As 2021 rolls on and we begin to get into the meat of the 2021 Amateur motocross schedule, our Marketing Coordinator and Athlete Manager Jackson Halsmer decided it was time for another installment in the ‘How to Talk to Sponsors’ series.  Motocross is an expensive sport for all of us and support in any capacity can be hard to find.  Thankfully, there are many avenues and methods on how an amateur rider can gain support from a brand outside of just what they do on the track.  One of those major avenues is social media and in this article we’ll touch on some major dos and don’ts to go off of with social media and how it can help represent a brand you have support from and potentially earn support from new sponsors. 

Social media, particularly in the motocross industry, is an extremely valuable tool that can be used for any number of things including showing off Instabangers (awesome/sick/pitted photo or video edit), commenting on a friends or a brands content, giving an update after a recent race or event, or just plain being funny.  One general rule of thumb in my eyes to go off of when building out your social media page and content is to find that balance between being relevant to your sponsors and being genuine to who you are.  That balance is key because your social media page should be a reflection of who you are as a person on top of what you do on a dirt bike. 

If you’re a goofy/funny kid, sprinkle some of that humor into the content you produce.  Chances are that content of you being your goofy self is funny to other people too, which creates attention around you!  That attention you’ve created around yourself by blending who you are with your passion is what makes a brand interested in supporting you!  Please note that this is not me giving the OK for you to just be goofy and over the top – emphasis on ‘balance’! 

Building off of you now having struck a balance with your social media and gaining that attention, it’s now time to blend your content by also representing and promoting the brands that support you.  Tagging brands in your content is key and not a new concept, but for some reason I see tons of amateur riders choose to not tag on a consistent basis.  The hard work you and your photographer/videographer friend have put in to your latest Instabanger will not be seen as many people as it could be if you don’t tag. 

In short, tag the brands that support you…plain and simple.  Tagging brands in the actual body of the photo/video and not in the caption is crucial to increasing the reach/exposure of your content.  Doing so means that piece of content lives in the profile of the supporting brand as well as your own profile which, in turn, significantly increases the reach/exposure of your content.  Doing so on a consistent basis will build your rep as a ‘good to work with’ athlete from the brands who support you and help bring in new sponsors to your racing efforts. 

Another helpful tip with your social media is to get creative when promoting your sponsors.  While the lining up of your new gear on a table photo is good, it’s not that exciting.  Unique content ideas are almost always a good thing and help you and your sponsors stand out from the crowd.  One example I like to think of is back when Covid was in full effect in late April of 2020.  The world is shut down and there’s zero racing going on and Dean Wilson, being his goofy/fun self, decides to post a photo of himself laying on his living room couch fully geared up/ready to ride with his Rockstar Husky 450 on the couch with him.  This kind of genuine content from Deano is creative, unique, funny and also provides excellent exposure for all his sponsors. 

So there you have it!  While these tips won’t help you become full on influencer type status, these tips will definitely help you keep your sponsors happy to be a part of your program and may even lead to new sponsorship down the road from other brands. 

Be on the lookout for more tips and tricks on How to Talk to Sponsors from Jackson down the road!

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