It’s an excellent time to be on social media. Being on social media can lead to getting discovered by people who are interested in following you or supporting you. MMA fighters should be using various social platforms to build their fan base and exposure. 

If you want to get the attention of the MMA world and sponsors, you need to know how to promote yourself on social media. For your following and fan base to grow, people must know who you are and about your talent. This requires much work, but some things can help speed up the process. Here are five ways to up your social media game in MMA-land:

Many people find out about a fighter through their social media accounts. This is why it is important to take time to ensure your profile is set up properly. Making yourself known online is important to your personal brand and SEO efforts on the web. Start establishing an online presence by building profiles for your fight career (not your personal life) and then making them public. Private social media accounts are great for privacy but aren’t great for helping to grow your personal brand.

It’s important that you optimize your profile for discoverability so that people from your community can find you and engage with you–including the news & media.  We like to tag you guys in posts, so it isn’t very reassuring when we can’t find you online. Include your name in your social profile so people can find you easily.  We repeat, include your name in your social media profile. 

Also, use keywords! Anyone can search for public profiles with the help of Google, and sometimes people will search for keywords. You’ll want to make sure your profile uses keywords that represent things like your weight class, gym, or fighting style.  For example, it’s much easier to find the search results you want for Michael Johnson, the featherweight MMA fighter, versus just Michael Johnson.

Your social profile accounts can be used to build more than just a following. It can help fighters get their name out there, build buzz, and get noticed by potential sponsors. And that’s exactly what some of these MMA fighters are doing. They’re using social media to post new content that builds anticipation for their next fight throughout the week. 

These fighters aren’t just putting out content because it’s good for the promotion they are fighting for; they’re doing it because it helps them build their brand and expose them to potential sponsors.  And sharing past or old content is ok too!  Sometimes the community needs a refresher on just how talented you are!

The best way to stand out in the MMA world is to post images, training videos, or clips from your fights on your social media profiles. It may feel difficult to share so much about yourself, but it will get the word out about what you’re doing. Posting images and videos online allows you to reach a wider audience than telling your story in person, which is great for getting the word out about your next fight or activity.

It’s also a great way to build up your credibility as a serious and dedicated fighter, which will translate into more opportunities for sponsors and other opportunities to be noticed by promotions and matchmakers looking to find the next up-and-coming fighter for their event.

Important Note: The size of an image or video is just as important as its content. Make sure that the content you post meets the size requirements for that social platform.  If unsure about the dimensions required for each platform, you can find all specifications here – https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-image-sizes-guide/.