The Importance of Social Media
Social media has obviously revolutionized the way we interact with one another and the way we communicate.
It has changed the way we buy products, relate to our favorite brands and celebrities, in addition to how we tell stories and generate ideas. The power of the internet and the applications that we use on a daily basis are highly undervalued and underestimated.
The main point in all of this is that this is what the world is focused on and where all of the current attention is. Furthermore, this where the world will continue to be for years to come.
Despite all of the bad that is happening in the world, we are really living in an incredible time period, and if you are not interacting or consuming your information from some form of social media, you are considered sort of an outcast.
The mediums have changed and the world is changing in ways that we have never seen before. It is extremely important for people to start grasping this fact, especially businesses.
On the same accord, celebrities and athletes also have to understand the importance of this and how critical it is to their future.
Many athletes have been able to leverage social media in several different ways which can be incredibly advantageous when it comes to marketing and branding.
We have seen this with several athletes across the board including Marshawn Lynch, Dwayne Wade & Mike Trout.
Some of the other factors as to why it is so important include:
- Brand Awareness — Social media can build an athlete’s social reputation.
- Brand Image — Social media can show images as positive publicity for the professional athlete and causes they wish to support.
- Brand Equity — Social media is an instant means of sharing knowledge and creating immediate access to information.
- Brand Loyalty — Social media can transcend boundaries and location while establishing trends toward faithfulness of the consumers.
Though it does come with a lot of responsibility as many athletes have destroyed their careers due to bad publicity and things posted on social media.
The best part about all of this being that it costs you or anyone else absolutely nothing to voice an opinion, create a brand, and/or publish any kind of media. To publish media at wide scale, to thousands of people, used to cost millions of dollars, and an extensive network, but it is now completely free through social media.
If you don’t understand how huge this is, then I think you need to start realizing.
This is the world that we live in today and this is a world that will be ruled by athletes, influencers, celebrities, and the ones who can control the most attention from the masses.
But Which Platform Matters The Most?
While there are many different social media platforms to choose from, depending on what you do, who you’re trying to reach, and the message that you are trying to get across, some may matter more than others.
Within the past several years, social media has completely revolutionized access to our favorite athletes. Through platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram we are able to get an insider’s view of these athletes and their lives.
Athletes are major trendsetters. They have adoring fans and followers who want to be like them and pay attention to everything that they do on and off the playing field.
But with all of these different platforms, it can be overwhelming to try to figure out which ones will be most beneficial to their brands, what their goals are, and what they want to share with their fans.
Instagram is slowly emerging as the best social media platform for several different reasons.
More and more brands are investing dollars into ads, influencers, and marketing on Instagram because they recognize the potential and growth.
If you are a professional athlete looking to grow, build, and possibly monetize your brand one day, Instagram is without a doubt the absolute best platform you should be on.
Why Is This The Best Platform To Use?
Instagram has a user base of over 800 million people and is currently growing exponentially year by year.
It is currently the second most popular social media platform in the world behind Facebook, which actually owns Instagram.
But let’s really get into the nuts and bolts as to why it is so crucial for athletes to build and grow their Instagram page.
By nature, humans are very visual and everything in the sports world is just that. Very visual.
Instagram, which is an image intensive platform, allows athletes the ability to showcase and share so much with their fans and followers. Everything from their workout routines, to meal plans, treatment, and everyday life can be displayed on Instagram in unique and creative ways.
It combines multiple social media platforms into one, by allowing the user to post pictures, videos, and long text.
Instagram is also very simple, easy to understand and has an aesthetic layout. Plus, the demographic on Instagram is very diverse, therefore you can reach the exact audience or market that you want to reach.
Whether a student-athlete or a professional athlete, most athletes are always on the go and rarely going a day without interaction or some type of activity.
It is very easy to create content as an athlete on the go or whenever they feel they need to with Instagram. With the Instagram story and Instagram live features, athletes can show their fans and followers what they are doing in at any given moment.
Now, users can even host a two-way Instagram live feed, which is a way that athletes can potentially host contests or giveaways in which the winner can receive a 10 minute call with their favorite athlete for example.
There are numerous things that athletes can do with this platform that help build awareness and recognition around their personality, who they are, and what they’re up to.
These features are great for engagement and behind the scenes as athletes can also hold polls, Q&As, and give fans inside access that they wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere. This is crucial in terms of building a relationship and rapport with those who support you.
Below is a great example of Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo keeping his followers up to date with his training activity and weight loss.
Last summer, he went through a huge transformation and documented some of the progess on Instagram. This boosted his following immensely and made his fan base excited while giving them something to look forward to when the season started.
He was just announced to be an NBA All-Star this week, and due to the access that he gave his fans, many of them can feel like they were apart of his journey to achieving this great accomplishment.
The thing that athletes have to realize is that all social media networks are very, very different and have interesting nuances on each one.
The way someone interacts and engages on Twitter is going to be very different than how someone interacts and engages on LinkedIn.
They are two very different platforms which alter your mindset when you are on consuming content or interacting on them. People don’t act in the same manner on each outlet and that has to be taken into consideration to a certain extent when putting out content.
The key to mastering any platform and getting your fans to really love and respect you as a brand is to document the journey, don’t create.
Gary Vaynerchuk touches on this a lot and it is something that makes complete sense for anyone who wants to build a brand on social.
You can’t overwhelm yourself with trying to come up with things to post on any platform. The main keys are to understand the differences and how you should tell stories on each platform, understand who your audience is and then to be as authentic as possible.
There really is “no one size fits all” social media strategy for athletes, but every athlete has a phone, access, and should take advantage of that.
If you’re a professional athlete, one of the most important things you can do for your future and your career is to invest in your fans and followers through social media.
How Can Athletes Maximize Their Following On This Platform?
Documenting not creating. Being authentic. Understanding your audience.
All of these things are crucial, but the most important aspect of building a brand and maximizing your following is to engage, engage, and engage some more.
I’ve talked about this time and time before and cannot stress the importance of it.
Remember how it felt when you were a kid and you went to your first baseball game, basketball game, or even football game.
Then think about whether or not you got the chance to meet, shake hands with, or get an autograph from your favorite athlete or even another player on the team.
Think about what that means to a kid and how life-changing that could be.
For many sports fans, regardless of their age, this is what it feels like when you interact with them as an athlete. This is why it is important to just say “thank you for your support” or even just an emoji.
It matters a lot more than you think.
People want to feel special and appreciated. On social media, as an athlete, you have the opportunity to do that for someone and it costs you nothing, but a little time out of your day.
You never know when you have an opportunity to change someone’s life or when someone might change yours.
Social media has amplified this ability and given people who never had a voice before, a chance to do something they love and believe in and to interact with those that they look up to.
As a professional athlete, you have a major responsibility to do for others, to give back to the community, and to inspire those who come after you.
The one thing that I do know is that if you do the right things, live the right way, and show love to those who support and follow you, everything that you want out of your athletic career will happen for you plus more.
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