The New Wave of Online Marketing: Engaging Customers with Daily Content
John E. Phillips 12.11.12
Because content marketing and social media marketing are new ways for outdoor companies to reach outdoor consumers, many companies are using various tactics and strategies to increase their credibility, the timeliness of their information, and the quality of their information. One such company is Precision Shooting Equipment (PSE Archery). Two years ago, PSE made a commitment to content marketing and began to explore new methods of reaching more consumers with information.
“We use a variety of websites, web newspapers and social media to communicate PSE’s message,” Blake Shelby, Marketing Director for PSE, says. “For instance, we’ve launched the new website Bow Blitz specifically for consumers to ask questions and get information from the nation’s top archers. These archery professionals aren’t just from PSE. We deliberately have recruited archery experts from other companies to be a part of Bow Blitz to provide the consumer with the best information from top archers. We solicit the most up-to-date news, we hire professional writers to produce quality content, and we ask our visitors to Bow Blitz to provide content for this website. The growth of the site has been tremendous. Our goal is to provide information, education and entertainment for archers and bowhunters around the world.”
According to Shelby, PSE also decided to take a test drive in the daily outdoor Internet news markets to learn its effects and how these vehicles reached PSE’s consumers.
“We ran a week’s worth of content on Outdoor Hub with daily information for the consumer on how to take more deer with a bow from PSE pros Mark and Terry Drury. In that one week, more than 1.58-million consumers read that information. Many of the folks who read our content were new consumers, who never might have heard the message of PSE and the Drurys if it hadn’t appeared on Outdoor Hub. Never before had we seen these kinds of numbers in that short a time, from any-other type of advertising or promotion,” he said. When PSE considered the number of people the company could reach through Outdoor Hub, Bow Blitz, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, PSE realized that translated into millions and millions of exposures the company never could have gotten previously.
“We found that by using social media and content marketing, our cost for advertising and promotions was only 5 cents of our advertising dollar, and we could reach many-more people than with some of our other forms of marketing,” Shelby reports. “However, we did have to hire more manpower to stay-up with updating our social media and producing current daily content. But our bottom line has gone-up significantly, since we’ve invested in content marketing and social media.
Like many other outdoor companies, PSE has not abandoned any of its traditional marketing vehicles, like magazines, television and promotions. Instead the company has expanded its reach by using more Internet platforms to reach more consumers with more information. Many outdoor companies have been surprised at the number of requests they get for information, from this country and from around the world. Today, we live in a worldwide market where consumers all over the world are seeking information and purchasing more products from the USA, often due to the information available on the Internet. Many outdoor companies are expanding their marketing reach outside the USA and discovering areas of interest in certain countries where they’ve never considered before to market their products.
From what I’ve observed in the last few years, content marketing and social media build bridges to consumers to reach the customers outdoor companies already have and to reach new consumers, who have an interest in a company’s outdoor products. If I look into a crystal ball and see the future based on what we are learning now, the consumer wants more information, and wants to get that information anywhere and at any time he wants it. He or she wants that information to be relevant, timely, educational, trustworthy and specific to his or her needs. The companies that provide that information become trusted friends and sell more products to these consumers.
Look for upcoming articles to learn how the outdoors has gotten to where it is now with this form of marketing, and some other benefits, such as targeted marketing, that a company can expect if it takes the plunge in this new marketing direction.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
