My husband and I are not outdoorsy people. Don’t get me wrong, we think nature is beautiful, but we haven’t spent a lot of time setting up tents, cooking over a campfire and spending the night under the stars. Last week, some of our friends were camping at a nearby site and invited some of us over for dinner (pizzas cooked over a fire – yum!). Although I don’t have a lot of experience roughing it in the great outdoors (or even glamping), there are a few public relations and marketing lessons I took away from the experience.
3 Public Relations & Marketing Lessons From Camping: From Media Pitches to Social Media Management
Here are 3 public relations lessons you can take from camping.
1. Your experience is directly related to your investment. For example, if you decide to save money and skip an air mattress, you’re the one that might not sleep so well that night. In the same way, if you choose to cut costs by opting out of a blog on your website, your business is the one missing out on valuable SEO.
Of course, I understand budgets are tight. In camping or glamping, if you don’t have everything you need, you can ask around and borrow the important gear you’re missing. When it comes to public relations and marketing, you can ask around by researching the strategies and tactics online, and doing it yourself until you can afford to hire someone to help write pitches, handle social media management, etc.
2. Be prepared. Don’t just show up in a forest and pitch your tent (or park your RV if you’re glamping). Research the area, look into permits that you need to get, plan your meals and pack for emergencies, etc. Similarly, don’t just start cold calling journalists about your business. Make sure you have a strong website, research who the best media contacts are, spend time carefully crafting pitches, create a social media management plan, etc. Anticipate journalists’ needs by having high-res images available and a press kit ready. Before you start “doing,” create a plan, figure out the order of the tasks you need to complete and then get to work.
3. Don’t be afraid of hard work. When you’re camping, you need to pitch your tent, prepare your meals with limited supplies and walk a little further to use the restroom (unless you’re glamping). It’s important to put the time and energy into living in the great outdoors. In the same way, when it comes to public relations and marketing you need to roll up your sleeves and put time and energy into your business. Getting the word out about your business through media pitches, blogging, social media management, etc. is hard work, but it’s necessary for your company’s success.
Have you spent much time in the great outdoors? Can you think of any additional public relations and marketing lessons from camping or glamping that I’ve forgotten?
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