3 Signs it’s Time to Hire an Equine Marketing Specialist

Is it time for you to hire an equine marketing specialist? Many equine businesses choose to handle their own marketing – perhaps to save money, through fear of someone else getting things wrong and damaging the business, or because marketing just doesn’t seem that important. Some equine businesses have outsourced their marketing in the past, but have been disappointed with the results.

Unfortunately, many equine businesses either aren’t getting much out of their marketing, or have outsourced it to someone who doesn’t understand the industry. This blog article outlines 3 signs it’s time to hire an equine marketing specialist.

You Just Don’t Have Time to Manage Your Marketing

Managing your own marketing properly takes a lot of time in terms of planning, writing copy for your website, gathering photos and videos, and scheduling your social media posts. If you’re in a rush and don’t have time to do things properly, your marketing efforts can become disjointed and ineffective. Furthermore, your time could be much better spent doing what you do best – teaching people to ride, treating your equine patients, running competitions and looking after your liveries.

Marketing is an investment and it isn’t cheap – you will need to be prepared to pay for it, especially if you want someone who really knows what they’re doing. However, the time you will save from not having to manage your own marketing will allow you to think about managing your business and making money.

You Want to do More with Your Marketing

SEO? Paid social? Google Ads? If you want to up your marketing game, then it’s probably time to get a professional in to help. Many equine business owners are reluctant to try more advanced marketing methods because they either don’t know how or worry about it not working and wasting money.

It’s entirely possible to waste money on poorly-designed paid social campaigns, or spend hours getting frustrated with SEO – this is what leads many equine business owners to think that these kinds of marketing don’t work. However, if you allow an equine marketing specialist to take the reins and manage your marketing for you, you will usually find that SEO, paid social and Google Ads can really help your business!

Your Current Marketing Agency Just Doesn’t Get Your Business

This is a very common problem where equestrian business owners have decided to outsource their marketing to someone who doesn’t know anything about the industry. Whether it’s your website, social media or email marketing, it’s vital that the person who is managing your marketing has a sound understanding of the equestrian industry.

An equine marketing specialist will understand how your business works, what you do, who your clients are, why your clients require your business and why they would choose you specifically. They will also understand specialist equestrian terminology and will be able to ensure your social media and website copy makes sense and sounds as though it has been written by an equestrian. This is especially important when your clients are other equestrians – they are more likely to trust your business if they can see that you know your stuff!

Let’s use a couple of examples: If you’re a freelance instructor looking to promote your polework clinic on social media and your social media manager uses a photo of someone riding cross-country, your clients will spot the mistake instantly and this could discredit you as an instructor. Ask yourself if your marketing professional can reasonably be expected to know specialist “horsey” terms and really understand your products, services and clients.

You also need to consider whether your marketing professional can get you in front of your ideal clients. If you’re a livery yard looking to promote your full livery services, you won’t want your marketing to mention DIY or grass livery, for example. It might seem really obvious to us, but a marketer who doesn’t know horses probably won’t realise what these terms mean and could quite easily SEO your website for DIY or grass livery, thereby attracting the wrong clients to your business.

Anyone who knows horses also knows that things can change very quickly and even the best-laid plans can be wrecked by the weather or a horse being not quite right on the day. Does your existing marketing service allow for these hiccups? Are they prepared to re-draft and re-schedule your social media posts at the last minute because a competition has been cancelled or your racing club has had to switch horses due to injury or the breeder wanting it back?

If your marketing agency doesn’t allow for this sort of thing, you could find yourself being charged extra. An equine marketing specialist, however, is more likely to be able to accommodate these situations.

Book a Free Consultation with an Equine Marketing Specialist

I work with small equestrian businesses needing help with their social media, website, SEO and Google Ads. My clients benefit from a flexible service that can accommodate changes in their requirements as well as my attentive customer service. Book your free consultation or complete my contact form to make an enquiry.