As soon as kids turn 10 now they have a smart phone in their hand, I would venture to say that the average age is dropping by the minute. With this comes access to the internet and all of the social media platforms, and if there is one thing that people are good at it is posting pictures. Pictures of everything from their food, pets, selfies, and now hunting and fishing.
In the hunting and fishing world its all about the angle, the lighting, the backdrop. You have to make your kill or catch look bigger and it needs to look like you killed it in a beautiful part of the world, even if it was just in the old cotton field behind your house. If the picture doesn't portray a nice setting with a large animal or fish, the reality is the likes just won't come, and whether or not anyone will admit it, that is what everyone is looking for.
For instance here is a picture of me and a deer that I took this past season. I look like a manly man, with a big 10 point buck, a felt safari hat, and camouflage but the reality is I repositioned the deer countless times and 10-20 pictures were taken to get the right shot. You have to make it look the best that it can, after all if you don't get the likes it doesn't feel as good. It feels like a failure even though you may have taken the biggest animal of your life, you want others to be impressed.
With all of the hunting and fishing pictures being posted advertisers have picked up on the trend and have moved into the social media realms as well. Where they post pictures of hunters using their products, new products that they are going to release, and even coming up with catchy hashtags for people to use when they use their products. With this they get free advertisement, and people want to use their products, posting pictures with them and using their hashtags to get more follower's or people that they can connect with based on interest.
Here is a picture on Instagram of a Remington advertisement, they have a new product posted that will be released soon. The product is the main focus of the picture, and the background picture shows someone using it in the field. Along with that there are hashtags that people can use concerning their products. This will help link a community of users that enjoy their products or even aspire to own them. Helping with their overall advertisement, while also keeping their costs down.
Todays social media craze is taking the outdoor industry and world by storm. With new users everyday, and new hunters everyday. The more people hunt and the more that join social media the more this fad will grow. Whether or not it sticks, we will see. As of right now it appears that it will be around for quite sometime, linking hunters, fishers, and the companies that they enjoy using by the products and services that they provide.
