Your Ultimate UPDATED Quick Start Guide to Social Media Recruiting

Every year, we track subtle changes in how your recruits use social media in their decision making process. Here's what you need to know:

Let's get something straight right off the bat:

Social media isn't some kind of magic recruiting bullet you might think it is. The process is getting more nuanced, and social media is settling into some interesting positions in the hierarchy of your prospect’s decision making process.

Yes, I know. Everyone's talking about TikTok recruiting strategies (and we’ve made the case that you need to be on that platform, for sure…and even gave you seven key things to focus on with your recruits) and Instagram stories that landed solid incoming athletes. But here's what the research actually shows us, and what successful coaches have learned the hard way: Social media ranks pretty low on the communication hierarchy when it comes to actually influencing a recruit's decision. And in fact, one of our recent studies with student-athletes found that social media doesn’t even register as a main influencer in the overall process:

That doesn't mean you should ignore it, of course. It just means you need to understand exactly where it fits in your recruiting toolkit and how to use it strategically alongside the communication methods that really move the needle with this year’s prospects.

The Real Communication Hierarchy in Recruiting

Before we dive into our latest recommended list of social media tactics, let's talk about what actually influences recruits. Based on our research with thousands of student-athletes, here's how different communication methods rank in terms of decision-making influence:

1. In-person conversations (campus visits, home visits, contact during personal scouting)

2. Phone calls with coaches

3. Printed letters and personal handwritten notes (wow, do they work!)

4. Personal emails from coaches that tell the ongoing story of your program.

5. Text messages (when used appropriately)

6. Social media posts

Notice where social media falls? Dead last. But here's the key insight I don’t want you to skip over: it's not about ‘ranking’…it's about how these methods should be working together to create a complete recruiting experience.

Point #1: Social Media Is Your Setup, Not Your Closer

Think of social media like the opening act at a concert. It gets people excited and sets the mood, but it's not the main event. It’s also the ongoing ‘flavor’ that can keep recruits engaged with the visual story of your program and campus.

Your Instagram posts and Twitter updates serve one primary purpose, according to your findings: Making recruits more receptive when you use those higher-ranked communication methods. When a recruit sees your behind-the-scenes content showing team chemistry, then gets a personal phone call from you, they're already primed to listen and it offers visual proof of what you’re telling them in writing.

The mistake most coaches make? They try to do all their recruiting through DMs and comments. That's like trying to close a car sale through a billboard you drive past at 60mph. It just doesn't work very well.

Point #2: The "Know, Like, Trust" Sequence Still Rules

Social media excels at the "know" and "like" parts of recruiting, but trust is the most crucial element if we want to see a recruit follow through with a commitment. And, that step requires more personal communication - especially written words on a page or screen.

Remember, your social content helps recruits:

• Know your program exists and what you're about, and gets them an inside look at the visuals behind the scenes.

• Like your coaching style and team culture based on what you offer them in visual proof

• But trust? That comes from phone conversations, personal emails and story-telling over a long period of time, and face-to-face interactions

Use your social platforms to showcase authenticity and personality in a visual way, but don't expect them to build the deep trust that leads to commitments. That’s a major mistake we see happening.

Point #3: Timing Is Everything (And Most Coaches Get It Wrong)

Here's a reality check that we find coaches overlook: Your recruits aren't scrolling through coach content at 2 PM on a Tuesday looking for new posts from you or your competition they’re considering. They're in class, at practice, or doing homework.

The prime time for recruit social media engagement is: