You may think it a little bit left field that I’ve decided to put together an article about what is quite a niche sport.  The is method behind the madness I promise you.  The Burghley Horse Trials has been an event I’ve been going to one-and-off for many years as it takes place where I grew up, in Stamford.

Recently I’ve moved back home and will be heading along to watch the Cross Country on Saturday with thousands of other people from all over the country.  So what better way to celebrate being back in my local area than to put together an article on what is, after all, the biggest sporting event in the area.

If you don’t know anything about the event: in summary it’s a four day event that covers dressage, cross country and finally show-jumping set in the grounds of the fabulous Burghley House estate.  It’s part of the HSBC FEI series and could be looked at as the Wimbledon of the equestrian world.  It’s a big deal!

So how do they match up to other sports events when it comes to social media and mobile?  Well here’s a break down of how to follow the event on the different channels.

Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/BurghleyHorse (28k likes)

The page has done a great job in building up anticipation of the event with iconic photography dominating the timeline.  It’s an event that needs to maintain it’s exclusive feel and this it does well.  Many events find it difficult to maintain content over the long term with so little going on between events but Burghley have managed to keep the standards up.  It paints a great picture of the work that goes on in the build up to the event, even from months out.  They have also been running fortnightly competitions with mainly their fashion sponsors, keeping fans engaged in the page and giving them a reason to come back to visit.

Twitter

https://twitter.com/LRBHT_Official (8.3k followers)

The same approach that has taken to Facebook has been used on Twitter as well.  Showcasing the photo’s behind the scenes as well as competitions for fans to win prizes supplied by sponsors. It also links off more than Facebook does to the 3 blogs that they run over the course of the year (Directors, Riders and Guest blogs), sending fans off from the page to their main website.

Interaction with the account has remained low as other events and sports take precedence.  But the last couple of days has seen a massive surge in interest now that the event is up and running.  Yesterday saw over 500 mentions of the account, up from the norm of around 20-30.  My one criticism is the lack of interaction with fans from the account, there are no replies to any of the questions posed or involvement in conversations.  This is usually down to a lack of resource as those running the accounts tend to be on site delivering results and involved in other areas.

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/burghleyhorsetrials (693 subs)

The event has an official YouTube presence that has included highlights and interviews from the last 3 years. As with almost all sports bodies, it’s a platform that has yet to be fully utilised with it being used primarily to store highlights, interviews and promotional videos that are then used to link to on Twitter and other platforms.

iPhone, Android and iPad Apps

Being part of the HSBC FEI Series has meant that they have been able to build a mobile phone app as part of their deal.  I’m looking forward to seeing how the 3G works within the grounds and if I can access the app.  The Visitor Section on there gives all the information you could need including maps for the showground and, more importantly for some, the shopping.  One feature I do like is the ability to save your car park name/area on the app to help you locate your car afterwards. Great thinking!

You can also find out the results, listen to podcasts, view rider profiles and check out the course guide as well as the latest updates from their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

LiveStreaming

http://www.burghley.tv/

One area on the website I am a fan of is the Burghley.TV section.  Not only giving you access to video’s and photo’s from past events and days but also it has the livestream of what is going on now.  You can access this on desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone so thet have all the boxes ticked on this one.  So if you’re a fan there is no excuse not to check out what is going on at the event now.

Summary

The organisers have done a great job in building up the event and ensuring that both those who are at the event and those watching from home/wherever are catered for.  Bringing about that transparency through blogs from those involved as well as showcasing what goes into putting on an event this size is something others can learn from.

Of course there are opportunities still to be exploited but the resources at hand will still be limited.  It will be a while before we see any kind of ‘Social Media Command Centre’ type idea is being looked into but with the target audience being who they are, they would be baffled by it if you tried to launch it anyway.

The organiser’s main aims will be around event awareness, sponsor exposure and ticket sales.  Getting people to the event will be behind all of the activities listed above are there to do.  Getting you excited and building anticipation, leading to revenue increases.  There has to be a business case behind any successful initiative otherwise it would be all fluff and no substance – then you’d never get the increased budgets for those brilliant ideas you have for next year.

If you’re going to the Horse Trials on Saturday then give me a shout, hopefully will see you there!