Importance of social media in recruiting (aTm case - CU strategies)

[MiamiBuffs]

This is blowing up on ATM right now, and it's glorious...

http://espn.go.com/college-football...aggies-lose-second-recruit-night-coach-tweets

That was an ugly chain of tweets that likely led to some ugly moments in the very next coaches recruiting meeting. It occurs to me that some ADs are going to have hire a social media expert coach (who can also photoshop) to help coaches better manage their social media reputations. I could see Chev doing that for a living. Though I hope he doesnt take it up anytime soon.

 

[chitownbuff]

That was an ugly chain of tweets that likely led to some ugly moments in the very next coaches recruiting meeting. It occurs to me that some ADs are going to have hire a social media expert coach (who can also photoshop) to help coaches better manage their social media reputations. I could see Chev doing that for a living. Though I hope he doesnt take it up anytime soon.

Common sense 1000?

 

[MiamiBuffs]

Common sense 1000?

Sure. Thats why a detached PR type person has access to the angry coaches twitter channel and can delete posts like that before they go viral.

 

[chitownbuff]

Sure. Thats why a detached PR type person has access to the angry coaches twitter channel and can delete posts like that before they go viral.

Part of the hiring process, in my opinion. These are grown men - not high school recruits who have a lot of maturing to do.

 

[MiamiBuffs]

Part of the hiring process, in my opinion. These are grown men - not high school recruits who have a lot of maturing to do.

I get that. But with coaches you want people that have fire in their bellies too. It makes finding a polished guy like Chev, if he can actually coach WR and be an OC, all the more difficult. Clearly, having an effective social media presence will be part of the future hiring process. But right now its kind of a generational thing in that these 40 year old coaches didn't do this stuff like todays teens do.

 

[sackman]

Part of the hiring process, in my opinion. These are grown men - not high school recruits who have a lot of maturing to do.

These are grown men who are, in many cases, void of a working knowledge of social media. This is uncharted waters for many old school coaches. Or, pretty much any coach over the age of 35. There's a steep learning curve, and having somebody in staff to guide them through those mine fields would be very helpful.

 

[chitownbuff]

Sounds like we're diverting back to the good people versus good coaches debate - you can have both. Social media may be new, but communication is not. What's next - chauffeurs and bodyguards for every coach?

 

[Buffnik]

Decided to split this off from the Martell profile thread.

It's a good discussion.

I think it's very important for a coaching staff to use twitter as well as facebook, instagram, vine and snapchat. Plus texting, of course.

NCAA allows unlimited contact this way.

Much like with uniform swag, this is an opportunity to make your program look cool.

It's also a great way to show the love to a recruit.

I love that CU has gotten so much more active with this.

Content management is important. Not only to avoid the aTm mistake, but also to make sure that things are being produced that stand out to recruits. Colorado video has done some great work in this area that the coaches have tweeted out. There's also been some good work on recruit-specific content.

I've seen some other programs do some good stuff. Michigan, for example, produced something on one of its assistants showing all the guys he has coached who are in the NFL. Branding your coaches is important here, too.

Last, I believe that fans make a big impact.

I'm not a big fan of fans tweeting at recruits, although I sort of do it myself. For me, I have a profile as an Allbuffs.com moderator and I'm managing our recruit profile database. So I try to quote the offer tweets with a link to their film and a quick comment on what I see. Sometimes I'll ask the prospect a question to help with his profile (for example, to find out what class a juco prospect is in or if he's a December grad).

Some of you other guys do some creative work by creating cartoons or photo edits that put a player in a CU uniform or setting and I know that some of them see those and ask you to make one for them. I know of at least one of you who has created a List for CU recruiting that a lot of recruits join. I think that stuff is allsome.

Other things on this: sub-tweets (mentioning by name to talk about without using their handle) are 100% ok by NCAA rule. And I very much encourage retweeting their CU tweets. And every Buffs fan should make sure to give a Like to any recruit tweet about a CU offer, visit or interest. This stuff matters.

 

[sackman]

All of what 'Nik is saying is true. However, these are dangerous waters. I wouldn't trust myself with a Twitter account. I'd say something stupid or inappropriate and end up pissing off a recruit.

Social media can be a very powerful tool. We need to be cautious about who gets to use that tool.

 

[CUFan]

An outside social media consulting firm familiar with compliance issues for the NCAA or at least other industries that deal with compliance would not be a bad idea. Have CU generate the content, the consultants review and adjust and disseminate it appropriately (across the various social media methods).

I say the above because I am terrible at social media and, frankly, find it of little value (except as it appears for the recruiting game). I still can't decipher what people are trying to say on Twitter. However, it appears to be very necessary in this day and age for recruiting.

Nonetheless, I am of the opinion that if you are going to do something, you do it right. Don't half-commit. Hire a dedicated person for social media and hire some outside consultants (or some other type of structure that ensures a polished, consistent product).

Give the coaches the resources to focus on coaching, mentoring and recruiting.

 

[Buffnik]

One missed opportunity I'm noticing is that CU doesn't send out "Happy Birthday" tweets to recruits. Bubba Bolden got one from Florida State today. Nothing from the Buffs.

 

[TDforTD]

One missed opportunity I'm noticing is that CU doesn't send out "Happy Birthday" tweets to recruits. Bubba Bolden got one from Florida State today. Nothing from the Buffs.

We have sent out a couple from what I saw, definitely a missed opportunity if we don't continue to pursue it tho. We sent Darren Hall one and one other player I remember.

 

[buffaholic]

Sounds like we're diverting back to the good people versus good coaches debate - you can have both. Social media may be new, but communication is not. What's next - chauffeurs and bodyguards for every coach?

This. In the past, a coach a poor communicator or likely didn't hurt himself much, maybe a recruit or two. Now a mistake goes viral.

Lookin at you Sacky!!!!

 

[Jeric]

It's pretty hard to say something stupid or inappropriate that actually bothers a recruit unless you do it intentionally. Most of them just love the attention, fans just need to know when to let kids be kids and apparently that isn't common sense anymore. Anything that's a normal high schooler tweet should never be replied to and yet I see it all the time, apparently a kid saying he's bored means he needs to go work out because he's the future of ND's QB position. But they also aren't going to really be bothered by what fans say on Twitter, look at Martell who didn't really care about all the hate he got until it headed towards his sister. I think they're more concerned about trying not to be concerned about what other high schoolers say about them. In a perfect world, I'd like to let them be, but that's not the culture and recruits do care about a fan-bases presence on twitter so it's fine as long as everyone keeps it positive and knows their place.