The complete guide to sports and athlete branding

You may not be a professional marketer or graphic designer, but you’re an expert on the subject of you. You know what others would say is “on brand” for you. This knowledge will guide you through creating your image on social media and beyond.

As an athlete, you also know the sports world well. You’ve seen examples of branding from other teams and sports enthusiasts. Your off-field challenge as an athlete or team social media manager is to create a brand that looks fierce, fits the aesthetics of the sports world and stands out. And we’re here to help with best practices and guidelines to make your athlete branding a home run.

What is athlete branding?

Good branding encourages investment in a product or service or involvement in a worthy cause. An athlete’s or team’s brand should motivate fans and give off a positive, inspiring vibe.

Sports branding tends to be loud and energetic, just like the games and matches you love to play or watch. Sports brand logos often hint at the speed and strength we associate with athletes by using lettering or graphics that give the feeling of motion. Take Nike’s logo, for example – even its name, “swoosh,” is all about high-speed movement.

Whatever themes you choose to drive your branding, make sure they represent the values and identity unique to you or your team.

Why is an athlete branding strategy important?

If you’re so great at the game, why does it matter if you have a perfectly curated appearance on social media and the web?

Think of brand-building as something that gives your image organization and purpose. This kind of intentionality fosters trust among viewers. People like picking up on a sense of order.

Imagine a football team whose colors and logo were constantly changing. Good football branding lets fans know exactly who they’re rooting for. But bad branding creates confusion and a lack of unity. Fans wouldn't know which colors to rep at a sporting event – they might even wonder if they’d wandered into the wrong game.

There’s also a business reason to care about branding: it’s a central part of sponsorship opportunities and endorsement deals. A strong brand is attractive to companies looking to partner with a professional athlete on a marketing campaign.

Social media: an essential component in sports marketing

Sports branding, especially team branding, should be consistent on and off the field. A logo and brand colors should be the same wherever a team or athlete goes.

Social media is one of those places – and in the 21st century, it’s an essential part of marketing strategies. Social media platforms are where athletes can connect with fans, participate in sponsored ads and post live and behind-the-scenes content. Think of social media as the world’s largest stadium where billions of fans are ready to support their team.

If you’re an athlete, you might think your energy is better spent practicing passes than navigating the social sphere. But social media isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore: it shows the world that companies and organizations are legit. People expect to be able to find corporations, teams and public figures on social media. Don’t leave your fan base wondering what happened to your team or sports career. Use the digital world to help them feel connected.

Tips for excelling at athlete and sports branding

If you’re part of a team, you have a leg up on other branding newbies. Most people just starting out have to dedicate time to finding the right color scheme, fonts and logos, but your team likely already has those things in place. These visual cues can be a solid base for the rest of your branding. Here are a few other points to consider:

• Communicate your values and beliefs: Be true to yourself if you’re building a brand as an individual athlete. Your fans want to see the real you. Establish a tone that expresses who you are and what you believe in. Are you inspiring? Motivational? Funny? A bit of all three? Let that shine in your branding. If you manage a team's social media, establish a consistent voice that represents the organization’s values.
• Engage with followers: The size of your organization doesn’t matter: even the world’s most popular sports teams find a way to connect with their millions of fans, such as giveaways and other calls-to-action (CTAs). If you have a smaller, more manageable following, take the time to like fans’ comments and stay on top of answering questions in your DMs.
• Make content for each platform: Each of the major social media platforms does things a bit differently. The content you make should take this into account, capitalizing on what each platform does best. Focus on high-quality images for Instagram, entertaining videos for TikTok and play-by-plays for Twitter. Fans who follow you on every app will appreciate not seeing the same content recycled.
• Post consistently: Don’t go quiet. Post often, but keep the content fresh. Try making a content calendar to map out your upcoming social media posts. To help generate ideas, consider using “content pillars,” which are categories of information that become the basis for most of your posts. For example, your pillars could be player spotlights, monthly giveaways, posts about charities you partner with and game-day updates.

Go the extra mile

Once you’ve established your brand, take your social media accounts to the next level with help from #TeamLinktree.

Start by using a Linktree URL in your social media bios so you can redirect followers to your website, social profiles, YouTube and any other spaces the team inhabits in the virtual world. Our tool for athletes and teams also allows you to monetize your social media presence by fundraising, taking donations and selling merch. And whether you’re managing a pro baller or creating your own college athlete brand, you can learn more about how to excel as a marketer by listening to Game Face, the latest podcast from Linktree.

Before you go, here’s a little inspiration from some of the sports industry’s biggest stars who are killing the marketing for athletes game with a little help from Linktree:

Venus Williams

L.A. Clippers

Bubba Wallace