Creating content is the name of the motorsports career game in 2023. More than wins and races, you need to make a connection with your fans and audience online to build a lasting racing foundation and get the sponsors you dream of.

But not just any content will do—I see tons of racers making big mistakes in what they post, even when they’ve been around for a while. They could share a really cool photo or video, and make sure to tag their sponsors, but if their caption is just a handful of emojis or not more than 1 sentence, or no caption at all, it could damage your reach and ranking with the algorithm. Here are five captions that are hurting your social media:

Not showing your personality

I’ll say it forever—people are not interested in just your skill, they’re interested in you. What you like, what you do, who you are. Long-lasting racers, like Ken Block and Travis Pastrana, don’t just rack up wins and trophies, they make connections with fans that carry them through tough seasons, too. Without demonstrating your personality, you lose the chance to create a connection with your audience. If you’re funny, be funny; if you’re long-winded and a storyteller, write your captions like that, just don’t be boring. Your fans want to know you; let them.

Tagging more than one sponsor

Could you imagine watching TV and seeing an ad that was for Brawny paper towels, but they also threw the Sparkle paper towels logo in at the end there? Never! Your sponsors expect to be promoted like an advertisement—so never make a post promoting multiple sponsors at one time or tag more than one in a single post. Not giving full airtime to one sponsor at a time is sure to lose you deals in the future. In your caption, make sure you only tag the relevant brand and use their hashtag(s) and not ones of another one of your sponsor. Tagging only one sponsor will also really help your ranking with the algorithm according to Hookit.

Not giving your viewer a reason or way to respond

A call to action, or CTA, is essential when you’re posting on social media as a business or brand. Your goal is never to keep people on the app you’re using (that’s their goal). Your goal is to move your followers into fans and consumers into customers (for your sponsor’s products). Make sure that every caption you write includes a clear call to action for your audience to respond to. Asking your audience a question is a really easy CTA! Try one of these:

• Leave your thoughts in the comments.
• Share with/tag someone who needs this!
• Comment below with a GIF or emoji 👇
• Has this happened to you too? 😂

Too salesy

If you post caption after caption of just hard sales you will lose followers fast. I get it, you promised your sponsor you would focus on selling their products, or you make a good commission off of affiliate links, but your audience doesn’t want to constantly be hit with the ads. Just like sharing your personality is vital, keeping a rotation of caption styles in your strategy is important to reaching all kinds of followers and creating a holistic brand. Try to avoid captions that are week, dry, and only focus on selling. An easy way to having different things to post is by following a content calendar with categories like personality content, sponsored content, off-the-cuff content, and more.

Negative Nancy and her sister Karen

I get it, racing is hard and it’s not easy to win and get on the podium. Your first instinct might to take a jab at someone without naming names, or complain about the current president and how inflation is costing you too much. Your sponsors want you to be a professional extension of their brand, and if they are conservative then you should be too. Pay attention to current events and be sensitive to when you’re sharing certain content. Especially with what’s been happening to our country over the last 3 years, now is not the time to promote your political views, express hate, or treat social media like your personal diary.

Bonus: Irrelevant trends that don’t match your racing brand

Every piece of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and email content has the power to make or break you as a valuable asset to sponsors and a relatable figure to fans. But there’s nothing more off-putting than when a brand posts something totally tone-deaf. Take care to create content that really aligns with your brand. That means:

• Don’t write in a style that’s not authentic to you.
• Don’t make a TikTok dance just because it’s trendy if your audience won’t resonate.
• Don’t re-share trending content if it’s totally irrelevant.

Make sure each of your posts aren’t making one of these glaring caption errors. If you want a motorsports career that’s in the fast lane, you need to be a social media master. No more content mistakes for you. I’ll teach you how to turn your personal profile into a true online business that will capture fans and win sponsors in my course, Driven by Social. 

And right now, you can get Part 2, which is a deep-dive into Instagram and Facebook for racers who already have a social media presence and are ready to shift gears and scale up. In this 10-part video training, you’ll walk away with a complete understanding of your brand and audience, how to create compelling videos and photos (as well as write engaging captions!), and knowing what and when to post. Get Driven by Social Part 2 today!