The Social Media Advantage For a College Swim Team
Our lives are constantly changing with the role of technology, from instant news updates to devices tracking our workouts. So it is not surprising that it would emerge in college athletics and increase visibility for all sports. College football appears on our TV screens on Saturdays in the fall. Throughout the game, commercials show school ads, creating buzz for the program. But how does a sport like swimming create that same type of allure? It uses technology to its advantage.
The Social Media Manager’s Role
Using social media as a way to reach the masses can take time away from the coaching staff’s duties. The remedy: a social media manager. These individuals often work closely with the captains, coaching staff or the school’s sports network to find ways to boost visibility on campus and beyond. The social media manager must develop content that reaches and captivates recruits. Some of the common ways they boost visibility for the program include TikToks/Reels, student-athlete takEovers, captain’s messages for meet day or live updates of meets. This role enables a program to put out their message, and it gives a real feel on the day-to-day experiences at the school.
The Athlete’s Responsibility
With more visibility, it means more eyes watching. It also means the possibility of judgment of a program based on the current athletes. In a way, an athlete can affect the perception of the program on their personal platforms as well. When committing to swim in college, many athletes recognize that their platforms are being factored in the perception of them. When they get on campus, the main swimming and diving account will more than likely follow them as well. Often, when an athlete achieves a milestone performance or celebrates a birthday, the team account can post and give credit accordingly. Doing this creates a cohesive understanding of their impact on the program. It is equally important for an athlete to carry himself/herself with integrity.
Photographers
Some schools may have athletic photographers that are generally used for all sports, but when there are a lot of events going on it is easy for a sport to get missed. To avoid this, there might be a photographer that is just for swimming and diving. They also help cultivate the archive for years to come. Keeping a photographer on deck or in the stands means more content to post. Pulling ideas from the social media manager can help with promotional graphics as well. They play an important role. In swimming, a lot of the photographer’s work is in short windows, given the extreme time constraints of getting the shot. By having someone there steadily, athletes and coaches are more receptive to following through with more creative media day ideas from the photographer.
The Bigger Picture
Each aspect of promoting more visibility in swimming comes from many avenues. It comes from the coaches, athletes and social media team. They each carry a different role. Hyping up meets or championships helps a swimming program be part of the conversation among young fans. Seeing an edit of the introduction of the rookies emerging from the water might get a teenager to click on the main page. Or a parent watching an after-swim interview styled live on a platform could introduce the idea to their kid at another program. Each program creates their own mark on swim social media which helps the next generation of creators.