
Last Updated on January 22, 2021
We are firm believers that the biggest opportunity the NIL era will bring is the ability for student athletes to gain hard skills in areas such as social media marketing, digital content creation, blogging, podcasting, speaking and more. Whether a student athletes approaches these as resume builders or as an opportunity to leave school with a viable business, the athletic department can play a key role in shaping their future by providing the education and resources needed to take advantage of any new NIL legislation enacted.
Services
We believe social media marketing will be the lowest hanging fruit for most student athletes. As such, much of our focus is on helping student athletes understand where they fit into the ecosystem and giving them the skills they need to work with brands. However, we also recognize there will be opportunities in blogging, podcasting, gaming, speaking and more. As such, our goal is to offer educational sessions and resources to support student athletes in however they wish to monetize their name, image and likeness.
It is our goal to help student athletes not only monetize while they are in school and active on a roster but also provide them with hard skills they can take with them beyond graduation. Whether it’s improving their resume or walking away with as an entrepreneur with an established business, we want to help student athletes take advantage of all the doors that will be opening for them.
The following series could be delivered over the course of a semester or an entire school year:
- Session 1: What is influencer marketing and why it’s popular; assessing where you are right now; defining your brand; what/when to post; being consistent; relevant metrics
- Session 2: Developing media kits; how to set your pricing; how to find brand deals; how to evaluate deals
- Session 3: How to perform your obligations in a way that’s a win for the brand and makes them want to work with you again; how to balance your work with your other obligations to school/sport (time management)
- Session 4: Common pitfalls; what to look out for in contracts; mistakes that will hurt your reputation
- Session 5: Treating your digital content production like a business; legal/financial issues you should be seeking out an advisor for; how you take what you build during school out into the real world with you
Breakout Sessions:
- Blogging
- Podcasting
- Affiliate Marketing (RewardStyle for fashion, etc.)
- Speaking Appearances
We also offer a monthly retainer option that includes all sessions and breakouts along with a private group where student athletes can leave questions for us to answer. Knowing many student athletes won’t be represented by agents, we believe it’s an important to provide a space where they can ask questions and get expert advice on industry standards, best practices and more.
Are your coaches looking to learn more about how to talk to current and future student athletes about monetizing their name, image and likeness? From learning the lingo to understanding the opportunities available, our presentations can cover such issues as:
- From the brand’s perspective:
- What brands are looking for
- What types of deals are most common
- What the process looks like
- The earning potential
- From the student athlete’s perspective:
- How to speak to student athletes and recruits about social media marketing, digital content creation (including blogging, podcasting and gaming), strategy and monetization
- What student athletes and recruits can be doing now to position themselves for the NIL era
- What kind of content student athletes should focus on
- What personal branding looks like in this arena and why it’s relevant to a student athlete’s opportunities in and beyond college sports
- Common pitfalls (agreements, rights, scam deals)
- From an internal perspective:
- Guardrails/guidelines
- How coaches and administration can support student athletes in a way that attracts recruits
- Integrations between student athletes’ social media presence and both athletic department and university-wide social media marketing strategies so you can leverage internally for marketing/recruiting
Our Team
What They're Saying
Kristi and Stephanie were exceptional in speaking to a large, diverse audience (coaches, administrators, faculty and staff) from the league’s 14 member schools about monetization opportunities through personal branding and marketing, social media and content creation. The subject is daunting because it’s dynamic, rapidly evolving and unknown to many, and extremely relevant within intercollegiate athletics. The real-life, real-time expertise from their personal experience and industry awareness was delivered in a way that was easy to digest and will be extraordinarily helpful to assist our membership support student-athletes as they navigate the changing name, image and likeness landscape. – Jill Redmond, Senior Associate Commissioner, Atlantic 10 Conference
Kristi and Stephanie bring incredible experience to the table, and they complement one another perfectly. Not only do they know what they are talking about, but they convey the information in a way that student-athletes, coaches, and administrators — even those who know very little about social media, branding, influencers, etc. — can understand. I highly recommend them to provide education for your athletic department. – Jill Bodensteiner, Director of Athletics, St. Joseph’s University
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