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The following is provided through a partnership between STRIDER and the USEA. As part of our commitment to diversity, enabling access, and building capacity throughout the industry we are pleased to provide this content to benefit the sport of eventing
The summer eventing season is in full swing, and while that means many trainers are focused on the goals for their horses and clients, it’s also a great time to consider tools to boost business growth. Whether the objective for this season is to expand your customer base, increase profits, or develop a specific area of business, digital marketing tools are here to help. An umbrella term for any type of online marketing effort, digital marketing comes in a variety of forms—and there are many to sift through!
Spend less time at your desk and more time doing what you love with team STRIDER’s top three digital marketing tools and quick tips to harness their power.
For your eventing business, it’s more important than ever that it be findable by a quick Google search.
When you make information readily available and easily accessible for potential customers, you cut down barriers for entry that might have otherwise existed. Just like sending a young horse through a jump chute, you want to set your customers up for success.
Take a quick inventory of your website. Does it have easy-to-find answers to questions you consistently field from new customers? You’ll save a ton of time on back-and-forth emails when basic details of the services you provide are more public facing.
Don’t have a website? It’s time to create one! There are fantastic templates available through services like GoDaddy, SquareSpace, Wix, and WordPress.
It’s well worth the time and effort to build an email list and put that list to work! Email is ideal to remind folks of the services you offer while keeping your potential customers and current ones in the loop about what you and your team are up to.
As you grow and leverage that contact list, you’ll want to say goodbye to the :BCC approach for email. Employ a service such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, iContact, or Drip. Similar to the website builders, these have built-in templates for you that can then be customized. All of these options have free versions, plus they’ll keep your contacts organized for you. You’ll also have “unsubscribes” built-in which enables folks to opt-out and can save you some awkward encounters!
Posting regularly to social media provides you as a business owner or operator a chance to grow relationships with your target audience. Because social media helps to boost your overall web presence (and make you more findable by a search engine) it can help to bolster awareness for your business and help foster growth. Keep in mind, however, that it should work in tandem with your website and email campaigns, but won’t replace these elements of digital marketing.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Twitter, LinkedIn; the list goes on—there are just so many social platforms! Select one or two that you think work best for your business goals. Create business pages and post from there so you can separate personal vs. professional. Keep in mind that you’ll want to be certain you have photographer permission to share their work from your business page, too!
Be sure to set a reasonable goal for yourself in terms of how often you share content. Remember, you can schedule posts in advance through business accounts on many platforms. That can help keep this business task feeling more manageable. Better yet? Outsource to a socially savvy client or a trusted working student.
The digital marketing tools listed here are those we’ve seen work well for eventers and the equestrian industry as a whole. It’s important to remember to pursue what works best for you, your business, and your audience. Your time matters, and it’s well worth taking an hour or so throughout the week to evaluate which means of digital marketing you prefer to take advantage of. Though it can feel daunting, that time investment will pay off as you grow your community and our sport.
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