Social Media for Athletes: 4 Easy Tips for Success

Balancing social media and life as an athlete is a tough job. Fan support, encouragement, and the ability to make extra income are vital, but it should not distract from your training regime and impact performance. 

Below, we give our tips for maximizing your online potential while developing your career. Follow our guide on social media for athletes to achieve your personal best in all areas.

1. Use It to Engage

The power of social media is in its ability to let you engage with fans, even when you are not at an event or fixture. Use this to your ability. Talk with the people who support you, ask their opinions, and discuss the sport with them. 

Building engagement is more important than the number of followers you have. One million followers are useless if only 10 of them ever comment on your posts. Develop a fanbase that engages with you on a personal level. 

This works both ways. You should actively go and engage with fans who do not follow you. Follow supporters online, comment on discussions with fans, and give advice. You will quickly see your follower count going up.

2. Create a Brand

Begin to think of yourself as a brand, and invest in marketing yourself as a company would do. Choose color schemes and select banner ideas that reflect your kit or team strip. Post content that ties into this aesthetic.

Although building this brand will take time, it will be beneficial in the future. The careers of athletes are extremely short, and the time you put in now could end up being an income source once you retire from the sport. 

3. Social Media for Athletes and Sponsorship

Even for an athlete, sponsorship is not as easy to come by as you may think. Sponsors want an athlete who has active social media channels that post regularly. They want someone with plenty of followers that are actively engaged.

When approached by a sponsor, understand that you are entering into a reciprocal agreement. The brand must align with your vision and ethics as an athlete. It may be that later down the line that they conduct themselves in a way you do not agree with, in which case the deal could be terminated, and it is better to address this at the start rather than later. 

4. Stay Real

You may be tempted to buy followers. Don’t do it. It is a false economy that will give nothing back other than a number on your profile.

Be yourself and let people into your world. They want to know who you are, what makes you tick, and what your day is built from. Being real, and combining it with well-placed hashtags so people can find you, will be much more beneficial.

Getting Started

So now you have social media for athletes set up, start engaging with your public! Our website is constantly updating their articles that you can discuss, share on social media, and use it to engage your followers. Join us on our website and social media to increase your online presence today!