Are you a rider? Do you use social media? Are you not sure if you even need social media at all? In this episode of the Small & Supercharged Podcast, I talk all about why riders need social media, how they can start, develop, and really capitalise on the opportunities it holds.

You ready?!

Why riders need social media

Just because it’s fun to be random, I start this podcast by actually explaining why riders don’t need social media. Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my mind. See, if a rider just wants to enjoy their horse and has no ambitions of creating a community, working with brands or anything else, they don’t need it. And that’s completely fine. However, if they want any of the above and a whole lot more, they do. Actually, I really think it’s an essential if a rider is hoping to attract sponsorships, brand ambassadorships, and any of the other opportunities that the internet can bring.

So it’s all about social media?

Yes and no. Actually, having a website is really important too. I’ve said it before and I will likely say it every few weeks (and any time we talk about social media or websites) that although social media is absolutely insane, we don’t own it. And if we don’t own it and can’t therefore control it, it’s a risky place to put all your eggs, isn’t it?

The beauty of websites nowadays is that they can cost you very very little; in fact, some are free. I use WordPress for my website (and have done for a very long time), but there are plenty of other platforms too – just see what works for you. With WordPress you can use free themes (like website templates) to get started and can either have it for free (when .wordpress is included in your website address) or pay a few pounds a month for hosting (Ray gave some great advice on low cost web hosting in this podcast). Even if you only update it every so often, you can still have widgets that show your Instagram feed (for example) and provide people with more information about your horses and team. Don’t see it as ‘something else to maintain’, see it as you stables on the worldwide web!

Now back to the subject…

One of the key things for me is that if riders want to work with brands, they need to have some form of social media. In today’s world, sponsorships and ambassadorships aren’t just decided by whether or not you’re likely to go to the Olympics, there’s far more going on. Riders with large, engaged followings who work hard can have a lot more value to a brand than a world class athlete that doesn’t. Now a world class rider might have more clout if terms of influence, but if they’re not using their social media properly, they won’t be putting this information out. If you don’t have the credentials in terms of performance, you can excel in other ways, like this.

When brands assess riders and influencers, they look at many factors. The ones I work with go to social media very very quickly. Lots of factors are assessed, but if a rider is absent from the big platforms then it’s not the best start.

What can riders put on social media?

As I mention in the podcast, this episode is ‘sponsored’ by my new online course called Social Supercharge: Riders. In this course I go into lots of content ideas that I know will help you, but I share a couple on the podcast too. One biggy is behind the scenes. Because while it’s nice to know how a rider does at a competition, anyone could find that out by looking on the right website. What you have is the feelings connected to that achievement, how the horse went, how you feel this aligns with a goal, etc etc. and I talk about that a lot in the podcast too!

So there you have it – why riders need social media in podcast form. If you enjoyed this episode (and I’m kind of hoping you did!) you can find out more about the Social Supercharge: Riders digital course here. And if you join, make sure you come on over and join the supporting Facebook group too!

Read the full transcript to this episode here!