Imagine a situation where a race team enters a meeting with a potential sponsor. That race team presents a beautiful proposal, a hearty schedule, and opportunities to help promote the sponsor. After that is complete a second race team steps in and gives almost the exact same proposal – except for one glaring difference. This second race team also presents their social media following of thousands of fans. Which do you think the sponsor will choose?
It’s no secret social media has become a major part of the promotion of short track racing. Whether it is the track or a race team, it is critical to use those platforms to reach race fans. The more followers you have, the more impressive. And as many of you know, an impressive race team is perfect ammunition to score more sponsorship dollars.
Here are our twelve tips to gain more followers on your social media pages:
Use a True Facebook Page, Instead of a Group or Personal Page.
Personal Facebook pages are limited to a certain number of friends. Plus, you may not want people watching your every move if you enjoy using Facebook for your personal life. Group pages can be hard to find, and some require you to invite fans.
If you create a fan page it allows you to have an unlimited amount of followers. It also allows people to find you and follow you without any permissions. Let the people come to you.
On Instagram and Twitter, Follow Many to Get Follows Back
We ran this experiment with our Circle Track pages to get followers on both platforms. The best way to get followers on these? Just start following people. They will get a notification that you followed them. From there, they will follow you. It’s a good way to get the ball rolling if you are starting a new page.
Using Contests to Spread the Word of Your Page
The “share to win” or “retweet to win” tactic has been used by many pages to promote and find new followers. Although it is technically against policy, it is rarely enforced – especially on smaller pages. Give away a t-shirt, a gift card to your sponsor, or tickets to your next race. Watch your following grow.
Include Pages on Shirts or Hero Cards
The best way for people to see you and your sponsors aside from looking at your race car is your t-shirts and hero cards. If your social media links are prominent on those, there is a good likelihood that you’ll pick up some extra followers.
Engage Fans While You’re at the Track
At the track updates are crucial to keeping fans engaged on race day. The more engaged they are, the more likely they will show up, or more importantly, share your posts. Your fans want to know what you’re up to, and share your success. Give them the opportunity to do that with multiple posts. Also, photos and videos take high priority on social outlets. If you can add those, do it.
Update Consistently
Consistent updates in general help to build a solid following. Do not post sporadically and hope for good results. Facebook, for example, will stop delivering posts to your fans if you do not update consistently. Make sure your posts are flowing in a consistent manner. During the week update fans on other things, like shop progress. Keep them engaged.
Get Tagging
Tag your sponsors and your race track in posts that you make so they share it and feel involved and supported. The more folks you tag, the more they will pass it along to their followers, and the more exposure you will get. Don’t be afraid to lean on your sponsors a little to help you spread the word of your race team. Just make sure you pay back the favor to help them. Same with the race track.
Twitter Followers
Twitter is a different animal. It seems to be a little more difficult to pick up the number of followers on that platform. But…it can be done with some work. Thank every follower you get early on. New follower? “Thanks @JohnSmith for the follow!” Chances are @JohnSmith will retweet that, and you will get more followers. Also Interact with every possible person/group/page that you can.
Be You, Have Fun with It
Don’t forget to have fun with it. Don’t be afraid to show your true personality! A stale social media page may drive away followers. Showing fans a small glimpse into your personal life makes them feel more invested in you as a racer.
Hashtags Help
On Twitter and Instagram, use as many hashtags as possible. Hashtags are how unknown people find you, and tags like #racing, #cars, #speed, #circletrack and #latemodel #streetstock will help people discover you.
Just as Important as a Sponsor
Treat your social media pages like they are a sponsor – put graphics on your race car, and have your announcer read them off. Make sure to mention them if you end up in victory lane! You’d be amazed how many followers will jump to their phone on race day and find you on social media
Keep it Positive
Negative posts can drive fans away or cast you in a negative light. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, but don’t air your beef with another racer or a track official on your page. If your followers disagree they may decide to follow elsewhere. There is a time and place to disagree with others, social media isn’t that place.
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