Rhea Freeman comments

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EQUESTRIAN INFLUENCERS BEHAVING BADLY

I’M RHEA FREEMAN. I’M A PR, MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT AND COACH WITH A SPECIALISM IN EQUESTRIAN AND RURAL BUSINESS. I WORK WITH A NUMBER OF THE BEST BRANDS IN THE INDUSTRY AND MANY THAT YOU’LL SEE IN THESE PAGES...

For many riders, it’s a dream to bag themselves a sponsor. Being aligned with brands that you love working with, whose products you adore, who can help support you in your equestrian dreams is huge. But that’s really just the start. Bagging yourself a sponsor isn’t the easy bit as such, but with it comes a responsibility to promote the brand correctly and well, ensure that you remain the kind of person that brand wants to be associated with, and so much more. So here we are going to look at a few things NOT to do if you want to keep the brands you’re working with happy… 1. Promote other conflicting brands There are few brands that would expect you to only talk about them, because most brands tend to specialise in one area. But, let’s say your sponsor sells supplements, it wouldn’t be a great idea to actively promote a product from a competitor of theirs when they do an equivalent. If, for whatever reason, you need/want/are advised to use a product that could be a conflict, SPEAK TO THE BRAND. They may understand, they may ask you not to actively promote it on your socials, they may suggest their version and give you a good reason why. 2. Disregard what they have asked for If you’re sponsored or even working with someone on a one off basis, you’ll know what they expect from you in terms of what kind of coverage that they are hoping to gain. If you’re not sure, ask. But when you know, please deliver on what has been agreed. If you’re struggling to do this for whatever reason, speak to them. Explain the situation and work on a solution. 3. Prevent them using your content Let’s say you’ve taken a pic of you in their kit, looking amazing, and posted it on your social. The brand asks to use it. You say no. Now, if you had the image taken by a professional photographer, you will need to get their permission of course, but unless there’s a good reason, I would advise being as obliging as you can be. Quality imagery that brands can use has a real value, and this can help to make you even more valuable as a brand ambassador or sponsored rider. 4. Have no knowledge of their products It’s worth doing the work and making sure you really do understand what makes their products special. You don’t need to be an expert, but knowing enough so you can produce valuable content will really help. 5. Don’t communicate with them, don’t think of any ideas around the promotion of the brand or products Keep in touch. Think of things you can do that help them and will appeal to your audience. 6. Start swearing, being rude, breaking the law and behaving in a way that’s very different to how you were when you started working together. Now, if you were swearing before, don’t worry too much(!), but when brands assess brand ambassadors, they usually look to see how that ambassador will fit with their audience, brand ethos, and a lot of other values too. If you’ve gone from quiet and collected to swearing and drunken vomiting in ditches overnight, that will (quite rightly!) unnerve a brand. 7. Be controversial, just because If you believe in something wholeheartedly, then that’s different, but if you’re a bit bored one day and decide to pick a fight with someone on social, be aware that this could really backfire. 8. Don’t label things It is REALLY important that you label any sponsored content correctly so you don’t mislead your audience. The ASA and CMA have rules around this (search ASA Influencer Guidelines for more on this). It’s important for you and the brand. Of course, there are other ways you can upset a brand(!), but communication is key, in all things, to ensure you’re happy, the brand is happy, and that the audience is too. You’ve got this! www.rheafreemanpr.co.uk Twitter (@rheafreeman) Instagram (@rheafreemanpr) Facebook (/RheaFreemanPR)