The Impact of Text and Direct Messaging on Athletic Recruiting
In the dynamic world of high school athletic recruitment, the art of communication can be a game-changer. As counselors guiding young athletes toward their dreams, understanding the nuances of this digital dialogue is crucial. Gone are the days when recruitment hinged solely on physical performances or mailed letters. Today, it's about smart, strategic conversations, often unfolding in the digital realm. In this blog, we delve into the pivotal role of text messages and social media direct messages in elevating a student-athlete's prospects. This isn’t just about reaching out; it’s about breaking through the clutter, making a memorable impression, and forging a connection that could shape a young athlete's future.
We spoke in previous posts about the communication hierarchy that recruiting conversations follow, moving relationships up the pyramid through the stages of email, social media, text messages, phone calls, and finally in-person visits. Today, we will focus on the pivotal turning point for communications, text and direct messages.
Text message is a turning point in the relationship between an athlete and coach because it elevates a student-athlete up to a new level of recruit. Coaches don’t give their personal information out lightly. Getting the okay from one of them to start this more personalized form of communication is a massive indication of interest.
It also differentiates the subsequent messages from all the other emails that coaches are getting on a daily basis. Email is full of noise. Anyone alive in the last 20 years has experience with an inbox stuffed full of marketing offers, breaking news updates, and so much more. Add onto that hundreds of emails coming in from young student-athletes around the world and it is easy to see how much each individual email has to contend with.
Text messages are much different. So much of the noise is filtered out because cell phone numbers are private. Texting back and forth with a coach allows the student-athlete a direct line of communication and an elevated status as a recruit. Once a student switches from email to text/DM, they should NOT GO BACK to email. Stay in this elevated mode of communication.
If a coach gives a student their cell phone number and invites them to text, it's important to follow some guidelines to ensure that their communication is professional and respectful.
Be Professional: Just as they would in an email or in-person conversation, it's important to maintain a professional tone when texting with a coach. Avoid using slang or abbreviations and make sure messages are grammatically correct and respectful.
Keep It Brief: Texting is meant to be a quick and convenient way to communicate, so it's important to keep messages brief and to the point. Avoid sending lengthy messages or getting too personal in messages.
Be Respectful of Their Time: Coaches are busy and may not be able to respond to texts immediately. Avoid texting them late at night or early in the morning, and avoid sending too many messages in a short period of time.
Use Texting for Quick Questions or Updates: Texting can be a great way to ask quick questions or share updates with a coach, but it's not a replacement for in-person conversations or phone calls. Use texting sparingly and make sure that any questions they ask can be answered quickly and easily.
Accompany Text with an Email If More Context Is Needed: If they have an important question or need to provide more detailed information, it's a good idea to follow up with an email or phone call. This can help ensure that your communication is clear and that they don't miss any important details.
Accompany Text with an Email If More Context Is Needed: If they have an important question or need to provide more detailed information, it's a good idea to follow up with an email or phone call. This can help ensure that your communication is clear and that they don't miss any important details.
Remember, texting with a coach is a privilege, and it's important to treat it as such. By following these guidelines and being respectful of the coach's time and preferences, students can build a positive relationship and demonstrate their commitment to their program.
Text updates are a great way to keep the ball rolling with coaches and make sure that they are seeing updates. Here are two common and effective examples of when texts can be really effective:
Social Media Direct Messages
On a slightly lower scale, Social Media direct messages can also be valuable. It’s definitely not the same as text, but it is a direct line of communication that is often quieter than noisy email. If a coach has their account open for direct messages, then it is important to wait for a moment when the student-athlete has relevant information to share. If they’re playing in a game close to the coach’s campus or they have a great new highlight to share, it is appropriate to reach out via direct message to make sure the coach sees it.
If their account isn’t open to DM, then the goal becomes to try to get the coach to follow the student-athlete back. It is important once again to wait until there is a relevant reason to reach out to the coach. Games in the area or new video footage are always the best times to start a communication channel. In this case, posting a message with the coach directly tagged in it is appropriate. But this isn’t something a student-athlete can do for every team on their list. Posts that are available to the public need to be carefully considered. Hopefully, the result is a coach following back which opens a line of communication through social media direct messages.
Both text and direct messages are important steps in the recruiting process because they raise the recruit’s profile out of the initial base levels of email and social media posts. This level requires engagement from a college coach, which is an indication of interest. Once again, the goal of email is to get to this next level of engagement. And then the goal of text messages is to take the conversation to an even higher level, phone calls.
For more information on this topic, we dive deep into communications in our online course “Advising the College-Bound Student-Athlete.” Join us!
