Guide to Social Media

When Matt Azevedo took over the Drexel University wrestling program six years ago, his number-one goal was to get the word out about Drexel University (located in Philadelphia) and Drexel Wrestling, a D-I program that competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.

To do that, he turned to social media.

“For Drexel Wrestling, social media has been a tremendous tool for us to add value to our program,” says Azevedo, who was named the 2012–13 Social Media Head Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. “I wanted to create a strong brand and grow it within the wrestling community and we did that mostly through social media. We have been able to bring an incredible amount of positive attention and awareness to our team.”

For programs like Drexel wrestling, organizations like USA Wrestling, and athletes of all ages and experiences, social media has helped connect them and fans like never before.

Below we look at the impact social media can have in athletics, and provide some guidelines for how to make the most of social media while avoiding mistakes.

Understand the Impact

For many youth and high school athletes, using social media to share information or express oneself is just what kids do these days, without any thought behind social shares, posts, likes, or comments. But social media also gives athletes—the majority of them not trained, or too young to understand potential consequences—great power. So use it wisely, says Dr. Coyte Cooper, a former Indiana University wrestler and President of Elite Level Sports Marketing, a firm that specializes in the development of marketing materials to grow NCAA sport programs.

Many athletes have made costly mistakes via social media. Stories run rampant about athletes losing a scholarship because of an inappropriate social media post. Coaches have even been fired. Recently, a softball team was disqualified from the Junior League World Series because of an inappropriate Snapchat post.

Avoid Emotional Posting

“The number-one thing to avoid is posting when you are upset,” Cooper says. “This tends to get people in trouble because they post when they are in the wrong place mentally.”

Be Yourself

Cooper says social media “is not a place to go to be something you are not. It is an extension of you and should reflect your goals and values. If you want to be a scholarship D-I athlete (or a college athlete at any level), then post things that coaches would love to be a part of their brand. Don’t complain and get into scraps on social media because no great coach wants that. The best way to succeed here is to know your values and then be disciplined about modeling them so that social media reflects them.”

Follow a Social Media Policy

Teams at all levels, from youth to high school, should work to create social media policy or guidelines to educate and remind about the dangers of using social media the wrong way. “In today’s world of instant communication, high school student-athletes should think twice before sending any form of communication via social media,” says Bruce L. Howard, Director of Publications and Communications for the National Federation of State High School Associations. “It is a very public world now, and unintended consequences could occur if an inappropriate message is distributed. One ill-timed message could potentially bring an end to an athlete’s career.”

To aid in social media education and policy, the Positive Coaching Alliance has created a series of social media articles and videos, and this student-athlete social media agreement.

Education is Key

Education is the key to using social media in a positive and productive way, adds Azevedo. So he has several conversations a year with athletes about how to use social media responsibly.

He tells athletes to ask themselves—would you want your employer to see it? Would you want your parents to see it? He reminds them about avoiding inappropriate language and content, the consequences of violating/breaking NCAA rules, school policies and/or misrepresenting the values of the program. These rules hold true for high school and youth wrestling programs, coaches, individuals, and parents.

Todd Beckerman, head coach of Brown University wrestling, a D-I program in Providence, Rhode Island, that also competes in the EIWA, reminds athletes to use social media cautiously. “We talk about this constantly with the guys on the team and encourage them to think about all the content that they post to their own social media,” Beckerman says. “Our guys will graduate with an Ivy League degree from Brown that will open up many job opportunities after graduation and the last thing we want is an employer to not hire them because of what they see on their social media.”

Coaches are Watching

Athletes who want to be recruited or participate in college athletics need to ensure their social media profile does not represent them in a negative manner. High school athletes looking to compete at the next level need to “be mindful about the types of posts and things they like and share online,” says Beckerman. “This is often the first impression a future coach or employer will have, and you need to make a good one. In fact, we have actually stopped recruiting a wrestler because of what we have seen online.”

Athletes are Brand Ambassadors

Athletes are often the best brand ambassadors for a wrestling program, and can connect with others to help use social media in a positive way. “Our student-athletes are the biggest advocates for our program, so I strongly encouraged every wrestler to get on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote Drexel Wrestling,” Azevedo says.

Social Media is a Resource

Beckerman says social media is a powerful tool to help brand and promote Brown wrestling. Other programs can benefit, too. Brown wrestling uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Snapchat to promote the program, and provide an inside look into the team and University and New England area. Social media provides an inexpensive way to connect with fans, alumni, recruits, and other wrestling fans all over the world. And it’s basically free, minus some inexpensive upgrades and apps that can help enhance the social media experience.

Best Practices for Promotion

“We use social media with the goal of engaging our alumni, parents, fans, recruits, and growing our community of followers,” Beckerman says. “When we create content, we try to keep our audiences in mind and provide them with information that they will find engaging and informative, including:

• Promoting team results, including live scoring during match days and tournaments as well as posting pictures of these competitions.
• Communicating information about alumni and team events, using social media as a way to invite fans to matches, dinners or other social gatherings. Or using it to share community involvement/engagement or volunteer work.
• Profiling team members, coaches or notable alums, to help the wrestling community get to know one another.
• Supporting others in the larger wrestling community. “We often will highlight international results or rankings of wrestlers or promote/support efforts of those within our Brown Wrestling community," says Beckerman. “For example, if an alumni started a new nonprofit, we can help spread the word about their cause.”
• Using it as a recruiting tool, to connect and converse with recruits (in accordance with NCAA bylaws).

Social Media Rules to Live By

Beckerman offers these key strategies for social media success:

1. Keep posts short: Twitter forces us to write in 140 characters or less, but it’s a good rule of thumb to be direct, and get straight to the point, to help keep people interested.

2. Ask questions: This elicits audience engagement.

3. Be visual: Research has shown that people are more likely to engage with visual media more often than text-based posts.

4. Establish an online brand and tone: “We have worked hard to establish an online tone and brand across our channels that is pulled through to all of our graphics and is apparent in our posts,” Beckerman says.

5. Post frequently: Algorithms across many of these platforms actually “punish” you if you are an infrequent poster by not prominently featuring your posts or content in others’ feeds. “Establishing a regular cadence, multiple times per week, enhances your chances of being seen,” Beckerman says. 

6. Think twice, even three times before posting: Don’t post when angry, upset, or to get revenge. Don’t post out of spite, to gloat, brag, or one-up someone. Don’t bully or taunt others.

Because…

Deleting a post doesn’t mean it’s gone forever: Even if a post or social share is deleted, it truly is never really gone forever. You never know who could have captured a screen shot, or someone could find a way to “dig it up” and use it against you. Whether you’re a coach, wrestler, or parent, remember this, Beckerman says: “You never know who is looking at your online presence, so it is very important to post, like, and share content that would not affect future opportunities.”