Instagram is a popular social media tool for college recruiting. The highly visual platform allows users to create a highlight reel of their experiences through a series of photos and videos. It is essentially an athlete’s digital sports diary. You can also use it to connect with friends, family, celebrities and professional athletes. Because of this, coaches look to Instagram to learn more about recruits and how they represent themselves online. Below, we discuss how athletes can use Instagram in recruiting, and its video features you can use to showcase your skills and highlight your personality.
Want to learn more? Watch our pre-recorded workshop with NCSA recruiting expert Julian Jenkins on the Do’s and Don’ts of social media and recruiting.
Quick Links
NCAA recruiting rules for Instagram
College coaches are allowed to follow, direct message and interact with student-athletes on Instagram once their appropriate contact period begins. We have found that most coaches follow recruits on Instagram once they’ve established an initial connection via an introductory email or phone call.
Do coaches look at Instagram?
Yes. Coaches look at Instagram as a more in-depth tool to vet recruits, and get a sense of your personality and character. But they also want to see your growth as a player as you continue to develop skills, win games and reach new achievements. A regularly updated Instagram account is an excellent resource for coaches to keep up with you.
Our recruiting experts report that volleyball and soccer coaches often heavily rely on Instagram – but no matter your sport, college coaches are likely to be using the platform.
Should you follow college coaches on Instagram?
Yes! It is in your best interest to follow coaches and sports programs of schools you are most interested in to start building a connection. You should also search for and follow strength and conditioning coaches, trainers, and some current athletes. These sources can share important information and give you insights into life as an athlete on campus.
How athletes can use Instagram in recruiting
Like X (formerly Twitter), student-athletes should take a strategic and professional approach on how to use Instagram for college recruiting.
Your Instagram bio should include the basic information coaches need to recruit you. Use your real name and choose a profile photo that shows your face. If possible, these should be identical across all your social media platforms.
What to include in your Instagram bio:
- the sport you play
- your position(s)
- your club or high school team name
- your graduating year
- your hometown
With this information, coaches should easily be able to identify you in their search.
How to put athlete in your instagram bio
Every recruit should include “student-athlete” in their Instagram bio. Not sure how to do this? Follow these simple steps:
- Open your Instagram app
- Go to your profile page
- Click on “Edit profile” on the lefthand side under your image and name
- Look for the “Bio” section
- In the Bio section, type “student-athlete” and any additional information that you would like to include about yourself. You have 150 characters. We suggest the following: your sport, position(s), club or high school team name, graduating year, hometown.
After completing these steps, you should see your bio section updated on your profile page. Including this information is important. It allows college coaches to quickly identify who you are as they are reviewing your account.
How do you get college coaches to follow you on Instagram?
The key to getting college coaches to follow your Instagram account is engagement. Here are ways to engage with college coaches and programs and increase your follows:
- Follow coaches, programs and athletes. Follow coaches and sports programs of schools from your top list of schools, as well as strength and conditioning coaches, trainers, and some current athletes. These accounts will be notified that you followed them and entice them to check out your profile.
- Direct message coaches. The direct message (DM) tool on Instagram is a great way for athletes to connect with college coaches and notify them of your Instagram account.
- Tag accounts and use hashtags. Using popular hashtags and tagging other accounts can increase content views and help college coaches discover your account.
What athletes should post on Instagram
When posting to Instagram, consider sharing content that highlights your work ethic and gives coaches continuous updates on your athletic development and recruiting progress.
- Instagram bio: Include a link to your NCSA profile or highlight video. Athletes should seize every opportunity there is for a coach to see video of them playing their sport.
- Game highlights. This is the best way to showcase your talent to coaches. Highlight your favorite games and big moments. (CTA: Upgrade your NCSA membership now to get professionally made highlight videos)
- Tournaments, camps and showcases. Coaches want to see that you’re attending competitive events. Document your recent experiences at these events.
- Training sessions. Capture what you’re doing in each of your training sessions. Show coaches that you are putting in the work to make yourself a better athlete through strength exercises and drills.
- Social media trends. Instagram can be a great place for recruits to show off some cool tricks and skills. Pay attention to current social media trends. If you see anything related to your sport or unique skillset, film a video of yourself and put your own little twist on it to post to Instagram.
