Skip to contents

Social Posting Patterns with sdvplotR

Saiem Gilani
@saiemgilani @saiemgilani

Source: vignettes/social-posting.Rmd
social-posting.Rmd
On this page

Introduction

This article demonstrates best practices for creating shareable sports graphics using sdvplotR. These patterns are optimized for social media platforms like Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook.

Setup 

library(sdvplotR)
library(ggplot2)
library(dplyr)
library(gt)

# Get valid team abbreviations
nfl_teams <- sdv_teams("nfl")$abbr
nba_teams <- sdv_teams("nba")$abbr
cfb_teams <- sdv_teams("cfb")$abbr

Weekly Win-Probability Charts

Create win-probability charts for weekly recaps:

# Sample game data (replace with real data)
game_data <- data.frame(
  quarter = rep(1:4, each = 10),
  time_left = rep(seq(900, 0, length.out = 10), 4),
  win_prob_home = c(seq(0.5, 0.3, length.out = 10),
                    seq(0.3, 0.6, length.out = 10),
                    seq(0.6, 0.4, length.out = 10),
                    seq(0.4, 0.8, length.out = 10)),
  win_prob_away = c(seq(0.5, 0.7, length.out = 10),
                    seq(0.7, 0.4, length.out = 10),
                    seq(0.4, 0.6, length.out = 10),
                    seq(0.6, 0.2, length.out = 10))
)

ggplot(game_data, aes(x = time_left)) +
  geom_area(aes(y = win_prob_home), fill = "#E31837", alpha = 0.6) +
  geom_area(aes(y = win_prob_away), fill = "#003594", alpha = 0.6) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    data = data.frame(x = 450, y = 0.5, team = "KC"),
    aes(x = x, y = y, team = team),
    league = "nfl",
    width = 0.05,
    inherit.aes = FALSE
  ) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    data = data.frame(x = 450, y = 0.5, team = "BUF"),
    aes(x = x, y = y, team = team),
    league = "nfl",
    width = 0.05,
    inherit.aes = FALSE
  ) +
  scale_x_reverse() +
  scale_y_continuous(labels = scales::percent) +
  labs(
    title = "Win Probability: KC vs BUF (example data)",
    subtitle = "Example data, not a real game",
    x = "Time Remaining",
    y = "Win Probability",
    caption = "Example data | Viz: sdvplotR"
  ) +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(
    plot.title = element_text(face = "bold", size = 16),
    plot.subtitle = element_text(color = "grey40", size = 12),
    plot.caption = element_text(color = "grey60", size = 9)
  )

Example win probability chart for a Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills game: two overlapping red and blue areas show each team's chance of winning over the time left, with both team logos in the middle.

Logo-Rich Scatter Plots

Create eye-catching scatter plots with team logos:

# Sample EPA data
epa_data <- data.frame(
  team = sample(nfl_teams, 16),
  offensive_epa = runif(16, -0.2, 0.3),
  defensive_epa = runif(16, -0.3, 0.2)
)

ggplot(epa_data, aes(x = offensive_epa, y = defensive_epa)) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    aes(team = team),
    league = "nfl",
    width = 0.075
  ) +
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed", color = "grey50") +
  geom_vline(xintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed", color = "grey50") +
  labs(
    title = "NFL Team EPA Analysis (example data)",
    subtitle = "Offensive vs Defensive Performance, example data",
    x = "Offensive EPA per Play",
    y = "Defensive EPA per Play",
    caption = "Example data | Viz: sdvplotR"
  ) +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(
    plot.title = element_text(face = "bold", size = 16),
    plot.subtitle = element_text(color = "grey40", size = 12),
    plot.caption = element_text(color = "grey60", size = 9)
  )

NFL teams placed by offensive EPA (horizontal) and defensive EPA (vertical), each drawn as its logo, with dashed lines at zero.

Instagram-Style Square Exports

Create square graphics optimized for Instagram:

# Top 9 teams by win percentage
top_9 <- data.frame(
  team = sample(nfl_teams, 9),
  win_pct = sort(runif(9, 0.5, 0.9), decreasing = TRUE),
  x = rep(1:3, each = 3),
  y = rep(3:1, 3)
)

ggplot(top_9, aes(x = x, y = y)) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    aes(team = team),
    league = "nfl",
    width = 0.15
  ) +
  geom_label(
    aes(label = paste0(round(win_pct * 100, 1), "%")),
    nudge_y = -0.3,
    size = 4,
    alpha = 0.8
  ) +
  coord_equal() +
  labs(
    title = "Top 9 NFL Teams by Win % (example data)",
    caption = "Example data | Viz: sdvplotR"
  ) +
  theme_void() +
  theme(
    plot.title = element_text(face = "bold", size = 18, hjust = 0.5),
    plot.caption = element_text(color = "grey60", size = 10, hjust = 0.5)
  )

Square graphic of the top 9 NFL teams by win percentage, each team's logo in a grid with a label under it.

