So last month I heard about this Phillies bucket hat giveaway and I’m like gotta have that hat, right? Started off basic – saw the Instagram post, smashed that like button and commented “pick me!” Realized after two days that wasn’t cutting it when I scrolled through hundreds of identical comments. Oops.
The Turning Point
Dug into past winners’ profiles and noticed something: all of ’em tagged friends. Next morning before coffee, I grabbed my phone and typed out five unique baseball puns like “This hat would be a grand slam for summer!” instead of just tagging randoms. Felt clever until I saw people tagging 20+ friends.
Going All In
Went down the rabbit hole:
- Set phone alarms for every single game day (their posts always drop in the 3rd inning)
- Researched hashtags and included #PhilliesNation + #MLBFashion in every entry
- Rummaged through my closet for vintage Phillies merch to wear in photos
Took this ridiculous selfie wearing my nephew’s plastic batting helmet with “NEED PROPER HEADGEAR” caption. Almost tripped over the dog doing that.
The Real Game Changer
Remembered that engagement breeds engagement. Started actually replying to other folks’ entries with stuff like “That shirt’s fire! Where’d you cop?” instead of just spamming my own link. Took forever but got my comment count way up.
Final Tally
Ended up with:
- 37 total entries across 2 weeks
- 84 new baseball-themed hashtags in my brain
- 1 sad email saying I wasn’t picked
BUT that DM from the team account saying they loved my dedication? Worth more than the hat honestly.
