The Social Angle: With Sinead Hyland, Irish National Stud

More and more businesses in the Thoroughbred industry are using social media to strengthen their brand and reach out to current and potential customers and clients. Sinead Hyland, who handles Marketing at the Irish National Stud, shares her insights on their strategies for social media marketing.

TDN: What are the benefits of social media marketing for businesses in the Thoroughbred industry?

SH: The benefits are huge. You have an international audience who are readily accessible. 65% of our audience view our company via smartphones or tablets. It's instant news and results, and it allows you to ensure that your images, videos, information are in front of current and new audiences. We can endorse and assist our customers during sales times, remind people of our stallions and statistics and show potential owners, trainers, and agents what we can do for their horses. The possibilities are endless.

TDN: What social channels do you prefer, and what type of content do you post on each platform?

SH: Having created all our social media channels, it has been very interesting to watch them grow and develop. We have 12,700 followers on Twitter. This is the platform which is most relevant to the equine business, being a more racing, stats and breeder focused channel for us. It's live news essentially and it's the first thing I check on my phone when I wake up in the mornings! Twitter is where we promote our stallions, their progeny and our homebreds, varying from success on the racetrack to the sales ring or simply celebrating a new born foal image.

Facebook with 35,000 followers and Instagram with 18,000 followers are also influential platforms for us, although it's where our equine enthusiasts would follow us. Not only is the Irish National Stud one of Ireland's leading stud farms, it is also a top tourist attraction welcoming on average 120,000 visitors per year. Facebook and Instagram would be quite similar in terms of content we post. A lot of our visitors, alumni and season pass holders interact with our posts, especially the new-born foal images as they may have seen them on their last visit with us or are planning a visit. Our Living Legends Beef or Salmon, Kicking King, Hardy Eustace, Hurricane Fly and Rite of Passage are undoubtedly the biggest stars on these platforms, they have a huge fan base from their racing careers and it's very rewarding for us to know that the public still care deeply about these equine superstars. A recent video of them having an afternoon snooze was viewed 286,000 times!

TDN: Do you look at other organisations, inside or outside the Thoroughbred world, for inspiration?

SH: We like to push the boundaries and working with a limited budget one needs to keep in tune with the latest trends and technology and seeing if they will fit within our brand, the integrity and quality of which is always to the fore. Whilst we are aware of our equine competitors, in terms of inspiration we try to innovate whenever possible.

Outside of the industry I try to find synergies with other high-end brands that market towards niche audiences. The beauty and essence of the horse is usually uppermost in our thoughts though, and thus we always try to stay close to that natural energy.

TDN: How do you measure success?

SH: Success is measured in many forms but from a marketing point of view it's measured by the amount of people that are talking and interacting with our brand, our stallions, our expert staff and our top-class facilities. The goal is to get clients who want to be a part of that experience.

TDN: Can you convert social media followers into customers?

SH: Yes absolutely, and by customers these come in many forms from the breeder who picks up the phone to purchase a nomination to the tourist who is inspired to go to the races from their visit here and perhaps one day purchase at the sales. The possibilities are endless and we are very conscious here that we are helping to nurture and develop both present and potential customers.

TDN: What are the biggest mistakes to avoid making?

SH: Trying to be too commercial. The content needs to be a mix and not always doing the hard sell. People need light hearted content too in these busy times.

TDN: Going forward, what social media trends are you looking forward to?

SH: More visual content and quality videos, and content that is emotive.