Student-Athletes Learn the Power of Positive Social Media

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As the new year begins, James Madison Athletics is taking a new approach to student-athlete social media education. In today's world, social media has interwoven itself into many daily personal routines. Nearly everyone, everywhere, at any time is connected. On average, an American spends 162 minutes per day on his or her mobile device.

As social media constantly changes, the athletics communications office must keep up with emerging platforms and trends in order to properly educate student-athletes on the effective use of social media.

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"Our goal is to develop our student-athletes' personal brands. We want them to understand how their social presence is a direct representation of their character online and offline," said Michael Prior, assistant director of strategic communications, who oversees the JMU Athletics Department's social media accounts and training sessions. "We want to promote the positive aspects of social media. Often, the social media focus with student-athletes is what NOT to do. We are trying to show them what TO do."

The athletics communications office recently began social media education sessions for each athletic team. The educational training session focuses on the importance of social media, understanding the various social media platforms and using social media to build your personal brand.

Kevin Warner, interim director of athletics communications, explained, "Student-athletes use social media every day without always knowing the image they are creating for themselves. We are trying to emphasize the impact that a student-athlete can have on someone taking an interest in their sport or coming to a game to support them."

"It is very important to train our guys on the aspects of social media," Tom Foley, JMU men's soccer head coach agreed. "I think being trained on to how to interact with social media and the brand they are creating for themselves and this university is a very important aspect of what they do."

With the shift in messaging, JMU student-athletes are empowered to share pictures and thoughts that provide a glimpse into their experiences, from highlighting team trips to participating in community service and hanging out with teammates. Throughout the hour-long training sessions, student-athletes are encouraged to not only stay active on their social media accounts but to engage with different audiences, ranging from classmates to teammates, from alumni to sports fans.

"We want to promote the positive aspects of social media. Often, the social media focus with student-athletes is what NOT to do. We are trying to show them what TO do."
-Michael Prior

"The JMU strategic plan's vision is to be the NCAA model of the student-athlete experience. We do not believe there is anyone better equipped to show off the student-athlete experience than the student-athletes themselves," Prior said.

Foley expands on the strategic plan, saying "I think it supports the strategic plan to grow them as a potential professionals. It helps develop them as people and keeps them up-to-date on the informational pipeline. The more we can relate it to things players will experience, the more beneficial it is."

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During the educational training session, the student-athletes also learn about how to protect themselves when using social media. Athletics communications staffers broke down each prominent social media platform's privacy settings step-by-step to help the student-athletes understand who can follow them, who can see different posts and more.

Once the athletics communications office has finished the social media training session with a team, student-athletes' account handles are mentioned in posts from official JMU social media accounts throughout the year. The goal is to have the student-athletes take accountability and pride in their personal brand and social accounts.

"Social media isn't as dangerous as a lot of people make it out to be," redshirt-junior diver Taryn McLaughlin said. "It can be used to promote ourselves and our teams and do a lot of good."

"Take pride in your brand. It will follow you forever," Prior said. "Use the resources and people around you to educate yourself. Remember that you represent yourself, your team, the athletics department and the University overall."

This article was written by senior Alexandra Smith, a practicum student in JMU Athletics Communications for Fall 2015.

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