How to Promote Your Soccer Player on Instagram and TikTok
Hi! I’m Aidan and I’m the Marketing Coordinator for Skillmasters and Snap Soccer. My marketing background is 90% social media work which I LOVE! I graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a degree in Marketing. The stars aligned for me when I had the pleasure of joining the Skillmasters team almost 2 years ago and it’s been the best 2 years!! I’m super passionate about all things social media and I hope this “how to” post can help inspire young creatives to launch their own platform!
Social media has become a powerful tool for young athletes to showcase their talent, connect with scouts and coaches, and build a personal brand. Instagram and TikTok are two of the best platforms to highlight your skills and progress. Here’s how parents and players can effectively promote their athlete on social media.
1. Create a Dedicated Athlete Profile
Instead of using a personal account, we recommend you create a dedicated athlete profile (Pro Tip: Specifically for Instagram: if you make it a business profile and not a personal profile you can view your stats to see how your content is performing. On TikTok leave your profile as personal so you have access to trendy sounds). This allows for a focused, professional presentation of your journey without distractions from personal content. Keep it clean and branded.
2. Post High-Quality Videos and Photos
Clips of game highlights, training sessions, and skills drills are the best way to showcase talent. Make sure the videos are clear, well-lit, and engaging (set your phone camera settings to 4k/60). It’s also best if you can keep it under 60 seconds & eliminate any awkward pauses. Holding peoples attention is harder than ever these days so it’s important that you immediately catch the attention of your audience. (For fun: On TikTok, look up the millennial pause)
3. Use Trending Sounds and Hashtags
On TikTok and Instagram Reels, using trending sounds can increase your reach (The idea is as sounds grow, your content will grow with it). Additionally, including relevant hashtags to help your content reach scouts, coaches, and other players. It is recommended to stick to 3-5 very specific hashtags based on the specific piece of content you are currently posting. A hashtag like #soccer is too broad and can’t specifically target who you are targeting.
4. Engage with Coaches, Scouts, and Other Players
Engagement is KEY. We can’t stress that enough. Follow and interact with any college soccer programs, players and teams you are interested in. Comment on their posts, share insights, and build a network (but don’t be weird).
5. Tell a Story
Instead of just posting highlights, share your journey and let people get to know you. Post like you’re Alix Earle and have millions of people watching you. Show us things like training, personal life/challenges, game-day events, and any other relevant information. This helps humanize you and makes them more relatable to followers and recruiters. Be mindful to keep things clean, professional and consistent. If you wouldn’t want your mom to see it, you probably shouldn’t post it. *Pro Tip: if you struggle with grammar, utilize apps like ChatGPT to check your grammar!
6. Leverage Instagram Stories
DO NOT SLEEP ON INSTAGRAM STORIES. Instagram Stories allow daily engagement and if you’d like it to live on your page forever utilize highlights. You could have a highlight for things like “Get to know me”, “Game Film”, “Stats”, etc. Posting consistently to Stories with polls, Q&A sessions, or daily updates keeps followers engaged. Stories can be more natural and relaxed than content posted to your grid.
7. Tag and Collaborate with Teams and Coaches
When posting game highlights, tag your club, coaches, and teammates. This not only boosts visibility but also increases the chances of your content being shared. We love a community moment!
8. Stay Positive and Professional
Always keep the content professional and positive. Avoid controversial posts or negative comments about teams, referees, or competitors. AGAIN, if your momma wouldn’t like it, don’t post it. Building a strong, positive online presence is crucial for getting noticed in a good way. The digital footprint is so real and so permanent.
9. Use Closed Captions in Videos
The majority of users these days watch videos with no sound and just read the captions. Instagram and TikTok both offer captions for video content but if you want nicer captions we recommend the app CapCut (yes paying for Pro is worth it!). When you add captions to ANY video always proofread the captions to make sure things are spelled correctly.
10. Consistency is Key
Posting regularly helps keep your profile active. BUT always prioritize QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. It’s great to mix things up between video content and photo content. *Pro Tip: Carousel posts have higher engagement and reach than single photo content. So if you’re able to post a carousel we recommend you do so.
By following these strategies, players can boost their visibility, connect with key figures in the soccer world, and take advantage of social media as a powerful recruiting tool. Just start taking pictures and videos of everything. You’ll get the hang of it!
