Social search: a guide for equestrian brands and stables

Searching on social media is now the first step for many riders when they are looking for a new saddle, horse feed or a stable for livery. Instead of Google, they type “how to choose a horse rug” into TikTok, Instagram or YouTube and watch a short video from someone who works with horses every day. According to the EQUERRY / CO 2026 report, 53% of riders look for information on social media first.

For stables, trainers, equestrian e-shops and brands this creates a simple task: a nice profile is not enough, the content has to be findable. Below you will find verified figures and a concrete guide to setting up your profile, captions and videos so that riders find you and trust you at the same time.

What social search is

Social search means that a person uses the search bar of a social network the same way they use Google. They type a question or a product name and, instead of a list of links, they get videos, first-hand experience and comments from people with the same problem.

Why do riders search elsewhere? With horses, many things are better shown than described: how a saddle fits, how to put on bandages, what a relaxed horse on the lunge looks like. A short video answers faster than an article, and the rider also sees who is giving the advice and how they treat horses.

Social search in numbers: what holds for 2024–2026

According to The 2026 Equestrian Industry Report by EQUERRY / CO, 53% of riders look for information on social media before Google or AI search engines, and 87% would pay more for a brand they know and trust. An article in Horse & Style magazine presenting the report (2025 data) adds further figures:

• 88% of respondents prefer learning from video rather than text and consider very short educational videos, often under a minute, the most effective,
• 96% check how a brand comes across on social media before buying,
• 89% trust brands that work with riders more than brands that work with influencers.

The report does not publish its sample size or methodology, so treat the figures as a signal from the international community, not as statistics for any single country.

Surveys outside equestrian sport point the same way. According to Sprout Social (2,280 respondents from the US, the UK and Australia, 2025), 41% of Gen Z go to social media first when looking for information, while 32% choose a search engine. For reviews and product recommendations, 37% of people of all age groups start on social media. A 2024 survey by Forbes Advisor and Talker Research (summarised by EMARKETER) states that 46% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials in the US prefer social media to search engines.

The platforms report growth too. According to internal US data (June 2024), TikTok says that 57% of users use search and 23% search for something within 30 seconds of opening the app. In its Q4 2025 results, Pinterest reports more than 80 billion searches per month.

The situation in Slovakia

According to the DataReportal Digital 2026: Slovakia overview, Slovakia had as many as 3.90 million social media user identities in October 2025, equal to 71.4% of the population. The potential advertising reach at the end of 2025 shows how large the individual platforms are:

Platform	Advertising reach in Slovakia	Share
YouTube	3.90 m	71.4% of the population
Facebook	2.60 m	47.6% of the population
Instagram	1.75 m	32.0% of the population
TikTok	1.15 m	25.9% of adults aged 18+
Pinterest	950 k	17.4% of the population

Advertising reach is not the number of active users, but it is enough to compare platforms.

Why equestrian sport is made for social search

Equestrian decisions have three characteristics that suit social media:

• Showing instead of describing. Putting on bandages, fitting a saddle or working over cavaletti is hard to learn from text.
• Safety and welfare. With a helmet, back protector, feed or tack, the rider wants to see who recommends it and why. Advice from a trainer they know carries more weight than an advert.
• Community. Riders ask for advice in groups, comments and messages. Whoever answers usefully there is remembered.

In Slovakia we see one more opportunity. When we searched YouTube in Slovak for “how to saddle a horse” in October 2026, the top results included a Czech video from five years ago, an English video with a machine-translated title and a few short videos by individuals. Results are personalised, but they suggest there is little quality equestrian content in Slovak. Whoever starts creating it systematically can stand out even without a large budget.

Examples from abroad show how it works. Trainer Warwick Schiller has 177,000 subscribers on YouTube; his short video with a descriptive title about horse behaviour (Understanding Horse Behavior: Freeze Mode and Twitching) has more than 2.2 million views, and the description sends viewers to his paid training library. The e-shop SmartPak (72,700 subscribers) has been publishing how-to videos for years, for example how to fold a rug or what belongs in an equine first-aid kit, which people keep finding long after publication.

