Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre
Hospitality
Social Media Management
Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre in Cheshire is a long-established, much-loved attraction with a wide and varied audience. Families, schools, tourists, photographers, and equestrian enthusiasts all engage with the centre in different ways, both online and in person.
The challenge was never about launching social media from scratch. It was about evolving with it.
Over the past decade, platforms, formats, algorithms, and audience behaviour have changed repeatedly. What worked on one platform rarely worked the same way a year later.
The brief stayed simple throughout:
Stay relevant, stay visible, and make sure people walking through the gates feel connected before they arrive.
Manage and grow social media presence for a long-established visitor attraction
Maintain relevance as platforms, formats, and audience behaviour evolve
Drive real-world footfall, not just online engagement
Support the visitor journey through managed online ticketing
Social platforms and best practices changed repeatedly over a 10-year period
Audience includes families, schools, tourists, and equestrian enthusiasts
Success is difficult to measure with traditional conversion metrics
Social media impact needed to be felt on-site, not just online
Strong, consistent weekly reach
A loyal and steadily grown follower base
High engagement during Foal Watch each year
Regular on-site feedback from visitors referencing social media content
Clear evidence of social media driving awareness, anticipation, and visits
This has been a long-term, adaptive partnership rather than a fixed strategy.
Over the years, we have:
Started on Vine, Twitter, and Facebook
Shifted focus as platforms rose, fell, or changed purpose
Leaned into visual storytelling as video became dominant
Built consistent, recognisable content around real moments at the centre
Continued evolving and recently launched TikTok
The strategy has always been flexible. We respond to what the audience engages with rather than forcing trends that do not fit the brand or setting.
A key pillar of this approach is Foal Watch.
Each year, Foal Watch documents the journey from pregnant mare through to foaling and beyond. It has become a highly anticipated, trust-building series that:
Encourages repeat engagement
Brings people back to the page daily
Creates emotional investment, not just likes
Directly drives in-person visits from followers who want to “see them in real life”
Ongoing social media management
Platform strategy and adaptation as channels change
Seasonal campaigns and storytelling
Foal Watch annual content series
Audience engagement and community building
Online ticketing system management, ensuring the customer journey from social to visit is smooth and joined-up
This is not a client where success is measured purely in spikes or short-term campaigns.
Instead, success shows up every day.
Strong, consistent weekly reach
A steadily grown and highly engaged follower base
Regular comments and messages from visitors referencing posts
Customers arriving on site saying:
“We saw this on Facebook”
“We’ve been following Foal Watch”
“We recognised this from Instagram”
For a physical visitor attraction, that daily reinforcement is the clearest signal that social media is doing its job.
