College football recruiting staffs devoting more resources to digital content production

As time passes and the interests of potential college football players evolve, the programs trying to attract top talent are adjusting their strategies as well.

Budget increases for football recruiting, like the 45 percent uptick along those lines at the University of Nebraska, are reflecting a strategy adjustment. College football recruiting staffs are becoming digital content production studios.

While a good chunk of the budget increase for the Cornhuskers is dedicated to travel expenses, putting Nebraska staff at football camps and clinics across the country, a similarly significant portion of the new dollars is earmarked for renewed digital products aimed at making the Cornhusker brand appealing to potential recruits. It’s the real application of Nebraska director of player personnel Ryan Gunderson’s words in a 2016 ESPN article.

"“Nothing has impacted recruiting more in the last 20 years than social media,” Nebraska director of player personnel Ryan Gunderson said. “It has revolutionized recruiting. Sure, cell phones have had a huge influence in the process, allowing recruiters to go mobile with their communication. But with today’s technology, cell phones are merely a vehicle for social media use.”"

Chris Heady of Land of 10 wrote about how Nebraska is dedicating football resources to staying up on trends in pop culture. Through staying connected with their players already on the team and using social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, the football staff is working to keep the Cornhuskers relevant regardless of distance.

Nebraska isn’t alone in this venture. College football staffs across the country are devoting more resources to producing digital content and ramping up social media usage.

The psychology of college football recruiting hasn’t changed. Recruits still largely determine their interest in a particular program based upon their perception of that program. How that perception is created has changed drastically, however. A college football program’s success in recruiting now depends on its ability to consistently deliver a robust and attractive digital presence with products like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube.

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Success on the field and other facets of programs are still great recruitment tools, but it takes digital content to ensure that potential recruits are aware of a program’s merits. For that reason, Nebraska and other schools are devoting more resources to creating digital content surrounding their football programs than ever before.