The New Year is coming in hot and it’s an important time to stay ahead of the curve; both athletically and technologically. This year, make it a New Year’s Resolution to improve your athlete social presence. Not only do you want to show professionalism on your Facebook and other social media pages, but you also want to be searchable for college coaches to find you. Here are a few tips on improving your social presence:
Develop Your LinkedIn Profile:
Let me guess, you created your account three years ago, and then let it sit, and sit, and sit. It should be a priority to further develop your profile and to make sure it reflects both you as a person and as an athlete.
When it comes to social media and networking, first impression is everything. When’s the last time you reviewed your profile picture? Do you even have a profile picture? According to Crystal Braswell, manager of corporate communications at LinkedIn, adding a picture of your gorgeous face could result in 14 times more profile views than if you hadn’t. Your photo should be clear and professional; this time, selfies won’t suffice.
You may loathe writing self-summaries, but on LinkedIn, these little paragraphs can be particularly helpful for optimizing your searchability. Is your self-summary concise? Is it an accurate description of yourself? Does it use proper grammar? Take the time to review this step.
Lastly, endorsements are a new form of recommendation. Whether you think it’s just meaningless back-patting or not, having endorsements for certain skills on your profile makes you look impressive.
Post Game Footage To YouTube
Video footage is one of the most important ways an athlete can attract the attention of coaches at the university level. Unfortunately, it’s also where many athletes come up short, with substandard video quality and unnecessary production components.
So, how do you make the video? Well, like anything in life, quality does count. This doesn’t mean you have to hire Steven Spielberg to shoot your footage, but many people find hiring a videographer a worthwhile expense. For those on a tighter budget, it is just fine to shoot your footage from the stands with a modest camcorder. Just make certain to use a tripod, to avoid camera shake and practice following the action numerous times to get the feel of filming.
We suggest skipping the loud metal music and colorful graphics; coaches hate them anyway. Keep the video short, concise and to the point.
Clean Up Your Act
We know you’ve heard it a hundred times, but there has never been a more important time to clean up your act than now. Not that we condone crazy partying for students trying to pursue an athletic career anyway… but remember that one crazy end-of-the-school-year party you went to? We guarantee there is a photo of you somewhere on social media proving your attendance. No red cup photos; no beer pong photos, no obscene gestures. The goal is clean and professional.
Rule of thumb: If your grandma feels uncomfortable with the photo, so will your college recruiter.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
