Your Best Recruiting Content Is Sitting in Your Locker Room

by Mandy Green | Tudor Collegiate Strategies

I’ve been traveling around the country this summer doing one or two on-campus recruiting workshops almost every week. As Vice President here at TCS, one of the advantages I have is getting to work with thousands of coaches and hear, firsthand, what’s working, what recruits are responding to, and where coaches are getting stuck.

Here’s one idea I’ve been sharing in the workshop that coaches seem to love because it helps with two recruiting problems at the same time.

At your next team meeting, break your athletes into small groups and give them this challenge:

Create the best “Why [Your School]?” video.

Give them their phones and let them get creative. Ask them to explain why they originally chose your school and program, what they love about it now that they’re there, and what they wish they had known when they were being recruited.

Then let the groups present their videos and pick a winner. It’s fun, but there’s a lot more happening here than team building.

First, you need to keep recruiting your current team. Retention matters. When your athletes talk about why they chose your program and what they love about being there, you’re reminding them of the reasons they belong.

Second, you’re creating recruiting content that I think can be more convincing than another perfectly produced video from your marketing department.

Your recruits are trying to answer some big questions right now:

Will I fit in? Will I belong? Can I trust what the coach is telling me? Is this experience going to be worth it?

Who can help answer those questions better than the athletes already living the experience?

And trust me, your players will probably create better videos than you will. Teenagers are pretty good at this stuff.

But Don’t Just Post It

This is the part I really want coaches to understand. Too many coaches create good content, put it on Instagram, and hope the right recruit sees it.

Use the video to recruit.

If a recruit has been asking about team culture, text them the team culture video:

“You asked me what our team is really like. I thought you’d rather hear it from our players than me. Watch this and tell me what stands out to you.”

Now you’ve created a conversation. Their response gives you information. Maybe what they see makes them more excited. Maybe it exposes something they’re unsure about. Either outcome helps you recruit them better.

That’s one of the recruiting trends I continue to stress in our workshops: Don’t just tell recruits what your program offers. Give them proof, then use that proof to start a conversation.

Your next great recruiting asset might not require a videographer, a marketing budget, or another meeting. You might just need to hand the assignment to your team.

And, let them tell your story.

If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes. Email me mandy@dantudor.com.

If you want other ideas like this, you are welcome to book a free recruiting strategy call. If you want to get a taste of what I work on with coaches during these workshops, you can get the recordings from the virtual workshop I just did for a fraction of the cost and you keep the recordings forever.