Credibility and integrity mean everything in business. Ensure that your social media use shines a positive light on your training program.
By Jennifer Paulson
Developing content for your social media platforms is work. It requires a time commitment that sometimes seems like it could rival the hours you spend in the barn. You know it’s an essential component of marketing your services, but you might be tempted to take an easy way out that could harm your business.
As in horse training, the shortcut isn’t the best way to go. In a world of screen shots and copy/paste, it might seem easier to “borrow” content created by someone else and share it as your own or just do the minimum. Don’t be tempted to sacrifice your social-media integrity for time. Here are 10 checkpoints to consider every time you post on social media that will make your business stand out while preventing the conflict that can come with copycatting.
1 Sharing is caring. When you like someone’s content and feel it represents your brand, go ahead and click “Share,” write a few words about how the post represents your business, and click “Post.” A quick share allows the content creator to maintain ownership of that post and allows your followers to check out their page. The same goes for your sponsors. Sharing their messaging shows your support of their brand and elevates their analytics. And they might share your content when the fit is right, exposing you to an entirely new audience.
2 Accurately represent your business. If coaching beginner riders isn’t part of your program, don’t share that kind of content on your platforms and certainly don’t promote that you offer that service. Save yourself and your audience time by always representing what your business does offer. This is where your business’ mission statement can be handy.
3 Copy and paste with credit. Let’s say you contributed to an article in the Reiner. It’s a great marketing tactic to pull those words from the article and share them on your social-media platforms. But always remember to give credit where it’s due. Note the author’s name and the publication the quote comes from, or share a link to the digital version of the article, to highlight your connection to a notable brand and your contribution.
4 Share links. When you contribute to a blog post or find an article to which you contributed online, share the link to the webpage. It’ll likely post with a nice preview image and your article’s title. This looks better (and performs better) on social media than taking photos of magazine pages with your phone and posting them.
5 Use images as agreed. All professionals want their work represented accurately and positively. When you purchase an image from the show photographer, be sure to buy the size you’ll use across all needs, from print ads to digital placement. If you buy an image for social-media use only, it’s sized for use on social, which means it’s not of high enough resolution for a print ad or a large banner you might put outside your stalls. This means the photographer’s work isn’t accurately represented in that low-res image, and neither is your business. When in doubt, buy all rights so you can use images without limitations.
6 Show what you love. Keeping your social media positive shines a positive light on your business. When you post or comment negative content—e.g., “The judges at show ABC got it all wrong,” or “Discipline Y is inferior and their horses look terrible”—it’s hard for your audience to see you as a positive contributor to the industry. It’s as simple as promoting what you love instead of bashing what you dislike.
7 Identify your endorsements. It’s fantastic to share products you use and why you use them. If you have an agreement with a sponsor, be sure to include that the product is provided to you by the sponsor. If it’s simply a product you find useful and want to share, state that you’re not sponsored by that brand, which can add authenticity to your post. Either way, tag the brand in your post so your followers can go to their pages and give them follows.
8 Follow through. If you say you’re going to do something, do it and create a post to show you did it! Contests are great examples. It can be effective to host them to generate followers, but the ethical piece involves ensuring that you follow through on the back end. This includes notifying the winner, sharing the winner’s name, and sending the prizes. With a busy schedule, these elements can fall through the cracks and cause fallout for your business. Follow-through is crucial for your credibility.
9 Ask for help. There are many content and social-media experts you can turn to for assistance, whether it’s answering a simple question or hiring one to handle all your social-media needs. These creatives understand the implications of unethical behaviors and why being on the up and up is critical for a growing brand.
10 Use credible sources. In reference to the first checkbox, “sharing is caring,” be sure that anything you share comes from a credible source and is from a brand or person you want to be associated with. Sharing bad information makes you look bad, and info from sources that don’t align with your brand weakens your message and causes your audience to doubt you.
Social media is a great way to promote your business and engage new clients, but the keys to success lie in using it correctly and ethically to represent your brand.
