So, you want to become more involved in your Arabian Horse Association community. You want to promote your business, share stories about you and your horse, or simply show your love for Arabians. This month gives you an opportunity to do that.
September will celebrate the Arabian breed and people’s relationships with these beautiful, intelligent horses with #MeetAnArabianHorse Month. AHA has created #MeetAnArabianHorse Month for lesson and training barns to aggregate outreach and promote their programs to connect with new participants and riders. This includes stories of how people first fell in love with Arabians, horse or barn tips and tricks, and showing how people spend time with their horses. It will give business owners a chance to expand their reach to customers, connect like-minded Arabian horse lovers on social media, and increase awareness and adoration for the Arabian breed. Each week will also have a giveaway for a lucky winner using the hashtag #MeetAnArabianHorse, so make sure not to miss it! The complete calendar of events is here.
Furthermore, AHA has a toolkit of marketing and social media how-tos so businesses can learn how to best utilize virtual event tools such as Facebook Live and Instagram Stories, design compelling graphics, and keep followers’ interest in the business.
Here are a few examples of best social media practices to follow, according to companies such as Hootsuite, Nike, and Apple:
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Know your audience. Hootsuite says, “If you don’t know who your audience is, you can’t give them what they want. And then they won’t give you what you want (their business).”
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Learn about your demographic to know which networks to use and ignore. “Because too many marketers spread themselves too thin across too many networks,” Hootsuite says. For example, Twitter’s age demographic is millennials, whereas Instagram appeals to younger users. Facebook attracts users of all ages. Again, knowing your audience (gender, age, education, etc.) is crucial to effectively reach them.
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Create a social media marketing plan. Hootsuite emphasizes the importance of this so the business knows “whether you’re succeeding or failing for every post, share, like and comment.” Nike became successful due to their strong marketing presence. Their strategy to engage with and motivate people makes them one of the best for social media marketing.
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Get to know your competition. “Because if you don’t, they’ll get the upper hand,” Hootsuite says. Like Nike, Apple is a formidable marketing force. Everyone knows of Apple, so they do not rely as heavily on social media. Apple creates simple, minimalistic products, but compared to Samsung, many customers report Apple devices are short-lived or expensive. Paying attention to competitors helps businesses learn what they are up against and identify what works and what needs to change.
Other tips taken from the AHA marketing toolkit include being professional and creative, addressing the five “w’s” in your content, and staying relevant, as social media is fast-paced and things are always changing. Although these are a few among many social media tips, hopefully they will provide insight and guidance to use #MeetAnArabianHorse Month as an opportunity to boost business, share advice and thoughts, and strengthen the AHA community.
Participants can share each weekly challenge via social media using the hashtag #MeetAnArabianHorse and by tagging Arabian Horse Association (@arabianhorseassoc). Each week, a lucky winner will be chosen for an AHA giveaway item. Additionally, a set of AHA logoed Airpods will be given away at the end of the month! To enter, visit here.