The Social Angle: Frosted's Routine Goes Viral

Last Thursday, Darley posted a short video on social media about Frosted's daily routine as a stallion at Jonabell Farm. In less than a week, the video has been shared more than 1,000 times and almost 100,000 people have watched it on Facebook alone. We asked Jim Cox, Head of Marketing for the Darley Stallions in America, about the popularity of the video and the importance of social media marketing.

TDN: What do you think made the video so popular?

JC: He's a recent retiree who was very popular so I think people are more tuned in to the newer stallions generally speaking. We have also had good fan engagement from other Facebook posts so we've reached a lot of people previously. Plus he's a gray; people seem to like grays.

TDN: Who is your target audience?

JC: Generally, thoroughbred fans. We've been able to engage with this group as well as a large number of equine enthusiasts quite meaningfully. Facebook is our fastest growing social media channel and we expect that the next generation of breeders will be using Facebook as well.

TDN: Why are these kinds of posts important for Darley?

JC: I think it's important to continue to communicate with the industry's fans after these fantastic horses have gone onto their next career. The end users truly are interested in what's going on with the stallions. The Nyquist fans are many, for example. An earlier video we posted of him in his paddock garnered over 3,000,000 views, nearly 4,000 comments and 28,000 likes. They all want to know how and what the stallions are doing which really is something special.

TDN: How do you measure the success of a particular post?

JC: The number of views and likes that we've received on any number of our posts are very telling. It's obvious by these metrics how many people we are engaging with. But you can also get a lot out of the comments. The feedback is very genuine and heartfelt. Our audience appears to be truly interested in how the horses are doing and very grateful for the care they receive.

TDN: Finally, do you have any general tips for successful social media marketing?

JC: I would say to be active and intentional about it. Many times we've lamented that we should have posted “that” on Facebook so keep your iPhone handy for moments that you can share with our great industry. And you can easily find fairly inexpensive video editing software online that's pretty easy to use.