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Over and out with the HorseHour podcast!

Rhea recently recorded a HorseHour podcast all about rider sponsorship – how to get it, how to keep it and, also, what businesses should look for when choosing to sponsor a rider. Amy Stevenson, the interviewer from HorseHour, asked many questions from a rider’s point of view and, hopefully, the answers provided in the podcast will be of help if you’re a rider looking for sponsorship or you’re a business thinking of dipping your toe into the sponsorship pond.

Here’s a link to the podcast.

There are many snippets to take away from this Horsehour podcast. Such as how to get your own ‘stuff’ in order (social media platforms, websites, etc) before approaching companies, how to behave, idea generation…well, the list goes on. If you have thirty or so minutes to listen (and, as it’s a podcast, you can do other things as you listen!) it’s definitely worth it if you’re looking to attract sponsors this season and beyond.

A MASSIVE thank you to Amy and HorseHour for inviting our participation. Find out more about HorseHour here.

 

HorseHour is one of the ‘equestrian power hours’ on Twitter. It takes place each week between 8pm and 9pm on Monday. In addition to the once a week hour, which allows horse people across the world to unite and share stories using the #horsehour hashtag, there’s also a supporting website that’s a real educational hub, packed with videos, podcasts and articles to help improve horsemanship and more.

 

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One to one coaching!

We’re very excited to announce the launch of a new service here at RFPR, and that’s a one to one coaching package. Well, the title is a work in progress, but let me explain…

We all know that businesses need to be promoted in order to get work, earn money and so on. You could have the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it, it’ll never do well. Simple. Now, each week, people contact the Facebook page, or send emails, asking about PR, marketing and social media support for their equestrian and country business. Many of these are start ups who have time but not necessarily the finance to support a PR package. Actually, some aren’t at the stage where they’d necessarily be able to fully utilise a PR package. But they know they need help to get them to the next level. To help focus them and to come up with a plan. And that’s exactly what the new service does. It’s split into three parts – there’s a 20 minute ‘Nice to meet you’ chat, where we discuss objectives; then an hour chat where we look at how to achieve your business goals; and then there’s a 20 minute review that allows us to look at what has been accomplished and adjust anything needed.

This service works for all sizes of business. Yes, it’s great for small businesses who need a leg up and a bit of guidance from someone in the know, but it’s also ideal for larger businesses who want to brainstorm an idea with a PR and marketing person, or plan a product launch – the list goes on!

Due to regular clients, there’s only a limited number of ‘coaching’ slots available each month, so if you’re interested in working together in this way, to help improve your equestrian business or polish your PR and marketing, just contact me.

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Have a look at our lovely Youtube Channel!

Have you seen our Youtube Channel? It’s a work in progress (what isn’t?!), but we have a good number of videos on the page now, and plenty more in the pipeline, so please subscribe and stay up to date with RFPR. The videos are packed with small business tips.

On the channel you’ll find lots of different things – plenty of marketing and PR, marketing, social media and even video tips. In addition, due to our extensive experience in equestrian PR and marketing, you’ll also find videos on rider sponsorship dos and don’ts for riders and businesses, information on equestrian events such as BETA International and how to survive a horse trials. The list really does go on. If you’re interested in equestrian PR, marketing and social media, and how to promote your equestrian business in a cost effective way, it’s definitely worth a look. Equally, if you’re in the country and rural sector, or if you’re a small business in a completely unrelated sector going places, you’ll learn lots from the hints and tips provided as many apply to all businesses.

And, if you want to take your learning a step further, why not come on over and become part of the Small & Supercharged community? This group combines small businesses from all industries and shares ideas, advice, goals and a whole lot more. It’s supportive, fun and genuine connections and business has already been done as a direct result of the group. How good is that? Come on over and join us if you’d like to take your small business to the next level.

Here’s the link to the Youtube channel- enjoy!

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Sponsorship dos for riders- have a look at the latest video!

