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Like it or not, social media is here to stay. In fact, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 90 percent of children aged 13 to 17 have used social media, 75 percent report having at least one active social media profile, and 51 percent report visiting a social media site at least daily.
Utilizing social media to reach your players can be one of the most effective ways to reach and engage with your players outside of practices, games and team activities.
Know what social media platforms are out there and meet your players where they are. You can post all you want on Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram, but chances are, your players won’t see it. Try one of these instead:
Youtube – the video behemoth boasts more than two billion active users and its largest age group is between 15 and 35 years old, but anyone with a kid under the age of 15 can tell you it skews even younger. It’s a great place for longer vs. shorter videos.
TikTok – with about one billion active users, its largest age group is between 10 and 19 years old. Perhaps most surprising, users spend nearly 90 minutes per day on the platform.
Social Media Tips for Coaches
Be consistent, choose a posting schedule and stick to it, whether that’s once a day, once a week, or even less frequently.
Quality is always better than quantity. Don’t just post for the sake of posting, make sure you’re posting content your players actually want to see.
Create a content calendar. It might be helpful to come up with weekly or monthly themes, spotlighting coaches or players, meal or snack ideas, game highlights, skills and drills, etc.
Keep an eye out for relevant content and share posts by other players, coaches and influencers.
Always include photos and videos with posts. Make them as high resolution as possible, keep them authentic and show team events and dinners, as well as games and practices.
Give your players social media homework. Ask them to post a photo or video of something specific – think dribble technique, healthy meals, pre-game routines or habits. Provide a unique hashtag for them to use and share their posts.
Get players to help you come up with a unique hashtag for your team. Being involved will get them invested and more likely to use it on their own social media posts.
