Fun fact: Famous footballer Christiano Ronaldo currently has 609 million followers on Instagram. That’s nearly half the population of China. CR7, as he’s more fondly called, earns a whopping $3.2 million per Instagram post! Don’t you feel like you could just retire already and spend the rest of your life posting on IG if you were in his shoes? Not to digress.
Recognition and fame in sports often come after years of hard work, dedication, and a significant amount of exposure. Lebron James and CR7 have been grinding hard for over two decades, consistently at the apex of the NBA and football. But what about college athletes who have yet to enter the national spotlight? For them, the path to growing their brand and income isn’t so easy. Social media is a powerful tool they can use; LSU’s Angel Reese a great example of a college athlete who knows what to do with social media. In this article, we’ll look at the various ways that college athletes can use social media to build their brands and income.
If you’re a college athlete or aspiring to join college sports, then this article is right up your alley.
Create And Share High-Quality And Personalized Content
Yes, you might not have billion-dollar brand support or an egregious salary with a planet-sized ego to match your name. That’s fine. Persona content from the college athlete is the surest way to grow their brand. Use social media to its full advantage: you can do this by:
Training Videos and Photos: Show your fans what you do behind the grind, how you start your days, and what it takes to build and keep form. Share your daily workout routines, training drills, and fitness regimes. If you love the gym, share the workout sessions there. Or, share training videos with your coach or with teammates.
Game Highlights: Let your fans relive the most exciting moments of a match or competition. Post highlights of your games, showcase the team power involved, and let the folks watching know that winning never comes easy.
Behind-the-scenes: Let your fans peek a behind-the-scenes look at your life as a college athlete. Share moments from practice, the locker room, and your daily routines; this will make it personal for your fans.
Personal Stories: It ain’t all glam. Your journey to and as a college athlete is filled with ups and downs. Share personal stories, moments of victory and loss. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable once in a while. Let your fans see you as human and not just as “the champ”. You can show your fans how you were struggling with a “How do I write my dissertation?” just a few days before a big game.
Interviews: Be on the other side of the mic for once. Interview your fellow teammates and coach, and mix this up with a little zest and personality. It could be anything from training techniques to strategies for winning. Remember to keep this fun. If the fans need more serious commentary, they can always go to MSNBC or Fox.
Charity Work: Charity not only demonstrates your commitment to making your community better; it also shows that you haven’t lost touch especially if you’re coming from the projects or other low-income neighborhoods. This is your chance to capture something that you’re passionate about on camera.
Remember, when creating content, authenticity is key and quality beats quantity any day. Be yourself and share other sides of you with your audience that they might not see on the pitch or track. Remember to draw clear lines and let your fans know what is or isn’t personal.
Partner With Brands
While college athletes don’t necessarily get the type of brand support that more national athletes do, they can still attract brands to their fold. If you do end up partnering with brands, let these be companies or products that your values and interests resonate with. This also introduces you to a much wider or even national audience.
Use the following strategies to mutually benefit from brand partnerships:
Sponsored Posts and product placements: Partner with brands for sponsored posts, promoting their products or services to your audience. In return, they’ll pay you and even provide merch. For example, a college football player can collaborate with a sports nutrition brand, posting about their products and how they’ve helped with performance and recovery.
Ambassador Deals and Endorsements: Eventually, due to your success, work ethic, or growth, brands may come calling to establish partnerships. This is your chance to take on a more professional role and embrace the spotlight, representing yourself, your team, and your brand. In turn, you might be blessed with an extra source of income and also be introduced to new audiences that expand your reach.
Build a Strong Online Community
Once you gain something of a social media following, start to build a strong community around your followers, no matter how few. Also, do this across various social platforms. Always keep in mind that your brand as a college athlete and a future national will be undergirded by your community of followers.
Here’s how to foster your community:
- Respond to comments and questions on social media, even at unconventional times.
- Organize contests and giveaways as a way to generate excitement and give back to your fans.
- Host live sessions and Q&As where you interact with your audience in real time. Let your fans get to know you on a more personal level. Let’s say you were working on your thesis or dissertation while still prepping for a big game, you could share tips with your fans for success, for example, how you got superb writing help by checking out this essaywriter.org evaluation.
Remember, you’re not in the search for minions or stans who can end up bullying other folks who don’t agree with their opinions. Rather, you’re searching for the right balance between personal conversations and professionalism. Always moderate such communities to avoid disagreements and fractions.
Promoting Your Products And Services
Once you start promoting your own products, you’ve started hitting boss-level status. The earlier, the better. You can try out a bunch of different things here, including:
Merchandise: Develop your line of merch, such as clothing, accessories, or sports gear, and market it through your social media channels.
Training Programs: Maybe you’re not an expert, but you could partner with people like certified fitness instructors to develop courses and training programs that you can then promote and sell on social media.
Wrapping Up
If you are a college athlete, hopefully, you’ll make it to the big leagues and become the next Lebron or Curry. But before then, social media is one of the most valuable tools in your arsenal – use it to its full advantage.
By using these hacks and strategies for social media, you’ll transition into a more well-rounded person, a unique personality on the vast social media landscape, and a boss building wealth from early on. Good luck!