Twitter/X Optimized Graphics

Create graphics optimized for Twitter/X (16:9 aspect ratio):

# Weekly power rankings
power_rankings <- data.frame(
  rank = 1:10,
  team = sample(nfl_teams, 10),
  points = sort(runif(10, 50, 100), decreasing = TRUE)
)

ggplot(power_rankings, aes(x = rank, y = points)) +
  geom_col(aes(fill = team), width = 0.7) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    aes(team = team),
    league = "nfl",
    width = 0.05
  ) +
  scale_fill_sdv(league = "nfl", alpha = 0.8) +
  scale_y_continuous(limits = c(0, 120)) +
  labs(
    title = "Example Power Rankings",
    subtitle = "Top 10 NFL Teams, example data",
    x = "Rank",
    y = "Power Rating",
    caption = "Example data | Viz: sdvplotR"
  ) +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(
    plot.title = element_text(face = "bold", size = 18),
    plot.subtitle = element_text(color = "grey40", size = 14),
    plot.caption = element_text(color = "grey60", size = 10),
    legend.position = "none"
  )

Example power rankings of the top 10 NFL teams: a bar for each team's points, filled in team colors, with the team's logo at the end of the bar.

ggsave Best Practices

Export graphics with optimal settings for social media:

# Save for Twitter (16:9, high DPI)
# ggsave("twitter_graphic.png",
#        width = 16, height = 9, dpi = 300,
#        bg = "white")

# Save for Instagram (1:1 square)
# ggsave("instagram_square.png",
#        width = 10, height = 10, dpi = 300,
#        bg = "white")

# Save for Instagram Stories (9:16)
# ggsave("instagram_story.png",
#        width = 9, height = 16, dpi = 300,
#        bg = "white")

# Save for Facebook (varies, but 1200x630 is common)
# ggsave("facebook_post.png",
#        width = 12, height = 6.3, dpi = 300,
#        bg = "white")

Branding and Watermarks

Add consistent branding to your graphics:

# Create a branded footer function
add_branding <- function(plot, username = "@YourHandle") {
  plot +
    labs(caption = paste0("Viz: sdvplotR | ", username)) +
    theme(
      plot.caption = element_text(
        color = "grey60",
        size = 9,
        hjust = 1
      )
    )
}

# Apply branding to a plot
sample_plot <- ggplot(data.frame(x = 1:5, y = 1:5), aes(x, y)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme_minimal()

add_branding(sample_plot, "@SportsDataverse")

A plain example scatter plot of five points on a diagonal, shown with the sdvplotR branding caption below it.

Multi-Sport Weekly Recap

Create a multi-sport recap graphic:

# Sample data for multiple sports
multi_sport_data <- data.frame(
  league = c("NFL", "NBA", "MLB", "NHL", "CFB"),
  team = c("KC", "BOS", "LAD", "COL", "UGA"),
  record = c("8-2", "12-3", "95-67", "45-12-5", "11-1"),
  rank = 1:5
)

ggplot(multi_sport_data, aes(x = rank, y = 1)) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    data = multi_sport_data[1, ],
    aes(x = rank, y = 1, team = team),
    league = "nfl",
    width = 0.075,
    inherit.aes = FALSE
  ) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    data = multi_sport_data[2, ],
    aes(x = rank, y = 1, team = team),
    league = "nba",
    width = 0.075,
    inherit.aes = FALSE
  ) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    data = multi_sport_data[3, ],
    aes(x = rank, y = 1, team = team),
    league = "mlb",
    width = 0.075,
    inherit.aes = FALSE
  ) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    data = multi_sport_data[4, ],
    aes(x = rank, y = 1, team = team),
    league = "nhl",
    width = 0.075,
    inherit.aes = FALSE
  ) +
  geom_sdv_logos(
    data = multi_sport_data[5, ],
    aes(x = rank, y = 1, team = team),
    league = "cfb",
    width = 0.075,
    inherit.aes = FALSE
  ) +
  geom_label(
    aes(label = league),
    nudge_y = -0.3,
    size = 3,
    alpha = 0.8
  ) +
  geom_label(
    aes(label = record),
    nudge_y = -0.6,
    size = 3,
    alpha = 0.8
  ) +
  scale_x_continuous(breaks = 1:5) +
  labs(
    title = "Example Power Rankings",
    subtitle = "Top Teams Across All Sports, example data",
    caption = "Example data | Viz: sdvplotR"
  ) +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(
    axis.text.y = element_blank(),
    panel.grid = element_blank(),
    plot.title = element_text(face = "bold", size = 16),
    plot.subtitle = element_text(color = "grey40", size = 12)
  )

Top teams from several sports in one weekly power rankings graphic, each ranked team drawn as its logo with labels under it.

Color Palette Showcases

Create graphics showcasing team color palettes:

# Get team colors for top teams
color_data <- data.frame(
  team = c("KC", "BUF", "SF", "PHI", "DAL"),
  x = 1:5,
  y = 1
)

ggplot(color_data, aes(x = x, y = y)) +
  geom_col(aes(fill = team), width = 0.8) +
  scale_fill_sdv(league = "nfl", alpha = 1) +
  labs(
    title = "NFL Team Color Palettes",
    subtitle = "Primary Colors",
    caption = "Data: sdvplotR"
  ) +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(
    axis.text.x = element_text(angle = 45, hjust = 1),
    legend.position = "none",
    plot.title = element_text(face = "bold", size = 16),
    plot.subtitle = element_text(color = "grey40", size = 12)
  )

Bar chart of NFL team primary colors, one bar per team filled in that team's color.

Tips for Social Media Success

  1. Aspect Ratios: Use platform-specific aspect ratios (16:9 for Twitter, 1:1 for Instagram posts, 9:16 for Stories)

  2. Text Size: Use large, readable fonts (minimum 14pt for titles)

  3. High DPI: Export at 300 DPI for crisp images

  4. Branding: Include consistent watermarks and handles

  5. Accessibility: Use high-contrast colors and alt text

  6. Consistency: Post at regular intervals with consistent styling

Our Authors

Citation

To cite the sdvplotR R package in publications, use:

BibTeX Citation

@misc{gilani_carl_lee_kay_weatherman_sdvplotR,
  author = {Gilani, Saiem and Carl, Sebastian and Lee, Jared and Kay, Camden and Weatherman, Andrew},
  title = {sdvplotR: The SportsDataverse's R Package for Multi-League Sports Plotting.},
  url = {https://sdvplotR.sportsdataverse.org},
  year = {2026}
}