Data Shows Nothing Predicts SEC Standings, Recruiting Rankings Better Than Social Media

Shocking alignment in number of followers, success for teams like Arkansas, Alabama, A&M

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For all the gnashing of teeth about the down sides of social media, the numbers clearly show that when it comes where teams are going to finish in SEC football each year, social media presence is a clear indicator. The order in the graphic posted at the bottom of this story ranking SEC teams by social media followers will look awfully familiar to fans of the conference, and not because they keep up with who has the most followers.

In an era where marketing and NIL play such huge roles in recruiting, the ability to get a strong message in front of as many eyes as possible while also letting potential NIL partners know how much impact their dollars may have are vital to building a strong program. That's why social media presence has such a direct effect on success in the SEC. 

Quick, who are the Top 4 teams in last season's standings? If you said Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and LSU, then you nailed it. Those four were all alone in their own conference wins category above the rest of the league. Guess which teams lead the league in social media presence. Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and LSU.

When people pose guesses on which two teams they think will be at the bottom of the league, more often than not, it's always Missouri and Vanderbilt. In fitting fashion, both are at the bottom of the list. Tiger fans may argue that Vanderbilt is going to be mentioned more than Missouri, which is true. The gap in social media presence, much like on the football field, is rather wide. The Commodores make almost no effort to promote their football program with an embarrassing 134,000 followers across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Only Missouri has a single platform following that is less than Vanderbilt's total following with 124,000 on Facebook and 123,000 on Instagram. The idea that a Power Five college football program can only muster 134,000 across all three platforms total hints there may be an effort to intentionally keep numbers down.

However, as shocking as Vanderbilt's numbers are, perhaps the most shocking is Texas A&M. The Aggies boast a cultish student body that is three times larger than most SEC schools. Football is pretty much the only sport that gets any effort as far as true support in College Station. Yet, with all these advantages, the Aggies are No. 9 in the league in terms of followers across all platforms at 806,000 followers, landing them directly behind South Carolina and two spots and 120,000 followers behind Arkansas.

Now some may question why social media presence is a big deal. Followers don't play on Saturdays. No, but the guys who do like to put out the fancy graphics each team designs for them and see where they're going to get the most love in addition to hearing pitches about how exposure to X amount of people on social media will increase their NIL value. Larger fan bases on social media means more people to show love and larger potential NIL deals. 

A player at Alabama can say that all of his followers, plus another nearly 4 million followers on football program's social media platforms will see what he promotes. That's why Alabama players like Bryce Young can land Dr Pepper commercials while players at Arkansas, Texas A&M and the Mississippi schools don't have that kind of option. 

Perhaps the most relevant of the three platforms in determining recruiting success is Instagram. While Facebook is popular with the older crowds and Twitter still holds a little sway, Instagram is the hideaway for the current generation of athletes. Just think about how many times a player put out a long drawn out letter to fans on an Instagram page about either coming or going, or when someone went on Instagram Live to make a big announcement. The teams that saw the trend and got with the program while bringing their fans with them saw a reward. Those who didn't got left behind.

Let's look at the Top 5 teams in Instagram followers last year. Alabama, LSU and Georgia lead the league by a mile, followed by Tennessee and Florida rounding out the Top 5. Now flip to the last SEC recruiting rankings. Alabama, LSU and Georgia form the Top 3 with the Tide at the top of both the Instagram and recruiting list. Guess which teams finish at No. 4 and 5? That's right. Tennessee and Georgia in the exact same spots they fall in the Instagram rankings. 

The next group ranked by Instagram followers is Auburn, Texas A&M, Arkansas and South Carolina. All were super close in number of followers. Generating no shock whatsoever, the next group in the SEC recruiting rankings is made up of Auburn, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Arkansas. 

The tier following them is Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Kentucky, exactly in that order. Also, exactly in that order in the SEC recruiting rankings. Low Instagram numbers, low recruiting numbers. 

Of course, as mentioned earlier, the two schools doing the least when it comes to generating followers are Missouri and Vanderbilt. To put their plight in perspective, both schools combined have about half the social media following of the Arkansas Razorbacks. As the numbers have clearly indicated throughout this breakdown, Missouri and Vanderbilt finished last in that order in both lists. 

Here is how the numbers shook out based on tallies from the morning of July 13, 2023.

FACEBOOK	TWITTER	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
1, 400,000	1,179,801	1,100,000	3,679,801

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
968,113	1,300,000	957,762	3,225,875

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
1,111,120	506,000	912,003	2,529,123

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
775,728	676,000	541,267	1,992,995

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
417,064	640,000	443,921	1,500,985

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
457,499	352,000	326,000	1,135,499

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
404,711	290,000	229,795	924,506

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
456,096	124,000	235,143	815,239

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
313,070	236,000	257,239	806,309

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
315,044	208,000	198,088	721,132

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
309,231	229,000	171,546	709,777

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
266,420	165,000	191,000	622,420

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
151,123	124,000	123,018	398,141

TWITTER	FACEBOOK	INSTAGRAM	TOTAL
91,081	3,700	39,642	134,423

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