More and more, outdoor companies are losing business to Amazon.
Yes, partnering with Amazon can be a smart thing to do, but it’s always better to get customers to come directly to you.
So in a crowded internet marketplace, how do you make sure your customers visit your site first?
We’ve put together some examples of campaigns we’ve run for our clients in the fishing and boating industries that we think might help give you a leg up in the digital realm.
1. Take advantage of endorsements and reviews.
Last year, pro angler Shinchi Fukae endorsed Gamakatsu fishing hooks. In an industry flooded with literally hundreds of thousands of products, an endorsement is golden – so take advantage of yours on social media!
Gamakatsu USA
Did your product get a fantastic review that reads more like an ad? Highlight it! The art of angling is never an exact science, so fishermen are always looking for whatever tips they can get from their fellow anglers. In this case, posting the review had the great effect of causing other Gamakatsu fans to pile on with their own favorite hook story. (And everyone loves a good fishing story, right?)
Gamakatsu USA
2. Make adjustments in your content and budgets based on seasonality.
Just like fishing reports, the things that work one day may not work the next. With outdoor companies, different seasons trigger different activities, so you always need to be able to shift with the tide.
That’s the great thing about social media—if it looks like summer’s starting early, you can easily shift your budget and create a campaign in no time.
Stevens Marine
Stevens Marine
3. Make it local and target! Audiences love to feel like you’re speaking directly to them.
Not every market is the same. The audience is different, the fish are different, the weather is different, so don’t try to shoehorn it all into one campaign.
Yet another benefit of digital advertising is laser-focused targeting. On Facebook, you can target your audience by zip code, hobby and favorite products and speak directly to their interests like a friend who just cracked a beer portside, like we did with these Northwest Boats ads.
Northwest Boats local targeting
Using Adwords is one of the most effective ways you can spend your digital dollars. You’re grabbing people when they’re further down the purchase funnel—searching specifically for your product. This is the best time to get their attention, and there are many tricks of the trade that can help you get to the top of the list!
4. Tap into your brand advocates on social media.
A good review is a great way to tell potential customers that your product has a strong fanbase, but a social media post directly from a customer is even better.
Instagram posts showing fans happily using your products create an authenticity, warmth and sense of community that nothing you can create yourself can ever accomplish.
Create your own hashtag (make sure no one else is using it!), let your fans know, and ask them to post! Give them an incentive, like free product, and they’ll be even more likely to lay some social media love on you!
Gamakatsu USA
5. Take advantage of the fact that your selection on your own products is second to none.
Use Adwords to target people searching for specific products, and promote the fact that only your website offers every model, color and size available. Even Amazon can’t do that. Consider offering a guarantee that “if you can’t find it here, you can’t find it anywhere.” That’s something only manufacturers can say and for people looking for very specific equipment, it means a lot to them and they will gladly pay a few extra bucks if they know you have it available.
It seems like the retail world is changing every day, and keeping up can feel overwhelming.
But with a strong search and social media strategy, you can always feel ahead of the game. Or, in this case, the fish.
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