9 minute read
Rhea Freeman asks
Rhea Asks...
HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA BIO IS WORKING FOR YOU? IT’S ALL IN THE BIO...
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Whatever platform you use, your bio plays a key role in helping people understand what you’re about and what type of content they’re likely to find on your account. Many don’t fully utilise the bio area… but I’m here to help. The first thing to remember is that whatever platform you’re using, bios are tight on character count. On Instagram, you have just 150 characters, Twitter has 160 characters, and TikTok has 80 characters to ‘sell’ yourself. And it should be viewed in that way. We all know social media is a busy place, so you need to make it very clear why people should follow you in a short space of time. So, how do you do it? Think about the key information you need to get across, why people should follow you, and what you’ll be sharing. Be specific too, for example ‘love riding horses’ is fine, but it’s not really adding any value, yet something like ‘taking my exracehorse to Elementary dressage’ sends out clear signals that will encourage people to follow you. That is, if they’re keen on racehorses, thoroughbreds, re training exracehorses, ex-racehorses in general and dressage. See the difference? Of course, you might not have an ex-racehorse you’re training for dressage, but you can use the same idea! You might opt for a list instead of a ‘long’ paragraph, and this isn’t a bad idea as it’s likely to save your characters. When you do this, think about the order most important key points at the top going down to less relevant/more amusing. Why? Because a) people do have a limited attention span and social media is busy and b) depending on how many points you have to list, some of your info might be hidden until ‘more’ is tapped. And it’s not the most obvious thing to tap! If you’re going for a list, consider using bullet points to break it up - you could even use emojis if you like. Make sure these add to the story and are relevant to each point, or you could even use a star or another symbol. These can make it easier to separate the list visually and can also add a little bit of personality too. Depending on the type of account you have, and which platform you’re on, you might get the opportunity to add your website address and email address. With bios, you can usually add one website address, which most would point to their homepage. On Instagram, adding a URL to the caption does nothing - it isn’t a hyperlink so if you’re adding information about your latest blog, for example, that person needs to work to get there by going via the link in our bio, then home page, then find it. Now, another option is to have your one link going to either a links page on your website, or something like Linktree. Both of these let you put together a list of specific links that allow people to easily navigate to where you want them to go. You might have a link for your overall blog, or your latest blog, or your podcast, or your newsletter sign up, the choice is yours! I think that this space is particularly important on Instagram. In short, do everything you can to make it easy for people to take the action that you want! And last but not least - review your bio regularly. Is it all still as relevant now as it was the day you wrote it? Make sure it is! www.rheafreemanpr.co.uk Twitter (@rheafreeman) Instagram (@rheafreemanpr) Facebook (/RheaFreemanPR)
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...
ASK A Masterminder
Small & Supercharged Mastermind is an online group supporting small equestrian and rural businesses and, as such, is bursting with amazingly knowledgeable people with lots to share. Each month we’ll be asking them a question and members will be sharing their top tips. This month’s question is… ‘HAS THERE BEEN ONE PERSON IN BUSINESS WHO YOU FEEL YOU WERE 'DESTINED' TO MEET? AND WHAT DID THAT CHANCE MEETING LEAD ON TO?’
Odette Insoll, Nouvelle Habit: “My business hasn’t been running for long but I have already made some amazing friends, two stand out in particular. Both Sapphire and Lucy volunteered to model for some product shoots, we instantly clicked and had the most amazing days. Sapphire has become my brand ambassador and is also helping me out with some shows this year as is Lucy. I can’t wait for the summer, to be able to hang out with these girls. Both have been such great support and their friendship means so much to me.”
www.nouvellehabit.co.uk
Tracey Cole, Tracey Cole NLP: “I didn’t realise that Julia McHugh of Your Horse Is Your Mirror was trained in NLP when she invited me to do some equestrian confidence sessions as part of her TREC/horsemanship weekends. In fact, I persuaded Julia that she could run her own confidence sessions when I found out! From the first meeting, we became great friends and candid sounding boards. Julia did her Master NLP Coach & Master Hypnotherapy training with me and ever since, we’ve been able to support each other throughout the growth of our businesses.”
