-the-gram-2).
Omar Raja, the founder of Bleacher Report's House of Highlights Instagram, said social media is "a young person's television," and that professional sports leagues have been reaching out to him to help them bolster the audience for live sports.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
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