A practical guide: social search step by step

Start with a list of questions your clients ask you in messages, comments and during training. Typical ones are “how to choose a first saddle”, “how much does livery cost near Bratislava” or “what to pack for a first competition”. Each of these questions is a keyword and the topic for one post. Our SEO optimisation guide explains in detail how to choose keywords.

Instagram SEO: profile name, bio, captions and alt text

In its explanation of how search works, Instagram states that the strongest signal is the text typed into the search. It is matched against usernames, bios, captions, hashtags and places. This leads to concrete steps:

1. Put what you do and where in your profile name, for example “[stable name] · riding lessons Senec”.
2. Put your main service and location in your bio. Instagram recommends this specifically for local businesses.
3. Write keywords in the caption, not in a comment. Phrase the first sentence as an answer: “You measure the size of a horse rug from the centre of the chest to the end of the hindquarters.”
4. Use hashtags sparingly and precisely, as a complement to the text, not a replacement for it.
5. Fill in the alternative text for photos. It mainly serves people using screen readers; Instagram does not confirm any influence on search, but an accurate description does no harm.
6. Add on-screen text with the main phrase to Reels and turn on captions.

If you want your posts to appear in Google too, you need a public professional account (business or creator) and an owner aged at least 18. According to the Instagram Help Centre, search engines can then index photos and videos from public posts and Reels published since 1 January 2020. This can be switched off in the privacy settings.

TikTok SEO: the keyword in the description, on screen and in speech

TikTok offers creators a Creator Search Insights tool. It shows frequently searched topics, the content gap filter reveals topics with few videos, and Search Analytics show how your posts are doing. When creating a video:

1. One video answers one question. Say the main phrase in the first few seconds.
2. Put the same phrase in the on-screen text and in the video description.
3. Turn on automatic captions and check that technical terms were transcribed correctly.
4. Show the answer: close-ups of hands, tack, the horse’s movement.

In Slovakia TikTok ads reach 25.9% of adults. If you target the parents of children in riding clubs, Instagram and Facebook may matter more.

YouTube: title, description and video content

In its help article on search, YouTube names three areas: relevance (how well the title, tags, description and content match the query), viewer engagement and quality, meaning signals of the channel’s expertise and trustworthiness. A better position in organic results cannot be bought.

• Write the title the way people search: “How to saddle a horse: step-by-step guide”.
• Start the description with two sentences summarising the content and add a link to your website.
• Split longer videos into chapters with clear names.
• Use Shorts as a gateway to longer how-to videos.

Pinterest and Facebook groups

Pinterest recommends putting relevant keywords in the pin title and description, in board names and descriptions, and in the website URL. Pinterest Trends shows what is trending, and the pin should match the landing page. For e-shops and tack brands it is a channel for shopping inspiration.

In Facebook groups riders ask about trainers, stables or vets, and members’ answers carry a lot of weight. Answer as an expert, not as an advert, and follow the group rules. Our case study on building a community through Meta Ads shows how to combine community with paid promotion.

Formats that answer questions

Rider’s question	Suitable format	Where
How do I choose the right rug size?	short video with measuring	Reels, TikTok, Shorts
What does a first riding lesson look like?	video from the client’s perspective and an FAQ on the website	Instagram, YouTube
What does the livery price include?	carousel with an overview of services	Instagram, Facebook
How do I prepare my horse for a first competition?	longer video with chapters	YouTube
Matching kit in one colour	pin with a link to the product	Pinterest

Content from the riders you work with should also answer questions, not just show the product. More in the article on rider sponsorship.

How to connect social search with Google

Social media instead of Google? In practice it is rather social media and Google. In 2023 Google introduced the Perspectives filter with videos and posts from forums and social networks, search engines can index public posts from professional Instagram accounts, and YouTube videos routinely appear in results.

AI answers have been added too. In October 2025 Google expanded AI Mode to more than 200 countries and territories, including many in Europe, and in July 2026 it announced that AI Mode had passed one billion monthly users and merged it with AI Overviews into a single experience. According to Google, these features send billions of clicks to websites every week, so you need a website with clear and up-to-date information.

