A business owner in any industry, and especially the hunting industry is constantly on the search for new and innovative ways to build your brand.
Like many of us who has scoured the internet for some hidden technique that will give you the most definitive answer; How to build a hunting brand.
We at Oak Ridge Supply wanted to offer our on-trend methods and first-hand experience to help answer your questions with modern solutions.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, we may earn a small commission.
Let's Get Started: Hunting Industry Review
Understanding the industry value and target demographic.
The hunting industry including trapping is valued at 869.5 million in 2023. Generated spending on hunting gear, travel, wildlife management, and conservation efforts injects 26 billion dollars annually into the US economy.
That's plenty of meat on the bone for your brand to carve a nice revenue stream from this industry.
Who is a hunter?
The average age of an American hunter is 43.5 years old with 90% male, leaving this demographic of customers 10% female.
Both male and female hunters combined in America represent 11.4 million people and 8 percent of the total US population.
Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin each hold a significant spot atop the states with the most hunters. Each state bolstering 700,000 to 1,000,000 hunters or at least 10% of the state's population.
We know after analyzing the stats listed above that our general target customer will likely be a middle-aged male who lives north of Georgia and East of Nevada.
Although this is a broad and quick example, this is a general idea of how to narrow your target audience and make sure your marketing efforts reach the right people.
How much is each customer worth to your hunting brand?
The average American hunter is said to spend 2,484 dollars per year on hunting-related expenses with 59% of that expenditure on equipment and gear.
That's a sizable $1,465.56 average value per customer (59%) for your brand.
Now the fun part: Let's dive into modern ways to build your hunting brand.
5 Examples to Help Your Hunting Brand Grow Today.
1. Modernize Your Business Plan
Take this opportunity to write a new business plan with up-to-date information and add any modernizations as you see fit.
5 Examples of Plan Modernizations:
- Carbon Neutral Shipping Options for Customers.
- Virtual Order Catalog Customers Can Download.
- Implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Influencer and Affiliate Marketing Strategies.
- Opening your Brand to Investors and Crowdfunding.
If you have successful years under your belt, creating a new business plan will allow you to document those realistic numbers. Better forecasting projections will offer rejuvenated excitement for you and your brand.
Not all parts of a business plan have to be set in stone. When you learn a new technique to do business better, by all means implement it into your plan. Your business plan should always be evolving to better suit your vision.
2. Modernize Brand Identity
Updating and fine tuning your brand identity can offer your business new ways to portray your image, voice and overall brand mission.
5 Examples of Modernizing Brand Identity:
- Redesign the Business Logo.
- Inject Your Voice with Unique Product Descriptions.
- Change the Text Font Used to a Modern Style.
- Update the Story and Brand Mission.
- Use Minimalist Designs and Infuse Unique Color.
These techniques are used by some of the largest brands in the world today. Like Elon Musk recently did with Twitter. Updating the logo to a minimalist X design that portrays a sleek, modern and unified message.
Rebranding your identity as Facebook did with the release of Meta, can make your brand more relevant to your demographic and if done correctly, expand your audience to reach more potential customers.
3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
We are 100% certain this is how you landed on this article. We rely solely on our SEO strategy to drive organic traffic to our blog posts.
Implementing high search volume keywords into your product titles, descriptions and overall content on your website will raise your rank on search engines and make your brand discoverable to searchers.
5 Examples of SEO Improvements:
- Add Keyword Alt Text to ALL Images.
- Research and Implement Longtail Keywords.
- Write Unique Content (Don't Copy and Paste).
- Use H1, H2 and H3 Headers to Breakup Long Paragraphs.
- Index Your Website Links with Google Search Console.
SEO is a cost-effective and super powerful way to drive organic traffic to your website and services. Implementing a solid SEO strategy into your hunting brand can expand your reach and capture target customers searching for what you offer.
The key to successful SEO is to always work to improve the user experience. Internal linking from one page to another to help your user navigate related content with ease. Offer easy access to policy pages, contact info and FAQ's.
Implement any user generated content you may have like reviews and photos. Gain trust from your website visitors by answering questions before they even ask them. Be upfront, honest and available for when they need you.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Pro Staff, short for Promotional Staff has often been used to describe select individuals who are hand-picked to promote a certain brand or product.
The modern term for this marketing technique is Affiliate. Brand affiliates are compensated a percentage of the profit from sales they generate.
As the brand owner you provide a trackable link to your affiliate. Any sales that come from that tracked link a prearranged percentage of it is paid to that affiliate.
This allows affiliates to drive highly targeted traffic to your brand with purchase intent. Growing your reach, awareness and ultimately increasing your sales.
5 Examples to Start Affiliate Marketing:
- Connect with a Professional Affiliate Marketing Firm.
- Offer Competitive Percentages (3% - 20% Per Sale).
- Add Extra Perks and Performance Incentives.
- Offer the Affiliate Program to Hunting Influencers.
- Create Ad Widgets Affiliates Can Embed in Content.
The Affiliate marketing strategy has worked wonders for a slew of outdoor and hunting brands. From Realtree to Black Ovis, some affiliates will grind night and day to drive traffic through these links. All in hopes of securing that percentage.
Offer your affiliate program with a select few products and services or include your entire inventory. Use this modern marketing tool to your advantage and gain valuable leads, sales, awareness and relevance.
5. Get Social and Stay Engaged
Every customer demographic in the world uses some sort of social media platform. From Pinterest to Snapchat, your target customer can be found here.
You need to have a presence on these platforms and be easily found by the people who share the same interests as your brand. Find them, connect with them and speak their language.
5 Examples of Getting Social and Staying Engaged:
- Create a Posting Schedule (Post Per Day / Per Week).
- Share New Ideas and Ask for Customer Input.
- Share Relevant Industry News and Trending Topics.
- Join Groups and Forums and Share Your Experiences.
- Always Engage and Acknowledge Your Followers.
It can be challenging to consistently interact with social media platforms. Especially for a hunting brand as most of these sites do not condone or support the harvesting of wild animals, or any brand that promotes it.
You still need to have a presence on these platforms. Weed through the on slot of discrimination and connect with the people that matter most to your brand.
They are there and willing to connect with and share brands they believe in. You may not be able to run pay per click ads for some products you offer, but you can still reach your customers by sharing high quality content.
Let's Put These Techniques to the Test
A little story about Joe and his journey to conversion.
So, Joe Blow from Idaho just celebrated his 43rd birthday and wants to treat himself to a birthday gift by way of new hunting gear for this coming season.
From our research on average, we know he has about $1500 in his pocket. Just so happens all the equipment on your site is right in his wheelhouse.
He's sitting on his lunch break scrolling through Google with search terms like "Best Compound Bow Under $500".
First link to pop up is a blog post from one of your affiliate members explaining why the bow you offer is the absolute best option for him. (Click Goes Joe)
He arrives on your webpage, sees the modern logo and relates to your brand identity like it's speaking directly to him (Because It Is).
He is absolutely sold with your unique product description. He may read a few positive reviews you have conveniently embed from previous customers. He sees you are trustworthy and available to answer any questions.
Joe is feeling comfortable with your services and ready to buy.
Now all he's thinking is: "If I ship it to my sister's house the wife won't know".
Use These Techniques and Build Your Hunting Brand
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. We are here to help as much as we can.
If you haven't created a business yet, read our related article: Top 5 Hunting Business Ideas to find your niche and start today.
Happy Hunting,
- Oak Ridge Supply