The developments in technology over the past few years have been nothing short of staggering. Most of the world is using some sort of “smart” device be it a phone or tablet and subscribing to one or more of the various forms of social media on offer. It makes one wonder how we ever got on without it. But the truth of the matter is that these days, we probably can’t! So the obvious question beckons, are we the racing industry tapping into and maximizing the powerful phenomenon that is “Social Media”? asks Thoroughmedia‘s Simon Burgess.
From a racing industry perspective, apart from a select few, the answer is probably no. So why not, especially when it’s free, and it’s probably one of the most effective ways to reach, engage and interact with your audience as well as market to a qualified target audience and essentially build a database? Probably more importantly, it’s the preferred choice and first port of call for those vital younger demographics that we so desperately need and crave to attract to our sport.
When you drill it right down, Twitter is the perfect vehicle to engage that 18-35 “Selfie” crazed audience to be involved with Thoroughbred Racing and the perfect medium to communicate with your clients with opinions, news, messages, photos and videos.
Now credit where it’s due, there are several organizations and individuals doing a sterling job on this front and far too many to list individually here so apologies in advance.
Hats off to @RacingformZA a great service and @Form_Grids and their new @My_Stable_Info site who are informative tweeters!
Another great example is leading Cape Town trainer Brett Crawford who’s always on the bit when it comes to new technology and does a sterling job with his social media by tweeting tips and PA’s, pre-race reports and photos. But were the “tech savvy” Crawford really excels is in his service to his owners with videos of track work, stable reports and a post race video report from his jockey direct to the owners inbox generally within fifteen minutes of the race being run!
There’s even some very clever South African Group One winners tweeting now like @VarietyClubSA, @whoislouis (the king) & @WavinFlag09 who are getting quite a following! Of course all the feature days like J&B Met, Vodacom Durban July and Sansui Summer Cup are also getting in on the act.
But are we leveraging twitter to our advantage? I along with many others was very excited when the industry launched @racing_itsarush but have to say the lack of content and tweets since the launch has been somewhat underwhelming and to be honest, plain disappointing! The thing about this form of interaction is once you have a loyal devotee, they expect regular content to satisfy their addiction.
Twitter has the ability to drive so many areas of the industry. From wagering with market moves and the appearance of a horse in the paddock, to attracting new owners and race goers or even syndicating horses, absolutely anyone can become a commentator. Perhaps @SportingPost could start a “Tweet” of the week or some sort of Twitter industry directory?
Sure, there’s a minimal amount of effort required here to generate the content, but the rewards both tangible and intangible are well worth it. So if you love your racing and have an opinion, why not sign on?
See you on twitter @ThoroughMedia