The website as a place to verify

On the website, riders verify what they saw in the feed: prices, contact details, dates, references. If a video promises individual training and the website says nothing about it, trust drops. Create pages that answer the same questions as your videos, and embed the videos in them. The article on online marketing strategy explains how to combine channels into one plan.

Google Business Profile

For local services (a stable, a trainer, livery) do not forget your Google Business Profile. In local search Google assesses the relevance, distance and prominence of a business and recommends adding photos and videos. Add links to your social media profiles and recent footage from training. Why trust now matters more than reach alone is discussed in the article why trust has overtaken reach in equestrian branding.

The most common mistakes in social search

• A profile without keywords: the stable name without what it offers and where.
• Hashtags instead of text: a block of thirty hashtags and not a single sentence explaining the content.
• A personal or private account that cannot appear in Google results.
• Mismatch between social media and the website: different prices, outdated dates, broken links.
• Partnerships without credibility: a creator with no connection to horses grabs attention for a moment but does not convince riders.
• No measurement: you do not track which searches people found you through, even though TikTok and YouTube Studio show this data.

Frequently asked questions

What is social search?

It means looking for information, products and services directly in the search of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest or Facebook. The results are videos and posts instead of a list of websites.

Will social media replace Google?

No. People switch between them: on social media they discover and compare, in Google and on websites they verify prices, contacts and details. It is best to be findable in both places.

Do hashtags on Instagram still make sense?

They help assign a post to a topic, but Instagram search also reads the profile name, bio and caption. Use a few precise hashtags and write keywords in the caption, not in the comments.

Do Instagram posts appear in Google?

Yes, if it is a public professional account and the owner is at least 18. Search engines can index photos and videos from public posts and Reels since 1 January 2020. The setting can be switched off.

Which social network matters most for an equestrian stable in Slovakia?

By reach, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. For local clients Instagram and Facebook are usually enough, YouTube suits how-to videos and TikTok younger riders.

Conclusion

Social search does not replace SEO, it extends it. Riders discover in the feed and verify on the website and in Google, so give the same answers, the same people and the same information in both places. Start with your clients’ ten most common questions: record a short video with a clear description for each and add the answer to your website. The articles on marketing an equestrian stable and equestrian marketing describe the wider plan. If you would like help with the setup, take a look at our services.

Sources

1. EQUERRY / CO: The 2026 Equestrian Industry Report: Marketing Insights & Trends (2026), equerryco.com
2. Horse & Style Magazine: Trust, Influence and Authenticity: What Today’s Equestrians Expect from the Brands Around Them (2026), horseandstylemag.com
3. Sprout Social: New Research from Sprout Social Finds Social Media is the Top Place Gen Z Turns to for Search, Surpassing Traditional Search Engines (2025), sproutsocial.com
4. EMARKETER: Social media overtakes search engines for discovery among Gen Z and millennials (2024), emarketer.com
5. TikTok for Business: Introducing Search Ads Campaign (2024), ads.tiktok.com
6. TikTok: Štatistiky o vyhľadávaní pre tvorcov (2026), tiktok.com
7. Pinterest: Pinterest Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (2026), investor.pinterestinc.com
8. Pinterest: Pin performance and distribution (2026), help.pinterest.com
9. Instagram: Breaking Down How Instagram Search Works (2021), about.instagram.com
10. Instagram: Why search engines might index public Instagram photos and videos (2026), help.instagram.com
11. YouTube: How YouTube search works (2026), support.google.com
12. Google: Google Search update: New perspectives and experiences (2023), blog.google
13. Google: AI Mode in Google Search expands to more than 40 new areas (2025), blog.google
14. Google: Q2 2026 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO (2026), blog.google
15. Google: Tipy na zlepšenie pozície v miestnom vyhľadávaní na Googli (2026), support.google.com
16. DataReportal: Digital 2026: Slovakia (2025), datareportal.com
17. YouTube: kanál WarwickSchiller (2026), youtube.com
18. YouTube: kanál SmartPak (2026), youtube.com