How to use it effectively and raise your profile
Creating engaging content is key to gaining a following on social media and raising your profile. Marketing and PR expert Rhea Freeman explains the benefits of using social media platforms to promote yourself
IT’S DIFFICULT TO remember a time before social media when riders were sponsored by brands based on their efforts in the saddle alone. Olympic medallists, Badminton winners and professional riders with a string of horses were the ones to attract the deals. This was the most cost-effective way for brands to get in front of their target market.
With the advent of social media, however, this mindset has changed considerably.
Getting support
There’s still a strong case for a brand to sponsor a rider who is at the very top of their game, but social media and the rise of influencers means that you don’t need to win Badminton to attract the support of brands. In some cases, the riders who are using social media well are doing better from a support level than professional riders. Companies consider a number of factors when deciding who to support. It’s no longer just performance based — someone’s social media following, engagement rate, their personality and so much more is considered. Riders who have really aced it as influencers draw huge crowds at events where they represent their brand. It proves beyond doubt that skills in the saddle aren’t the be all and end all of being an equestrian celeb.
A lower profile
Even if you’ve no desire to be a brand ambassador there are still lots of reasons why social media is an amazing place to be. The main point of social media is to be social, and the great thing about Facebook and Instagram is that your social circle doesn’t need to start and end at your yard. You can connect with people all over the world who share your passions. Bringing different ideas to the table — about training, fitness or soundness, for example — can often allow us to see the issues we’re facing from another perspective. By widening the pool of people you’re connecting with, your ability to grow and learn is increased. By connecting on these platforms you have the opportunity to grow your following.
On Instagram you can do this through your profile; on Facebook you might opt to start a dedicated page. Growing these numbers, nurturing the engagement and creating content that people love and want to share can increase your profile.
Think about the people you follow online — particularly those with big followings who aren’t professional riders. What have they achieved? In no particular order, I’ve seen influencers write and release books, create planners, attract sponsorship deals, interview their idols, design and release their own range of clothing, get invited to speak and host meet and greets… the list goes on.
Grow engagement
Growing a following is definitely part of the puzzle, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Getting a big number under your name is easy if you’re happy to cheat (please don’t do this!) as you can buy followers. However, not only will these followers not care what you’re talking about, if the platforms see unusual activity your account could be penalised and all your hard work (well, before you bought the followers!) will have been for nothing. Growing an engaged following is key. An engaged following is one that cares about you and will comment on your content, like and share your posts and tag people. These are your flag wavers, so nurture them. If you want to form amazing connections or work with brands, you need genuine people on side. Remember, it’s better to have 10 real followers who care about what you have to say than 10,000 fake ones who don’t.
Staying connected
It’s essential to make the best content you can, share it regularly, engage on your own content and other people’s and actively seek out places to be. You might think “in the competition season I want to share, but in the winter I don’t”. That won’t cut it. Your followers will lose interest and move on. Also, don’t just share your highlights and triumphs. The current drive towards authenticity is something we all need to embrace and this includes showing your muddy horse, the way you’re treating mud fever, or what you learnt at the vet talk.
The dark side
With everything good, there’s a dark side, and in the social media world that’s largely negativity, trolling and the impact this can have on our mental health. All of these are genuine concerns. Having a negative or troll comment left on your content really hurts. As humans we seem conditioned to focus on one negative versus the sea of positives — a bit like dwelling on that late transition you made in your dressage test rather than celebrating the amazing circle, square halt and everything else that went before it.
The best advice is to ignore the trolls, but it’s hard. It does help to have a group of friends (real or virtual) to share things with, though. If it gets too much, mute or unfollow specific accounts, even temporarily. The people you follow won’t know if you do either of these things.
“Regularly produce and share the best content you can, whether it’s video, words or photos”