The women’s sports market in the United States is primed for growth and is expected to reach $2.5 billion in revenue by 2030 (McKinsey & Company, 2025). As the market expands, social media has played a critical role in shaping the development and visibility of women’s sports. Understanding the social media content strategies of women’s sports leagues offers valuable insight into how these organizations build and engage their fan bases in the rapidly growing women’s sports market. However, limited research has focused on the effectiveness of social media content strategies in women’s professional sports leagues and teams. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the social media strategies of new and emerging women’s professional sports leagues and teams, with particular attention to how these organizations leverage Instagram to cultivate, engage, and retain fan communities. This study analyzed the social media content of six emerging women’s sports leagues: Athlete Unlimited Softball League, Unrivaled Basketball, League One Volleyball, Major League Volleyball, Women’s Lacrosse League, and Women’s Elite Rugby. Engagement metrics were collected from every team in each league to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the leagues’ social media strategies. The study examined more than 5,000 posts across 36 teams. The highest-performing content was athlete-centric, suggesting that athletes’ personal accounts complement team and league accounts by increasing visibility and engagement. Consistent posting schedules proved more effective than inconsistent ones, while avoiding over-posting and maintaining a balanced content volume also contributed to stronger engagement. Lastly, the most successful posts involved collaborations with specific team accounts, which helped broaden the content’s reach. The best-performing content also incorporated a mix of text, images, and videos to align with the target audience’s interests.