Social media is a great tool to use to help promote your horse business. Why? Because you can reach more potential customers, for less money, quickly. In 2019 there were 18 million active social media users in Australia, which is 72% of the population. By actively promoting your equestrian business through social media channels you can reach customers that traditional marketing efforts would not.
However, it’s important as a horse business to remember that social media is inherently a tool to communicate with friends. For instance, only 13% of social media use is for work. Therefore, when you promote your business on social media you must ensure that you are sharing content that people find valuable or entertaining.
Social media is designed for storytelling, making hard sales tactics redundant. It is your chance to create relationships with potential customers by becoming part of their community. This will give people a reason to trust in your brand and remember you when wanting to make a purchase.
What to Avoid
Social media is a great way to interact with potential customers, however, it can have a negative impact on your business if used incorrectly. For horse businesses to be successful on social channels avoid the following;
- Using social media as a sales platform
- Being boring
- Sales-y tactics
- Only using one platform
- Using all social media platforms
- Not responding to customers
- Repeating content regularly
Paid, Owned, Earned Social Media
Owned
Owned social consists of what people say to you. 87% of owned media appears on Facebook. Owned social may consist of users commenting on or sharing the photos and videos you post to your Facebook Page.
Paid
Paid social is what you pay for people to see, it accounts for 80% of all branded content. For instance, boosted posts and branded Snapchat filters
Earned
Earned social is what people say about you outside of your branded pages. Examples include:
- Customer shares a review about your product on their Facebook Page
- Customer snaps an Instagram photo of your store or product
- Pinterest user pins one of your products to a board
What channels to use?
Facebook is the most commonly used platform, allowing you to connect with friends, family and businesses online.
Businesses can use Facebook to show another side to their operations so that potential customers discover the ‘real’ brand. Consequently you can create a great first impression, get customer reviews and improve your SEO.
Instagram is a visual platform made for photo and video sharing. Businesses should think of their Instagram page as their online magazine. If you wouldn’t publish the photo in a magazine, don’t publish it on your page.
YouTube is a video library. A business can use Youtube to upload their own videos to the library. The videos could show their products in action, solve customer problems or demonstrate services. It’s important to put thought into video tiles and descriptions.
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals. Think of this as your digital business card. It’s a great platform to use for businesses that are tailored to professionals or B2B. You can also share business news in your field and relevant articles.
Pinterest is a highly visual platform used for inspiration and ideas. It’s great for businesses that are selling products and E-commerce stores. A Hootsuite study has even stated that 90% of weekly Pinterest users use Pinterest to make purchase decisions.
We can help you you determine which channel is right for you and the content you should be posting. Contact us here.
Despina has over 20 years experience working with leading Equestrian Businesses throughout Australasia. As Show Pony Creative’s director she is an award winning Multimedia Designer who has a Bachelor Degree in Multimedia Systems Majoring in Applications.