Shane Beamer explains his social media-savvy approach, why he’s so plugged in

Shane Beamer, as one of the youngest SEC head coaches at 45, is one of the most social media-savvy program leaders in all of college football. While hosting a Twitter Spaces chat, Paul Finebaum asked Beamer about his social media presence and how he views it as a key communication tool with his players and recruits.

Unlike some other coaches, the South Carolina skipper wants to know the environment his players are in online since they spend so much time there.

“Well, it’s part of it in today’s time,” Beamer said. “For me, it’s a way for us to get our message out. Two, it’s a way to communicate with recruits. I’m sure a lot of recruits are in school right now, but I’m sure there are some that are on here listening. You’re right, our players are on social media throughout the day, so in a lot of ways … so we don’t worry so much about what’s being said on the outside, but I think you’re naïve if you just bury your head in the sand and aren’t aware of what your players are hearing.

“They’re only with us for four hours a day, it’s all they’re allowed to be, so there are 20 other hours they’re outside this building hearing stuff. So I think you somewhat want to be plugged into what they’re hearing when they’re not here. [It’s] a way to communicate with the fanbase. And trust me, we work really, really hard during the day, so being able to take a 5-minute break to check my phone and see what’s going on and retweet something or all that, is part of the job right now.”

Beamer ranks top-10 in FBS coach engagement

Beamer has been one of the most interacted-with head coaches in all of college football over the last few months, according to SkullSparks‘ analytics.

He was No. 1 overall in April, second in June and second in July. Although he doesn’t make headlines as splashy as Lane Kiffin or Mike Leach, he knows how to leverage the technology to his advantage. So far, Beamer has 111,000 followers on Twitter.

As far as how Beamer’s social media interaction is impacting recruiting, the Gamecocks’ 2023 class ranks No. 19 nationally. In 2022, the class finished No. 29 overall and 13th in the SEC.