PUEBLO, Colo. (June 18, 2010) - Luke Snyder is following the lead of good friend Brendon Clark to become the latest in a growing number of professional bull riders who are utilizing social media as a means of personally connecting with their fans.
Earlier this week, the Missouri native posted the following status update on his Facebook fan page: “Hey everybody, just would like you to know I am going to try my best and update and communicate with everyone personally! So bear with me, should be fun.”
Snyder has since updated his page with a collection of personal photos, as well as links to videos and press articles.
“Brendon Clark has always been real good about it and that’s what this sport is,” Snyder said. “When it comes down to it, the fans are what makes us grow and we all know that.
“I don’t know how good I’m going to be at it because I’m not too awful computer savvy, but with the help of my girlfriend and everything … she’s real smart about it, so she’s going to help me from time to time.”
Snyder went on to say he wants to give fans “a more personal note from time to time” and keep everyone who has supported him in the past 10 years updated about his career.
“They root us on and they cheer for us every time,” said Snyder, “so it’s me trying to give back a little bit for sticking behind us, for me, the past nine or 10 years.”
Clark has established himself as the most active of the top-ranked bull riders when it comes to social networking. The Australian has been a fan-favorite since debuting on the Built Ford Tough Series in 2003, and in the past year he’s garnered a loyal base of online followers.
The 29-year-old has recently switched from a personal page and established an official fan page. Other riders with pages include Cord McCoy, Justin McBride, Ross Coleman, Ryan Dirteater, Skeeter Kingsolver, Ryan McConnel, Jody Newberry, Sean Willingham and Wiley Petersen.
“He’s really good at it,” Snyder said about Clark. “Brendon has a great fan base no matter where he goes, and that’s because he connects with them. And that’s what we’re all trying to do.
“Brendon and I laughed about it and I said, ‘There’s no way I can keep up.’ Like I said, I don’t know how good I am, but from time to time I’d like to give (the fans) a personal note and let them know what’s happening.”
A number of riders also have personal pages. However, because of the limit of 5,000 Facebook “friends,” users are encouraged to use the fan pages, which do not have limits.
Clark and McCoy are the latest examples of riders who have reached the friends limit on their personal pages and have since set up fan pages, which they personally update on a regular basis.