www.traceycolenlp.com
Georgie Welge, Elite Saddle Fit: “Back in 2017 I noticed these videos starting to appear on YouTube all about horse welfare and training. These videos were produced by Equitopia, an American organisation trying to educate horse owners on all things horsey. I was pondering reaching out to them, when my then business partner called to say ‘you’ll never guess who my husband was sat next to on a plane?’ This chance encounter on a plane lead to an opportunity enabling global networking, just goes to show sometimes you get to be at the right place at the right time.”
www.elitesaddlefit.com
Ruth Chappell, Dressage Anywhere: “I was destined to meet Rhea Freeman! We first crossed paths over ten years ago and I just knew she was the kind of person I’d love to work with. So when I got back in touch at the launch of Small & Supercharged, it was a natural step to start working more closely together. I’m now really proud to call her one of my closest friends, we chat nearly every day and have a great friendship. ”
www.dressageanywhere.com
Thea Roberts, Horsefest: “Over a decade ago, I received a call from my friend, who’d come off her horse whilst hacking. I found my friend and checked she was ok, then we had to find her horse! He had REALLY ‘landed on his hooves’ and was grazing on the front lawn of a house about a mile and a half from my home. A lovely smiley, friendly, horse-owning lady welcomed us and lent us some reins to get him home, as he’d managed to break his in the excitement! That lady was Heidi, and we are now such good friends and have started up our equestrian membership community ‘HorseTribe’ together, with our summer festival ‘HorseFest’ happening this July – it was clearly a horsey friendship destined to be!”
www.horsefest.org
Find out more about the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group: www.rheafreemanpr.co.uk
GUNNERCOOKE LAUNCHES: EQUESTRIAN LAW ARM
Challenger law firm gunnercooke has announced the launch of its new equestrian department, a group of specialist lawyers offering advice to the equine industry and rural clients.
The team is spearheaded by Jodie Seddon, an international showjumper/eventer and corporate/commercial partner, and James Pheasant, a Chambers-ranked litigator in equestrian law, in addition to equine disputes specialist Sophie Murgatroyd. Rural and equestrian estates matters are covered by property partner and polo player Justin Neal, racehorse owner and real estate finance partner, Russell Dellar, and transactional specialist Bev Simms, with landlord and tenant and property disputes handled by Kelly Kirby. The team have strong personal ties to the agricultural and equestrian communities, whether horse owners and riders or practising equine sports. The group aims to offer advice for both individuals and businesses in the equestrian and rural industry including professional riders and trainers, bloodstock agents, horse owners, landowners, farmers, sponsors, event organisers, brand managers and PR organisations, livery yards, riding schools, commercial businesses, national and international federations and governing bodies. Current clients include Voltaire Design, Nexgen Young Horse Series
WRITTLE WINNER
Isabelle Anderson, from Chelmsford in Essex, won the 2021 BETA Equine Thesis of the Year competition.
The equine sports therapy and rehabilitation graduate represented Writtle University College in the final to claim the award for excellence in undergraduate study. She collected a £200 cash prize, a trophy and “something special to put on my CV.” Her winning study was ‘Owner satisfaction with rehabilitation practices for chronic sacroiliac pain in equines in the UK since the year 2000.’
and The Jockey Club. Jodie Seddon commented: “We are delighted to launch gunnercooke’s new equestrian and rural department. The team comprises highly experienced lawyers who all have a passion for the countryside and equestrian sports. Our aim is to offer an allencompassing service for clients in the sector by providing a team who can help with the full range of legal needs for commercial and professional businesses, federations, riders, owners, trainers, management teams, landowners, estate managers, brands and more.”
www.gunnercooke.com
Louise Gillings, Equiteam: “A chance meeting in a collecting ring over twenty years ago, when we were both showjumping grooms, led to a great friendship with Liz Daniels. After 15years of meeting up as friends we became business partners and Equiteam Confidence Camps was born. Our trial of a ‘pony club camp’ for adults was a more of a success than either of us could have dreamed of, and eight years on, the camps sell out in minutes. Getting to work with good friends is a real perk of the job as the foundations that every successful business needs are already in place.”
www.equiteam.co.uk
Faye Harlequin, Horseshoe Hearts & Gifts: “We initially collaborated with Alison from Tail End Jewellery after meeting in Rhea’s S&S group. We combined her horsehair braiding skills with our hand forged Horseshoe Hearts and have now created a whole range of Braided Horsehair Horseshoe gifts. We bonded over business but best of all Alison has become a really valued friend who I wouldn’t want to be without! I’m sure we were destined to meet!”
