One reason for the success of social media is that visual content is appealing to many, thanks to the wide variety of content that can be displayed. A constant variable in social media is the use of video, as recognized by Defined Pickleball, the first indoor pickleball facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. With an abundance of free, outdoor clubs in the area, Defined Pickleball is focusing on video to help grow its presence and membership in the area since opening in July, 2025.
To help spread the word about the new club, owners visited the local outdoor pickleball courts, even joining in on play to inform the current pickleball community about the new indoor facility. Francis Ong was one of those players, and he currently works at the front desk and is now behind the club’s social media, specifically on TikTok and YouTube.
Most of the media features real members, coaches, and visiting professionals, such as Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Pro Albie Huang, for whom the club is like her second home. These consistent tutorials, short-form clips and gameplay bring viewers to its social media site to learn and check out the competition.
Frances says that while shorts and shorter tutorials are on both platforms, he primarily uses TikTok for the faster-paced, more entertaining clips and saves longer tutorials, full matches, sometimes with commentary, and player development content for YouTube. He also adds that, not surprisingly, TikTok has a younger demographic than YouTube.
With a degree in film, Frances enjoys creating content of all kinds. He began by filming games and then created a scoreboard so viewrs can keep track of the schore, have fun watching and learn a bit about the players at Defined.
“It’s fun for the pickleball community to check out the competition,” Frances says. “This can increase membership by viewers wanting to challenge a player they watched or they might want to come in and get filmed themselves.”
Watching film is a great way to see how a player’s game is developing or discover areas to improve, such as positioning. Seeing a full-court video of play allows for more analysis than a partner’s description.
Bringing video to your club can be a great way to generate revenue with any level player looking to improve, specifically the higher-level DUPRs. Frances says that while his film background doesn’t hurt, people with practice, a desire to learn, and the right equipment can add video to their club as well.
A starter set of digital equipment could include a smaller camera with video capabilities, a tripod and wireless lavaliers for interviews. A bonus tripod purchase would be a spider tripod that can be mounted anywhere for fun action shots. Most pickleball facilities are already well-lit; extra lighting could come in handy, though. Some editing can be completed through the social media platform and there are a wide variety of free online programs for those interested in more. All this can be purchased for typically under $1,000, providing a large ROI based on what the club might charge for a recorded match or instructor session.
Frances adds all members sign a waiver that notifies they could be in the background of a video that is used online. If taping a match, Frances confirms they are onboard with filming before as well as after just in case they didn’t perform as well as they had hoped.
If adding an extra staff member for video isn’t in the budget, keep an eye out for the member constantly making TikToks with their friends or standing on the sidelines taking pictures. They could be your best, low-cost alternative for social media content. Tutorial and interview content creation will typically have the best results when done by someone familiar with filming.
Social media can be for more than cute pictures and advertising tournaments. It can also be a way to give potential new members a glimpse into the club and entice them to join in the fun as well as grow your club’s reputation as a valuable resource for playing tips and tricks and competition. Take a chance, grab a camera and have fun. Because if you film it, they very well might come!
