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The social media game is a tough one to compete in. Influencing is not as easy as it looks and being able to sell yourself as a brand is tough for most people to come by.
Pro wrestling figures like Richard Holliday and Ben Bishop have masterfully put together a marketing game that has made them two of the most recognizable performers on the independent scene. The two wrestlers boast thousands of followers across multiple social media platforms.
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Pro wrestler Dono Hefner is looking to make a name for himself on the indies. (Provided to Digital)
Dono Henfer is taking a page of out of their playbook.
Fans may not know the name just yet, but he’s working hard to use social media to his advantage. Inspired by Holliday, Bishop and Tommy Invincible, Hefner told Digital that social media is a key tool for everyone coming up on the indies.
“Richard Holliday – that’s one guy I look up to right now on the independent scene. I feel like he’s very smart. He’s putting himself out there and his brand,” he told Digital in a recent interview. “A lot of people don’t use social media to their advantage. I feel like if that’s one tool you need in the pro wrestling world, I feel like a lot of people like that.
“Not a lot of people use social media up to their advantage like him, Ben Bishop, Tommy Invincible, all those guys. They’re all smart. And that’s kinda what I’m doing now. I post every day.”
Most importantly, Hefner stressed, you never know who could be watching on the other end.
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“No matter what it is, I always brainstorm new ideas. I always come up with a new way on how to put myself out there, how to expose my brand because you never know who’s watching,” he said. “Whether it’s 100 views, 500, 1,000, you just never know who’s behind that screen watching. People have their opinions on what you post, have their opinions on what you do, it doesn’t matter. It can be somebody in the WWE watching your stuff and you don’t know that because Instagram doesn’t tell you who’s watching your stuff.”
Pro wrestler Dono Hefner comes through the curtain. (Provided to Digital)
Hefner said he got into pro wrestling watching it as a child and wanting to go in a different route after high school.
He told Digital that he took a chance on getting in the ring.
“Of course, I always loved wrestling since a little kid and as time went on, when I got older and got into high school, I was like, ‘What do I want to do with my life?’ No type of degree, no type of job – none of that interested me,” he said. “Wrestling has been with me ever since I was like 5 or 6 years old. So, I was like, you know what, let me be that different type of bubble.
“Not everyone can say they’re a wrestler. People are doctors and nurses and all that. So I said you know, let’s give this a shot. You only live once.”
Right now, as he looks to get booked as much as possible, Hefner said he’s going to continue to ride the pro wrestling wave for as long as it can go.
“It’s good to have an end goal, right? But I think of where, as time progresses, where it’ll take me. I’m here for the ride, whether it’s 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, people have their own stories, people carve their own paths,” he said. “Wherever I end up, wherever I am, that’s where I’ll be. I don’t really set a goal for myself.”
Dono Hefner performs a moonsault. (Provided to Digital)
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Hefner said he’s “all over the place” in terms of where he’s wrestling next. He said he will be in Puerto Rico on June 13.
