By Maddie Buher ’25
Introduction
Fostering a supportive and empowering environment for female collegiate athletes is essential for their athletic development, personal growth, and well-being. Effective marketing plays a crucial role in promoting their achievements and highlighting the significance of their participation in sports. It not only encourages a positive image of female athletes but also inspires young girls to pursue their athletic ambitions fearlessly.
Effective Marketing Strategies for Female Athletes on Social Media
As a collegiate athlete, I always enjoy turning to social media to see what accomplishments are going on with sports in my area, across the country, and most importantly, what Stevenson sports are up to. Social media is a great way to showcase what sports teams are doing, their accomplishments, individual highlights, and more.
Highlighting Achievements and Representation of Female Athletes
When deciding what to post about, it is important to ensure there is content to post in the first place, which includes photographers and videographers at events, games, and practices. Especially at the collegiate level, football and basketball are the two big sports throughout the year and often see the most media coverage. There are always photographers at those games and even video footage of their games and practices. Because of this, it is easy for other sports to get overlooked when searching for things to post. To combat this, it is important to represent each sport, men’s, and women’s equally. With this, unfortunately, women’s sports are easily overlooked when it comes to social media coverage (Lever, 2023). It is important to ensure that women’s sports are being covered just as much as men’s.
Along with simple coverage, athletic social media sites can go even deeper with their posts by highlighting personal achievements and celebrating the success of female athletes. Social media can be used to highlight athletic and academic achievements which creates community involvement (Murali, 2021). Those who were unaware of these accomplishments can now congratulate and recognize these athletes. This recognition can help create positive role models for other athletes on the collegiate level and those aspiring to be collegiate athletes.
With this, social media should strive to portray female student-athletes in a balanced and multidimensional way by showcasing skills, dedication, perseverance, diverse personalities, interests, and aspirations beyond their sports. Obviously, athletes should be recognized for their athletic accomplishments and hard work, but athletes are people and students first and should be recognized for those aspects as well. Recognizing student-athletes for these traits and attributes allows the audience to know the athlete beyond the uniform.
Body Image
While showcasing athletes in various ways, it is important to always foster a positive body image. Social media platforms are an easy place for comparison and don’t often show the reality of someone’s life and view of themselves. To remain authentic, social media platforms should avoid perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and instead promote a healthy and positive body image (Turner, 2022). Especially in women’s sports, strength looks different in so many ways depending on the sport and position. Highlighting the strength and athleticism of female student-athletes can help challenge stereotypes and promote a more inclusive and diverse definition of beauty.
Sports are not just physical; they are more mental than anything. It is important to recognize that mental strength is just as important as physical, and this cannot be shown through one’s appearance. Athletes come in all shapes and sizes, so it is important to emphasize the diverse mental challenges that fuel success. The mental aspect of sports encompasses resilience, focus, adaptability, and the ability to overcome challenges. Unlike physical attributes, mental strength is not readily visible but plays a pivotal role in achieving excellence.
Personal Stories
Social media can also be used as a platform for female student-athletes to share their personal stories, struggles, and triumphs. By showcasing their journey, challenges, and lessons learned, these athletes can serve as inspiring role models and mentors for other aspiring female athletes. This can look like a post a week of a different student-athlete, highlighting their academics as well as their athletics. The visibility of these stories can foster a sense of community and solidarity among female athletes, creating a supportive network that connects individuals who share similar experiences and ambitions (Springer, 2023). Through these online platforms, young women can find encouragement and motivation, realizing that their goals are attainable and that they are not alone in their pursuit of success in both sports and academics. This, in turn, can contribute to the development of a more inclusive and empowering sports culture, where female athletes are not only recognized for their athletic achievements but also celebrated for their determination, resilience, and dedication to their education and personal growth.
Diversity and Inclusion
With the sharing of personal stories, social media sites can also promote diversity and inclusion. Social media platforms should actively promote diversity and inclusion by showcasing female student-athletes from various backgrounds, cultures, and communities. By highlighting the achievements of athletes from diverse backgrounds, social media can help foster a more inclusive sports culture. This emphasis on diversity can contribute to the dismantling of stereotypes and prejudices that may hinder the progress of female student-athletes, particularly those belonging to marginalized or underrepresented communities (Clemmons, 2022). By amplifying the voices of athletes from different racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, social media can play a crucial role in challenging societal norms and promoting a more equitable and just sports environment. Through these efforts, social media can become a powerful tool for fostering empathy, understanding, and unity among diverse communities, thereby contributing to the creation of a more inclusive and supportive athletic landscape for female student-athletes..
Conclusion
The exploration of effective marketing strategies on social media illuminates the power of representation, emphasizing the importance of showcasing female athletes across sports equally. By highlighting achievements, and personal stories, and promoting diversity and inclusion, social media becomes a potent tool for inspiring young girls and fostering a sense of community among female athletes. Moreover, it serves as a platform for challenging stereotypes, promoting positive body image, and encouraging a more inclusive and diverse definition of beauty in women’s sports.
The Wellness Blog is being provided by the Wellness Center. This particular post is being provided by a Student Contributor, Maddie Buher. The content has been reviewed and approved by the Wellness Center staff. Any questions, comments, or concerns should be directed to the Wellness Center at wellness@stevenson.edu.
References
Casey, A. E. (2023, August 10). Social media’s concerning effect on teen mental health. The Annie E. Casey Foundation. https://www.aecf.org/blog/social-medias-concerning-effect-on-teen-mental-health?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgK2qBhCHARIsAGACuzmAYvMQ0UI1Sos7ufIduBvlZAtEB-s5KIBOUKdMz0aoUaumskoa5REaAqj1EALw_wcB
Clemmons, A. K. (2022, August 2). ‘Every day gets better’: The rise of women in sports media. Global sport matters. https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2022/08/02/every-day-gets-better-rise-women-in-sports-media/
Lever, K. (2023, June 16). Spotlights and shadows in media coverage of women’s sports. Global sport matters. https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2023/06/16/spotlights-shadows-womens-sports-media-coverage/#:~:text=Women%20are%20much%20less%20represented,1989%20and%205.1%25%20in%201993.
Murali, S. (2021, August 18). Highlighting women in sports. Medium. https://medium.com/fanzone-io/highlighting-women-in-sports-5404633ee335
Springer, S. (2023, May 15). Storytelling can sustain the spotlight for women’s sports. Sports business journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2023/05/15/Opinion/springer.aspx
Turner, B. (2022, March). Model athletes – the portrayal of women’s sports in media. Universe Sports. https://universe.byu.edu/2022/03/17/model-athletes-the-portrayal-of-womens-sports-in-media/