Athlete NIL Interviews: Laney Higgins
Could you share some of the NIL opportunities or partnerships you've been involved in?
Meta, lululemon, Champs, Outback, Quest Nutrition, NIL.Store, INNBeauty, CeraVe, My Volley Box, Look Dine-in Cinemas, Ventray Kitchen and Q-Collar.
How did you identify and negotiate these opportunities?
Every NIL partnership I have been able to to be a part of has its own story. Some are brands that have reached out to me and some are brands that I have approached. A few of the deals came from brands referring me to others and a few came from NIL market places.
How has NIL impacted your daily life and responsibilities as a student-athlete?
The day to day life of being a student-athlete is already pretty hectic, but adding in NIL puts an increased emphasis on time management. Being at a smaller school gives me the opportunity to learn by experience since I don’t have access to an agent or a team of people that some of the big time NIL student-athletes do. I’m personally sending the emails, follow-ups, negotiating, handling the content creation and everything that’s involved. I think the daily grind of NIL has really helped speed up my professional development.
Are there educational programs/tools/events that have helped you better understand the rules and opportunities related to NIL?
I was really fortunate to be a member of Meta’s NIL Empower 2.0. The team at Meta did a phenomenal job preparing our 30 student-athlete cohort with anything and everything we need to be successful when it comes to NIL. I was lucky to take home the program’s Hustle Award and there’s not a day goes by that I’m not using something Meta taught me with my NIL efforts.
How do you utilize social media platforms to build your personal brand and engage with your audience? Can you share examples of successful social media campaigns or content that helped promote your brand?
Through my involvement in Meta’s NIL Empower 2.0 program, I started a weekly content franchise on Instagram Live called “W4LKING and T4LKING”. The first season of the show featured 20 female student-athletes, who are also social influencers from around the country. The show’s first season guests had a combined social media following of over 1,200,000 people. The “W4LKING and T4LKING” recap reels have generated over 140,000 views averaging over 7,000 views per episode. Last week, I announced that my second season will be “empowHERed” by my favorite brand lululemon. To have one of the world’s top brands in lululemon join me in supporting and highlighting female student-athletes from around the country is a dream come true for me and I am so grateful to them!
How have your NIL activities influenced your relationship with fans and supporters?
Being at a small school, we also don’t have a huge following of fans, but I am most proud of how supportive my teammates and my coach Olivia Tidmore have been of me. I know small school student-athletes doing NIL is not typical, but they know I am in it to help get a head start on my career. They are an awesome group of girls that I absolutely love and appreciate.
What advice would you give to other student-athletes seeking to explore NIL opportunities?
Be fearless. I live by the quote that “the second you stop worrying about what others may think of you is the second you start to become successful.” In a day and age where everyone is unfairly judged on social media, it’s really hard to be fearless and to also get started, but I’m so thankful that I have.
Is there a college athlete whose approach to NIL you admire? If yes, who and why?
The list of NIL athletes that I admire is so long! Everyone in my Meta cohort have been great to me and I continue to learn so much from each of them. If I had to specifically name a few, I would say I admire Anna Camden for how much she relates to people, Alex Glover for her hustle, Leah Clapper for her versatility and Emily Cole for her creativity. Others that I continue to follow that I would love to host on my show one day are Alexa Hendricks, Trinity Thomas, Shelomi Sanders, Flau’Jae Johnson, the Cavinders, Logan Eggleston and many others.
How has engaging in NIL activities contributed to your personal and professional growth? Have you discovered new interests or skills through NIL opportunities?
I think NIL has helped me most with my communication skills. I have learned how to send professional emails, how to create presentation decks, how to pitch partnerships in person and on zoom along with so much more. I’ve also been fortunate to speak on multiple panels related to NIL, which has helped me with my public speaking. Most importantly, NIL has taught me the importance of giving back as I have been able to donate my NIL earnings to amazing charities such as the Women’s Sports Foundation, USF Health and Extra Yard for Teachers.
How do you envision your career evolving after college?
Sports marketing is my passion, so I’m hopeful that my NIL experiences will lead me to my career in this area after college. NIL has given me invaluable experience with marketing, negotiating, networking and so much more. I’m so grateful to everyone that has helped me along this journey and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
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