Having the opportunity of being recruited in a college is not very easy and has its challenges. Students need to make themselves known and appealing during the college recruiting process. As a parent of a student athlete, it’s not enough sit back and wait for schools to notice your kid’s talent. You need to showcase who they are and make the schools know your student athlete and what they stand for. Our sports marketing team has a few simple strategies related to marketing for student athletes. Understanding and executing on these strategies can set your student athlete apart from the rest.
Purchase the correct domain
Building a website is fine and is one of our strategies. But choosing a domain that relates and depicts the niche of the site is also very important. As a parent of a student athlete, make sure the domain name you choose is simple and clear. This will quickly tell people visiting your site what the site is all about before actually going through your content. You can get a little creative with the domain and don’t feel like you can’t purchase multiple ones. This is very necessary for the college recruiting process.
Create a simple website
Having a simple website is one of the recommended ways to promote your student athlete. News about the athletic, great images, and strong sports profile can go a long way to publicize the athlete. A real differentiator can be blogging. The student athlete can blog about their sports career, post images of themselves, and write about their impact on the field or court. This can send a powerful signal to your colleges of choice. The website as a whole can also provide an opportunity on for followers and fans to engage with the student athlete.
Write compelling copy
This is another way of athlete promotion at high school athlete. Writing and publishing compelling books about yourself could tell your news to the world. You could also write on your favorite sport, educating and guiding athletes on the rules and regulations of the sport. You could also
write a book such as; “how to score a goal with a shot”, etc. You could use compelling and interesting related fiction to describe the sport; this will capture your reader and if well organized, will ring a bell in the mind of the reader of what you are made of.
Create a hype video
Creating a video of the student athlete is very important. In the video the student athlete can advertise themselves directly. The video can showcase sports highlights but also offers a chance for the athlete to show who they are. People like and believe things easier when they can see it visually not just hearing from people. The video (and snippets) can be shared on social media and posted on the website. Video can be a very powerful tool when marketing for student athletes.
Use social media
This is the easiest and most common tactic for marketing for student athletes. Video, images, and messages from the student athlete can help to create a following, generate buzz, and allowing the public to get to know the athletes. As you know, college sports are no longer about just talent and winning. These colleges are also looking for personalities and athletes that will enhance the school’s reputation and brand.
The key to social media, if the student athlete is planning to market themselves is responsibility. Even in high school, athletes are brands. The same type of caution needs to be exhibited as if the athlete were professional. Keeping the social platforms free of controversy and negative imagery is critical.
Conclusion
Promotion is extremely important for college recruitment. Promoting the student athlete is all about building an online personality and creating a strong digital presence. Most college recruiters will look online to see what they can find about the athlete before even making contact. So parents of students looking forward to college recruitment should take marketing for student athletes very seriously.
