Social media connects you to people all around the world. On Instagram alone, there are over 1.21 billion active users—there are a lot of people for you to connect with out there! One way to increase your reach on social media is to do a social media takeover with a sponsor.

A social media takeover is when you use someone else’s social media platform for a specified amount of time. Actors taking over the Instagram account of their movie, teen activists taking over the Twitter of an aligned politician—there are lots of ways to do a unique crossover with a social media takeover. These usually last for just a day or a week.

Takeovers break away from the regularly scheduled programming, they typically aren’t normal for that account. Which means it’s often used to boost engagement and followers! As a racer, you can pitch the idea to appear on a sponsor’s social media, or the social media of a race track, or of your racing organization and it could lead to great results for both your following and their sales or reputation with your demographic.

Below are some key things to consider when thinking about adding a social media takeover to your sponsorship strategy.

Why should a sponsor consider a social media takeover?

Gone are the days of sponsors finding business growth simply by slapping their logo on your car or helmet. Marketing is about connections as much as it is about awareness, and a takeover accomplishes both goals. When a racer participates in a takeover, they’re bringing their audience along for the connection. 

Treat the takeover like an event, inviting your followers to join you on this sponsor’s account for something novel. For sponsors, a takeover exposes your product or business to an entire demographic. If you choose your racer right, you can make a connection with a whole new population. Sponsors should take care to invite the right racing influencer to take over their social media.

How to handle a takeover

As the racer and influencer, you don’t just get the luxury of showing up on a big-time account and reaping all the follower benefits. You have some effort to exert on your part!

As mentioned above, I suggest treating the takeover like a real event. You’ll need to make your audience plenty aware of the details of your takeover, like when, where, and how long it’s happening for. You’ll also need to make it worth their while—what can they expect from your time on that account? Why should they be interested? What makes it different than your regular posts?

You should also have clear expectations with the sponsor you’re partnering with. How many posts and/or stories are you agreeing to? Who will be responsible for tracking the metrics? What are both of your goals for this takeover? Outline all of these details ahead of time to make the takeover itself as smooth as possible.

The truth is, the world of racing sponsorships is speeding into the future where influencing and digital connections matter more than logo placements. You need to prepare to land the sponsors you really want by giving them what they really need — you, and the demographic you bring to the table.

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