As you’ll know, sponsorship is a top topic at RFPR. It’s one that gets discussed most weeks with different clients. Although it might seem that we’re against rider sponsorship, that couldn’t be further from the truth, we’re simply against BAD rider sponsorship. Why? Well, a) it costs a client money and generates very little in return – no equestrian PR – actually – no PR, wants that for their client b) budget could be used on the wrong rider, and that takes away from another c) it discourages the company from other sponsorship opportunities, so other riders as well as shows and events lose out. And we don’t like that. Every penny that a company spends HAS to generate something. Riders have SO MUCH at their disposal that they can use to promote a brand that there is no excuse for being substandard. And riders that are don’t last very long with my clients. We don’t have the time for it.

BUT, if you’re a rider who wants to work with brands, to help promote them, have a look at this video – it might just help!

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Want to be someone’s sponsored rider? Have a look at our top ‘don’ts’ video!

Getting approached about sponsorship is a daily occurrence for many PRs and the companies they work with. We all appreciate that people want support, and that’s fine, what isn’t fine is how some people choose to ask for this help. Well, I say ask…it’s often more of a rude demand made in the wrong way! If you’re looking for some tips when it comes to help to approach companies about sponsorship, have a look at this video about rider sponsorship don’ts. It might just help.

 

 

 

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Could video help your business?

Could video help your business?In this blog, I have a chat about video marketing, to answer the question ‘could video help your business?’

Could video help your business?

As you’ll see below, I have put together video all about video and if video could help your business (I feel like I have said the v word far too much, but stick with me!). Video is not a new concept in marketing, far from it, but in recent years video has become an integral part in many people’s businesses. It used to be expensive to get videos produced for your business, and a cost that, especially for small businesses, was more than a little prohibitive. The good news is that now, you can do the WHOLE process on your iPhone if you like. From filming to editing to posting. Of course, you can get videos professionally edited and that can be a good idea depending what you want your video to do, but now the cost of entry is pretty much zero. How amazing is that?

Should you use video to help promote your business?

I can not think of  one business that wouldn’t benefit from video content. And I’ve given this some serious thought. Video helps to give your brand personality, it allows people to get to know you, it helps you to educate your customers in the form on how-tos, it allows you to show off what you do… it lets people into your world. Is this a good idea? Oh yes. People buy from people and at a time when there’s a lot of competition in every industry, fully harnessing video and integrating it into your business can be a game changer.

But there’s more…

Now, not only can you use video to prerecord messages, how tos and more, you can also harness Live videos in the form of Facebook Live. There’s also the option to promote different types of video content across your platforms. This might mean a minute long burst for Instagram or a long Live for Facebook. Here’s a video about how to make your content work harder. Video is a really REALLY powerful tool and I would really urge you to try it. Video could really help your business. Honest.

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My first vlog- why am I doing this?

I know I’ve been a bit (OK, more than a bit!) rubbish at keeping this blog up to date – but I feel I’ve made up for it. Not JUST a blog – a vlog. And there will be more to come. Enjoy!

 

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Happy New Year!

It seems like forever since I’ve blogged on my own site…and looking at the date of my last post, that’s very much the case! The truth is that I’ve been so busy working with my clients across various media that my own ‘stuff’ seems to have taken a bit of backseat – and for those snippets of news I want to share, I write on my Facebook page…so if you’d like to hear what’s going on with my lovely bunch of clients, the Rhea Freeman PR Facebook page is your best bet! I’m hoping and planning to do more blogs this year, but as they’re usually more in-depth and ramble on (!), they take a wee bit more time! Hope to see you on the RFPR Facebook page!

I would, however, like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy and successful 2016. I do think that people put too much focus on the ‘new year, new you’ idea. If you want to change, then just crack on! If you’re looking to improve your business, spread your message, increase your profits, get more people talking about you and what you do, don’t let a silly date stop you or, worse still, put so much pressure on you that you set yourself up for a fall and become completely demoralised! If you want to have a booming business by the end of the year, then don’t wait to start promoting yourself, and don’t set yourself huge goals without thinking how you’re actually going to achieve them. It’s just depressing if you don’t have a vague plan! You don’t need to spend the national debt on ads, you can start small by getting yourself organised on social media, filming yourself or your product and posting these clips, getting a tried and tested in a magazine. Setting little, achievable goals is more do-able, a hell of a lot easier, and forms a great foundation to build a more joined up campaign. So, if this New Year is all about building yourself a better, bigger business, remember that there are very few overnight successes…but there are many perceived overnight success stories that have come from years of hard work!

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