One of the first questions parents ask when they start thinking about their child's social media is pretty straightforward:
What are they supposed to post?
And honestly, I understand the question.
"Build your personal brand" sounds great until you're staring at your phone trying to figure out what that actually means.
Another game photo?
Another medal?
Another picture from practice?
At some point, it all starts to look the same.
The good news is that your athlete probably has plenty of things worth posting. The trick is looking beyond the obvious stuff.
Start with what they're already doing
Your kid doesn't need to invent content.
They're already going to practice. They're competing on weekends. They're travelling to tournaments. They're working on their fitness. They're learning new skills. They're making mistakes. They're improving.
That's the content.
Maybe they've been working on their weak foot for three months and finally scored with it in a game.
Maybe they had a terrible tournament and learned something from it.
Maybe they were moved into a new position.
Maybe they helped a younger player at practice.
Maybe they have a strength-training routine they actually enjoy.
Maybe they have a funny tradition with their teammates.
Those are all much more interesting than simply posting, "Great weekend with the team!"
The goal isn't to turn every moment into a social media post. It's to recognize when something has a story behind it.
Think about what someone would learn about your athlete
This is probably the easiest test.
Before posting something, ask:
What does this tell someone about me?
A game clip might show that you're a good midfielder.
A training video might show that you're putting in the work.
A post about a difficult loss might show how you respond when things don't go your way.
A picture with teammates might show that you're part of a team rather than just an individual player.
A post about something you do outside of sport might show a little personality.
None of these things is revolutionary on its own.
But over time, they start to paint a picture.
And that's really what you're trying to do.
You don't need to overshare
There's also a tendency to think that building a personal brand means putting your entire life online.
It doesn't.
Some kids will be naturally comfortable sharing more. Others won't.
That's okay.
Your athlete should have boundaries. They should know what they are comfortable sharing and what should stay private.
Personal branding isn't about giving strangers access to your life.
It's about being intentional with the small part of your life that you choose to share.
And please don't make every post about recruiting
This is another trap.
If every post is basically an advertisement for your athlete, people will notice.
"2026 midfielder. 3.8 GPA. Looking for opportunities."
There's a place for that information.
But a feed that's nothing but recruiting messages doesn't really tell anyone much about the person.
Let the recruiting information sit alongside the story.
Show the work.
Show the progress.
Show the personality.
Show the sport.
Then, when a coach looks at the account, they can actually get a sense of the athlete.
That's much more useful than a constant sales pitch.
The best content doesn't feel like content
The irony is that the strongest posts are often the ones that don't feel like they're trying very hard.
A quick video after practice.
A reflection after a tough game.
A picture from a team trip.
A short explanation of something they're working on.
It doesn't need perfect lighting, a trending sound or a professionally written caption.
It needs to sound like them.
That's the part worth protecting.
Because the point of all this isn't to create another polished social media account.
It's to help your athlete get comfortable telling their own story.
And once they figure that out, coming up with something to post becomes a lot easier.