Companies may benefit from recreation content marketing, but it’s not as simple as writing something and posting it on a blog. When you hire recreation writers experienced in outdoor activities, those writers are familiar with the language and intricacies involved with the sport and are able to format informative articles that get searchers to your main website. Content should be published to several channels so that you are able to reach the bulk of your audience.

Benefiting from the Sophisticated Game of Content Marketing

To ensure that your hard-earned dollars are well spent, the writer needs to have a way with words; content topics and publishing dates must be skillfully planned, and you should be willing to create partnerships that use the newest technologies and the most up-to-date media trends. If this sounds complicated, it’s because it is–for someone who is new to content marketing. Working with a content provider that has writing gurus in your field makes the process much simpler.

If you are hesitant to jump on the bandwagon, consider that 48.6 percent of all Americans reported that they participated in at least one outdoor activity in 2016, according to the Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report for 2017. That means that about 144 million people enjoyed 11 billion outdoor outings.

Outdoor Recreation Activities

If you are wondering if the outdoor recreation activity that you are involved in is one that is popular with Americans, the Topline Report found that:

• Running, jogging, and trail running were the most popular activities in 2016.
• BMX biking had the most growth in people participating in the sport from 2015 to 2016.
• Triathlons, road biking, mountain biking, and board sailing are still popular, though the number of participants decreased slightly from 2015 to 2016.
• From 2014, stand-up paddling saw a significant increase of 18 percent.
• Those who do not participate in outdoor activities as of yet reported that camping was in the top three most appealing outdoor activities.

Since there is a large audience of non-participants interested in outdoor activities, at least half of your marketing budget should go to targeting people who are new to any type of outdoor activity.

What’s New with Recreation Writing?

Social media has kicked content marketing up by several notches. Combine that with interactive techniques, and you have a recipe for garnering many leads.

• Moosejaw uses a loyalty program that allows buyers to earn points on all purchases. Buyers may then redeem their points in Moosejaw’s rewards store. The key here is to have items that are not cheaply made. Use top brands that make quality items.
• Give consumers an experience. Instead of posting only information about your products, post topics related to your products. These might be how-to articles, informational articles about an activity related to your product, or information about a product that compliments your services. Merrell’s, an outdoor clothing retailer, does just this with excellent conversion rates.
• Target social media ads. National Parks Depot did this with an extremely high success rate. The owner of the company promoted sales on his products through Facebook and actually ran out of inventory, though that problem was quickly rectified. National Parks Depot generates revenue of over $80,000 per month, thanks to the owner’s Facebook advertising campaigns.
• Show your customers that you are committed to an outstanding customer experience. Make sure your return policy is easy to understand and convenient. Combine the offer of price drop guarantees and lowest price guarantees with social media posts. Check into lost package protection and other services that protect the buyer if he or she is ordering online.

Your business marketing content could also make outdoor/recreation content marketing news if you combine well-written articles with interactive content and social media.

Leading Sites for Outdoor/Recreation

To garner some recreation writing insights, visit competitors’ sites to see what others are doing to bring in hot leads. While it never works if you copy ideas directly, you may be able to combine your own ideas with some of the leading sites’ ideas. Recreation.gov shows how to break down the different activities related to camping and, at the same time, provides quality content for each subcategory.

The National Park Service also uses content to draw consumers to their page. While this site isn’t as content-heavy as some others, the content is created just the way search engines want it, as it near the top of the first page of search results for ‘camping.’

Cabela’s features extend product information in the form of buyer’s guides, which can be found on pages with featured content. Consumers want to see well-written content that doesn’t contain a hard sales pitch. Buyer’s guides, informational articles, and interactive content encourage buyers to click links to your main site or specific products.

Over the years, different publications, including Inc., have stated that the average person stays on a web page for 6 to 58 seconds, with most sites agreeing on the 15-second time. But combining professionally-written and interactive content keeps a reader’s mind on your product or service for more than 15 seconds.

Favorite Outdoor/Recreation Activities

One recreation writing tip is to use research statistics to create content on the same topic for different age groups. You’ll also want to target those who are more interested in the outdoor activity that you support, whether that is camping, backpacking, BMX biking, fishing, hunting, water sports, or winter sports.

For example, according to the Topline Report, those aged 6 to 24 years stated their favorite outdoor activity was either running, jogging, or trail running (with an average of 81.3 outings per runner for a total of 1.7 billion outings).

Those aged 25 and older listed the same outdoor activity as a favorite, with 81 average outings per runner for a total of 2.6 billion outings.

Camping made the list for those aged 6 to 24 years, with 12.4 average outings per camper for a total of 189 million outings. However, on the list of favorites for those 25 and older, camping did not make the top five. Instead, wildlife viewing made the list, with 25.2 average outings per person for a total of 384.6 million outings.

Targeting your audience is one of the biggest ways to make your marketing campaign successful. A recreation writer will be able to write SEO-friendly content, whether for social media, blogs, or other channels, for the proper target group.

About the author

Cheryl B has been writing professionally since 2007 and has published two family law e-books. She has an associate’s degree in Paralegalism and has worked for two law offices since 2004. After she left the second law office, she went back to the first law office as an independent paralegal and worked from home. Cheryl continues to take attorney clients for drafting correspondence and pleadings. In addition to the two family law e-books, Cheryl has written hundreds of articles and blog posts on family law, bankruptcy, personal injury, civil law, contracts and criminal law.