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It’s hard to compete in the social media game. Influencing isn’t as easy as it seems and being able to market yourself as a brand is hard to come by for most people.
Professional wrestling figures like Richard Holliday and Ben Bishop masterfully crafted a marketing game that made them two of the most recognizable performers on the independent scene. Both wrestlers have thousands of followers across multiple social media platforms.
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Professional wrestler Dono Hefner is looking to make a name for himself in the indies. (Provided to PK Press Club Digital)
Dono Henfer takes a page from their playbook.
Fans may not know the name yet, but he’s working hard to use social media to his advantage. Inspired by Holliday, Bishop and Tommy Invincible, Hefner told PK Press Club Digital that social media is a key tool for anyone coming to the indies.
“Richard Holliday – he’s a guy that I look up to right now on the independent scene. I feel like he’s very smart. He puts himself out there and his brand out there,” he told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview. “A lot of people don’t use social media to their advantage. I feel like if it’s a tool that you need in the world of professional wrestling, I feel like a lot of people like it.
“Not a lot of people use social media to their advantage like him, Ben Bishop, Tommy Invincible, all those guys. They’re all smart. And that’s kind of what I’m doing now. I’m posting every day.”
More importantly, Hefner pointed out, you never know who might be watching on the other end.
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“No matter what it is, I’m always thinking of new ideas. I’m always finding a new way to present myself, how to expose my brand, because you never know who’s watching,” he said. “Whether it’s 100 views, 500, 1,000, you never know who’s behind that screen. People have their opinions on what you post, have their opinions on what you do, it doesn’t matter. It could be someone from WWE watching your stuff and you don’t know because Instagram doesn’t tell you who’s watching your stuff.”
Professional wrestler Dono Hefner walks through the curtain. (Provided to PK Press Club Digital)
Hefner said he got into professional wrestling by watching it as a kid and wanted to take a different path after high school.
He told PK Press Club Digital that he took a chance by getting into the ring.
“Of course, I always loved wrestling ever since I was little, 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 since I was 5 or 6. So, I was like, you know what, let me be this 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 try. You only live once.”
Right now, while he’s looking to get bookings as much as possible, Hefner said he’s going to continue riding the pro wrestling wave for as long as possible.
“It’s good to have an end goal, right? But I think about where, over time, where it will take me. I’m here for the journey, whether it’s 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, people have their own story, people chart their own path,” he said. “Wherever I end up, wherever I am, that’s where I’ll be. I don’t really set a goal.”
Dono Hefner performs a moonsault. (Provided to PK Press Club Digital)
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Hefner said he was “all over the place” when it came to where he would wrestle next. He said he would be in Puerto Rico on June 13.
