3 Online Trends Coaches Should Know: SA Digital Behavior
A Coach’s work (and learning!) is never done. As the digital world evolves, student-athletes’ behavior does as well. The insights here are a result of a February 2021 study of 1,050 student-athletes.
Changes in Social Media Use are Coming
The social media platforms of choice for student-athletes are evolving rapidly.
It’s only a matter of time before one (or more) of the legacy platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) are pushed aside by today’s and tomorrow’s student-athletes.
Among the most notable and fastest growing are:
Hive - the most popular social media app on Apple’s App Store right now , often described as having MySpace and Twitter-like features
Clubhouse - an invite-only app featuring voice chatting allowing users to schedule “audio events;” high profile individuals like Elon Musk have already joined the platform
Triller - a TikTok knock-off that’s growing fast as they bring aboard digital influencers and celebrities
Whether it’s for the purpose of relating to today’s student-athletes, monitoring their online behavior, or preparing to communicate with prospects in the coming years, Coaches should be aware of the changing social media landscape.
Encrypted Apps Going Mainstream
27% of student-athlete said they use an encrypted messaging app. In case you don’t know what an encrypted messaging app is, here’s what you need to know: it’s an app that sends messages that are scrambled from the sender, then unscrambled by the recipient, making it impossible for anyone to see what’s being communicated.
Since messages from popular apps like Instagram and Slack are not encrypted, millions of young people are downloading Signal, Telegram, and Wick. While the communication can be one-on-one, the apps have grown based on large group chats.
There is nothing inherently devious about encrypted messaging apps; they are in fact a response to privacy concerns. But many Coaches will want to be aware that student-athletes are using this type of tech.
Digital Presence and the Need to Differentiate
There is no doubt that Coaches and Administrators recognize the importance of an impactful digital presence for the programs. But a challenge I hear from student-athletes (in describing their recruiting experience) is how homogenous most programs’ sites have become.
With just a few providers dominating the college athletics website platform category, there is little customization that can occur. Thus, a side-by-side comparison of say all the teams in a specific conference, results in nearly identical content and presentation.
88% of student-athletes said they had done “extensive” online research before making any recruiting visits. 79% said that they were relatively sure of their college choice - based on their own research - before making their recruiting visits.
The importance for programs to differentiate their programs , both online and off, is critical.
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