Why Your Outdoor Brand’s Social Media Strategy Is Flatlining (And What to Do About It)

Let’s just start with the obvious.

If you’re an outdoor or adventure brand still treating social media like a digital bulletin board...posting product shots, “inspirational” quotes, and maybe tossing a dog-eared blog post into your Instagram stories...you’re already behind.

The wild’s moved on. And your brand’s still stuck in the basecamp parking lot.

THE OLD PLAYBOOK IS DEAD

Back in the day, sure, you could toss up a few photos of people hiking through fog, caption it “go outside,” slap a hashtag on it, and call it community building.

That worked...for a hot minute. When algorithms were toddlers and every brand wasn’t shouting into the void.

But now?

Everyone has a GoPro. Everyone’s got a drone. And your cousin’s weekend at Big Bend looks just as cinematic as your “Spring Drop” launch campaign.

If you think you’re competing on aesthetics alone, you’re toast. Because social isn’t about showing pretty things anymore. It’s about showing real things.

And that means:

• Real moments.

• Real customer stories.

• Real behind-the-scenes grit.

Anything that looks too polished? It dies.

REAL RECOGNIZES REAL

Let’s talk about Poppi and Olipop. Two soft drink brands that came out swinging like they were born in a co-op but raised in a content studio.

Poppi didn’t just hire influencers...they trained their customers to be evangelists. Sent them robes. Joggers. Bath bombs. Why? Not because any of that has anything to do with soda. But because they knew the lifestyle around the product is what sells the product.

Now zoom out: what’s your outdoor brand doing?

Posting “pack lists” and REI-style “top 5 trails” carousels?

That’s cute.

But people don’t want tips...they want belonging. They want stories where they recognize themselves. They want to feel like if they slid into your brand’s DMs, someone real would answer.

You wanna win in 2025? Do what Waterboy did: send your customers on trips. Not influencers. Not lifestyle bloggers. Send real fans. And film the whole thing like it’s a documentary. Not a promo.

STOP POSTING. START CONNECTING.

Let me be blunt.

Most “social media strategies” I’ve seen from outdoor brands could be replaced by a Canva template and a bored intern.

And maybe they have been.

But if you want to actually grow? Build something people want to be part of? Then your content can’t feel like content. It has to feel like a tribe.

That means:

• Get out of the studio. Shoot in the mud.

• Interview the oddball customer who lives out of a 1997 4Runner.

• Post your factory mistakes. Show the misprints. The rips. The moments that make the product human.

Because here’s the truth: the more raw it feels, the more people believe it.

Think of it like your favorite pair of boots: scuffed, worn-in, maybe smell a little like smoke and wet pine needles. You don’t toss those out for something new. You tell people how you got ‘em like that.

Same with your brand. Your audience isn’t craving a content calendar. They’re craving story.

YOU’RE NOT A PRODUCT. YOU’RE A MOVEMENT.

Look...I get it. It’s easy to chase trends. Easy to mimic what you see go viral.

But that’s not strategy. That’s noise.

True brand building in the outdoor space isn’t about looking good in a grid. It’s about being consistent off the grid.

• Send handwritten notes to top customers.

• Invite your community to weigh in on product designs.

• Host Q&As not to pitch but to listen.

Hell, turn your customer service DMs into a content series. “Questions from the Campfire.” I don’t care what you call it...just make it feel real.

Because when people feel like they’re part of something bigger, they don’t just buy. They tell their friends. They become loyal.

They become dangerous...for your competition.

FINAL WORD: YOUR CONTENT ISN’T FLAT. IT’S FEARFUL.

You’re not running out of content. You’re running from the kind of content that might actually matter.

The kind that’s unpredictable. The kind that doesn’t feel like marketing. The kind that feels like a campfire conversation that drifts from gear talk to God and back to breakfast tacos.

Lean into that. Risk being human. That’s the only strategy that still works.

And if you’re worried it’s “off-brand”?

Maybe your brand needs to shift.

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Giovanni Gallucci is a social media strategist, content creator, and brand consultant based in Dallas, Texas. With over 20 years of experience and a client list that includes Topo Chico, Frito-Lay, and Red Bull, Giovanni specializes in helping outdoor lifestyle and clean-label food brands build loyal communities through storytelling-first strategies. A winner of the Shorty Awards and Lone Star Emmys, he’s known for blending gritty realism with smart digital tactics that cut through the noise. When he’s not building viral campaigns, you’ll find him out on Texas backroads in a vintage 4Runner...camera in hand, story on deck.