Where the hunting and fishing customers are
There is a very simple formula when it comes to marketing. The Right Message + The Right Time + The Right Place = Success. Like many simple formulas, the actual execution of the activities is where it gets harder. But not of it is hard. When it comes to the outdoors enthusiast market, they are typically all over social media, sharing their adventures, sharing their successes, sharing their friendships, and sharing their recommendations. The platforms they choose, as well as their over adoption rate, is often going to vary with age. Similar to the usage rates in general society, the younger the age group, the higher the adoption rate. But here is one variance that is important, for hunters who travel to hunt, making up a significant proportion of the clientele of hunting outfitters and fishing lodges, the adoption rates are higher than than their general population age group. My own theory is this: they tend to be a more financially successful group and thus the use of modern communication platforms is an essential element in their ability to thrive. Just my own theory, but all my anecdotal evidence seems to support this and many studies of the incomes of the travelling hunter or travelling angler by industry magazines seems to report similar findings.
Given the above, we have a more connected, more social group of people. I believe another reason for the higher than average adoption rate is that their activities tend to be in more sharable locations, offering unique glimpses of geography and wildlife. Images and video tend to be the most shared and most passed forward of media types on social media.
Getting back to the formula in the first sentence, The Right Place then is the social media platform where your target market hangs out, where they share their hunting and fishing adventures and consume the adventures of others. That is where this all gets a bit more difficult. If you were asked to name 5 social media platforms, most people will quickly list off more than 5, including Facebook, X (or Twitter), Tik Tok, Instagram, Snap Chat, WhatsApp, YouTube, Vimeo, and many niche hunting / fishing social media platforms.
Its better to do one social platform well than several poorly
Choices, choices, choices. Too many choices if you ask me. So how to narrow down the choices so you can actually take action and include social media as part of your marketing plan. Let's look at some social media choices by demographics. I like the following data as reported by SproutSocial:
- 8-29 years – Snapchat (41%), TikTok (35%), Instagram (32%)
- 30-39 years – LinkedIn (34%), X/Twitter (34%), Snapchat (33%), Instagram (32%)
- 40-49 years – LinkedIn (25%), Facebook (22%), X/Twitter (21%)
- 50-59 years – Facebook (29%), LinkedIn (24%), Pinterest (24%)
As an extension of this list (based on numerous sources, the 60+ age group trends even higher with their adoption of Facebook as the primary social media platform. Significantly shrinking in this group, especially as ages pass 65, is LinkedIn, which is a professional networking platform more so than most others.
Perhaps there are a few surprises in that list. I have cross checked with a number of other sources and the above are pretty representative. I like to approach these situations, these decision points, with the perspective of having only 1 unit of value, whether that is 1 minute of time or 1 dollar of Marketing funds. Where would I invest that 1 unit of value? I would put it into the social media channel where most of my clientele are most likely to be. That is, I'm going to keep investing into one channel, one platform, until that investment no provides me a reasonable return. To spend that minute, or that dollar, elsewhere, just means I am choosing to do something in less successful way.
The true cost of social media is your time
So now let's put all this background into some useful perspective. You as an outfitter or a lodge owner have limited time. If you are fortunate to have members of your guide staff or your support staff with a strong understanding of using social media to engage your marketplace, then your resources may provide you the opportunity to do several social platforms well. You can use this as a guideline, as a rule of thumb, for making decisions on social media. For each social media channel you choose, you also need to alot 1 hour of time per day, if you want to do it right. (Doing it right is another topic.) So if you can not set aside an average of an hour a day for another social media channel, then you do not have time to do it right. You are better to focus and succeed than to spread yourself thinly and ineffectively.
Who are your next customers?
Set aside your client list for this moment and think about this question. Who are your next customers? If you look at the demographic ranges from above, it is clear that knowing who are your next customers, who do you want to see you, trust you and chose you, may not be on the social media platforms of your current client list.
If you have the resources, mostly the time. Then use the information in this article and consider a one-two punch social media strategy, where your #1 platform is the platform of your existing clientele and your close #2 is the platform of choice for your future customer list.
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