- Photos with teammates. Coaches want to find athletes who are good teammates. Posting photos of you engaging with your teammates, or celebrating a big win together is important for coaches to see.
What does it mean if a college coach follows you on Instagram?
If a coach follows you on Instagram, it likely means they are considering recruiting you. The first thing you should do is follow them back! Coaches aren’t the only ones who should be using Instagram to evaluate prospects. As you continue to research schools and build your list of target schools, check out their Instagram. It’s important you find the right culture and program fit for you, too.
Can colleges see my Instagram if it’s private?
If your account is set to private, a college coach won’t be able to interact with your Instagram without following you first. Pay close attention to your follow requests, so that you can approve a coach’s request promptly and they can begin engaging with you on Instagram.
Leveraging Instagram video for recruiting success
Instagram has a lot of great features that student-athletes can use to promote their athletic and academic successes to college coaches.
Instagram video is available in five formats: Reels, Live, UGTV, Stories and Posts. You don’t need to utilize all five video formats to get recruited but sharing video content is a great way for athletes to highlight themselves on Instagram.
Use popular hashtags to increase video views or maybe even the possibility of it being shared to the right place for college coaches to view.
How long can an Instagram video be?
The length of an Instagram video depends on the type of format being posted. Here’s a deeper look at the five video features and how athletes can use Instagram in college recruiting.
- Instagram video posts. These are added the same way images are posted and will show up in your followers’ timeline. Instagram video posts can be 3-60 seconds long and multiple photos can be posted in one post. Athletes should post their best skill workouts or game clips directly on their Instagram profile to give coaches a real-time look into their daily routine and progress.
- Stories. Users can create 15-second clips of either images or video that will disappear after 24 hours. You can also save expired stories to a “Highlights” section on your Instagram profile.
- IGTV. Users can share longer videos, up to 60 minutes. These must be pre-recorded and uploaded. Student-athletes can use IGTV to feature full highlight videos that are clipped from game film.
- Live. Users can “live stream” video content from their phone. Video can last up to 4 hours, and once finished they can be saved to IGTV or shared for 30 days before they are deleted. Athletes can take advantage of Instagram Live by streaming games, competitions or training sessions.
- Reels. These are 15-30 second video clips displayed in a user’s feed once posted. Reels are a great way for student-athletes to jump on current social media trends and share video content with Instagram followers.
How to add highlights on Instagram
Adding highlights allows users to categorize and display expired stories directly on their Instagram profile. This is a great way for athletes to highlight their sport on Instagram and how to use Instagram to get recruited.
Create highlights that you think coaches want to know or see about you as a prospective recruit. Below are examples of highlight categories for athletes to use Instagram for college recruiting:
- Game highlights
- Sport-specific skills and drills
- Sport-related challenges
- Team related content
- High school or club team schedule and updates
- Social media trends
How to use reels on Instagram
Instagram reels are inspired by the social media platform, TikTok. They are especially popular among users trying to keep up with current social media trends, dances and conversations. This feature can be used to highlight your athletic skills or develop a recruiting pitch to college coaches.
Take some time to think about who you are as an athlete, what motivates you and what you’re looking for in a coach/program or college experience. Narrow it down to a 30-second interview and post it on your Instagram feed for coaches to view.
Legal and privacy considerations
Your Instagram profile includes content that could either help or hurt your chances of being recruited and receiving scholarship offers. Many coaches have gone on the record saying that their recruitment process begins and ends with how a prospect conducts themselves on social media. Avoid posting illegal activities, negative or extreme emotions and lazy behavior. Remember, always be respectful and positive, and always think before you post.
Summary: How to get recruited on Instagram
How do you get recruited on Instagram? With more and more college coaches using Instagram to communicate, evaluate and build stronger connections with recruits, it’s proving to be an effective recruiting tool. Athletes can use Instagram’s video features in a variety of ways to showcase their athletic skills and promote their personal brand to college coaches. Check out our full social media guide to learn how you can utilize other platforms for recruiting or attend a workshop through NCSA University to learn more about the dos and don’ts of social media.
Looking to directly contact college coaches?
College coaches use the NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network to discover, evaluate and eventually sign athletes. 82% of college athletic programs have had an NCSA athlete on their roster.
If you already have an NCSA account you can log in here.