PROMOTING YOUR TEAM WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
Many teams have social media accounts, as do riders. Here are some helpful tips for coaches, officers and riders to strengthen your posting, without dropping your stirrups!
Photo by Maddy Falkowitz
CREATING YOUR TEAM ACCOUNT: MAKE YOUR TEAM NAMES SEARCHABLE
When creating your team’s account, avoid acronyms and avoid confusion. Nine teams use “BCET” and 10 teams use “BUET”. Use clear tags, like Seton Hill’s @setonhill.equestrian or Hollins’ @hollinsuniversityriding.
If your school has a Western and hunter seat IHSA team, we recommend having separate accounts. We also suggest having a separate accounts for your school’s IDA and NCEA team if applicable.
Spell out school acronyms in your account's About or Bio section.
Photo by EQ Media
WHAT TO POST
On your team’s account, feature great, high-quality images and videos of IHSA riders and coaches that promote achievements in a way that either support the IHSA or involvement as a student athlete.
Post photo and video content that is brand-elevating for your team and for the IHSA. Read below for suggestions on how to create highly engaging content and ideas for your team account.
Photo by Maddy Falkowitz POST CONTENT SUGGESTIONS
Equestrian educational and horsemanship content- around the barn, behind the scenes, horse care.
Horse show-related content: team horse show prep, prepping horses, show schedules, rider line-ups, showing with friends, results and thank-you posts.
Team members supporting each other through team–building activities, campus events with team members, field trips, academic awards and scholarship recipients.
Captions should be primarily informational or have a positive and relatable sentiment. Consider engaging with your audience through questions and creating conversations in the comment section. Comments, shares and re-posts are key in creating
engagement and visibility.
You may choose to make trending content; be advised that most times this is best saved for personal accounts and if you choose trending content, make sure it aligns with your school, team and the IHSA’s ideals.
HASHTAGS: Hashtags are not as impactful as they once were; however, we use the following often: #rideihsa #ihsa #ihsaregionals #ihsazones #ihsasemis #ihsanationals #ihsahorses #ihsasponsors #ihsacoaches #ihsastrong #equestrian #teamwork
#athletes #horsemanship #teamworkmakesthedreamwork
Use our Photography and Videography guide to create high-quality content for your team’s account.
This post is engaging and relatable, asking the audience a question for participation. The photos are clear and well-lit. Carousels often do better than static posts in the Instagram algorithm. The result is a high engagement rate through shares, comments, and likes.
An Instagram repost from Stanford University produces great results from a wonderful image and a relatable caption.
SPONSOR AWARENESS
Maintain awareness about current IHSA sponsors, giving some priority to team or riders’ posts that may also promote one of our sponsors and try not to share a post that may overtly promote, or hashtag a non-sponsor. Feel free to tag the
sponsor and include their hashtag to support IHSA’s sponsorship efforts.
Photo by EQ Media
PROTECT THE IHSA BRAND
Maintain high standards in presentation and safety for both horse and rider, both riding and around the barn.
Professionally attired rider (neat hair, no tank tops, clean boots, etc.). Encourage your riders to dress professionally when riding and working in the barn.
Well-presented horses (horses with hanging knees, dirty horses, ill-fitting tack)
Professional facilities (no cross rails, dirty/broken fences and rails, fences with no ground rails, muck tubs, piles of poop in the arenas and paddocks, excess clutter that could be unsafe)
Legally obtained professional photos (no watermarks unless they are provided by the photographer)
Helmets should always be worn by hunter seat riders and as much as possible for Western riders when riding.
Photo by Jordan Atwell-Purcell
KEEP IN MIND: SOCIAL MEDIA IS PUBLIC
Keep posts positive. Negative comments about other teams, riders or horses reflect poorly on you, your team and IHSA.
Inside jokes and trending content may not read positively on public posts by your audience.
When posting on behalf of your team, use common sense. Do not use profanity, nudity, pictures or references to drugs and alcohol.
Make sure horses have happy expressions and in good health. Refrain from posting any photos showing ribs, poor grooming, or poor expressions. Assumptions can be quickly made and will be a poor reflection of the teams, schools, and the IHSA.
Safety and professionalism should be a priority.
Photo by Stella DiBernardoFACEBOOK
It is a good idea to have a public Facebook page for your team as well as any other social media accounts you have. Keep in mind your audience may be different on Facebook and include more parents and coaches than other accounts.
This is a great place where a coach or team officer can post pictures, results, and other updates to keep fans and family engaged.
Facebook Groups exclude/limit general public viewing. A Facebook group is a great option for updating the entire team on upcoming events and other reminders. Be sure to make your team-only groups private.
Photo by Stella DiBernardoANCHOR YOUR ADMINISTRATION
When setting up social media accounts, it is a good idea to assign a sports administrator to own/administrate the team account.
While most teams have a president, captain or coach as administrator, should they leave suddenly, study overseas, etc. without sharing the password, anchoring your administration will avoid headaches.
The team social media administrator can also ensure that the appointed social media team member who will facilitate the account for the season meets these guidelines.
A good way to avoid this common issue is to keep an Evernote notebook shared with officers of your team with social media logins and team brand information within easy reach.
Photo by EQ Media