Cabela’s Kills Social Media

Each year, Cabela’s holds a different photo contest for their fans on Facebook. Last year’s contest was so successful that they’re going to create yet another this year.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70MVgPW1ZZo%5D

            Finding its new home in Wichita, Cabela’s has done a lot of work branding and reaching out to its customer base via Facebook and Twitter. Media Logic, an organization specializing in the marketing campaigns of large-scale businesses, has fronted the movement for Cabela’s. The most recent campaign, the Ultimate Outdoor Team Giveaway is being pushed by Media Logic to increase customer engagement and sales in the company. Along with Cabela’s Ultimate Adventures television show, the Outdoor Channel has also been airing Outdoor Adventures, a travel spin-off. These are both in relation to the giveaway and a good way to advertise for the company.

Several routes of media marketing have been used to help promote the mission statement of Cabela’s, “to passionately serve people who enjoy the outdoor lifestyle by delivering innovation and value in our products and services.” Cabela’s has a highly-interactive Facebook page where customers and other people who “like” the page can catch up on the latest sales, contests and coupons. While there is not one specific Cabela’s Facebook page, the Wichita store looks to be just starting theirs. There are several for the Cabela’s magazines, video games and other stores throughout the United States. The store in Sidney, Nebraska has over two million likes. The new location in Wichita has only racked up 183 likes, and it looks to be not as well developed as its Nebraska counterpart.

Another huge promotion, Cabela’s “50 years, 50 trucks” is being strongly promoted on Facebook by Media Logic. The goal is to make consumers and users aware of the sweepstakes, as well as boost sales and increase traffic into the store and to the webpage. Cabelas.com has thousands of daily users, but the company is always looking to expand. The biggest goal, however, is to maintain excitement of the customers to build momentum in customer interaction with the company. The contest will go on for a whole year, with several prizes given out throughout the sweepstakes. Media Logic and Cabela’s hopes that this will increase travel into their locations as well as build a strong, solid customer base with returned visits.

Rumor has it that the Wichita store is not bringing in as much revenue as the company would have liked, and the hours of many employees have been cut. A few buddies of mine started working at Cabela’s when it opened and were both scheduled for 40 hours a week, full-time. Since the grand opening, their hours have been cut from 40 to 32 and 28. The store just isn’t bringing in enough money to pay all their employees a full-time salary. They each make barely over minimum wage, and there have been some positions that have been cut completely. This may be due to the low interest in outdoor sports in the area, or possibly due to the lack of advertising and social media.

This makes me wonder if the Wichita store is in need of some kind of social media developer. It would be a great job for a college student, even as an internship. When I get some free time, I might stop by and talk with the manager, as well as pick up some Realtree camo apparel.

Pertnear is another large company that Cabela’s has worked with to build and maintain their customer base. As a company, Cabela’s currently has 31 stores, bringing in over two million dollars a year. Pertnear was the company who initially started Cabela’s Facebook page, doubled the amount of visitors to the site and helped them kick-start their online profile. There isn’t a lot of information out there connecting Pertnear to Cabela’s, so I am unsure as to why the two companies are no longer working together, but Pertnear was solely responsible for getting the first 500 thousand Facebook followers for the outdoor lifestyle company which continues to be successful.

Cabela’s is celebrating their 50^th year in business with a photo contest. Consumers can submit photos of their “hard-working” trucks and potentially win a $500 Cabela’s giftcard. If I had a truck, I would enter because personally, I could use a brand new hunting bow. This fun and interactive contest is a fantastic idea in my opinion because it allows customers and consumers to show off their trucks. From what I hear, a man’s truck is almost as important to him as his wife! Hundreds of photos have been uploaded in the last year, and the company continues to run branded contests so fans of their Facebook page can win prizes and stay up-to-date on the latest discounts and coupons.

Exactly one year ago, Social Commerce IQ printed up a report about how successful the Facebook photo contest actually was for Cabela’s. The Facebook page was ranked 44^th in popularity out of all the profiles on the website, bringing in over one million fans and over 12 thousand likes on their statuses in a one-month period. Cabela’s also ranked number one in sporting goods, which comes to no surprise because they have always dominated that particular market.

Also, Social Commerce IQ found that during the contest, their user upstream rate was 4.56% and downstream rate was 4.26%. Now, I’m not entirely sure what that means for the company, but based on the other statistics, it still looks pretty impressive. All I know is that whatever Cabela’s is doing in their marketing department is working, because they continue to lead the sporting goods market.

Focusing on the new Wichita store specifically, Tom Nelson (National Spokesperson for Cabela’s) believes that the fast-paced world of social media is a magnificent route to driving customer activity. When he was honored with the opportunity to “shoot” the ribbon at the grand opening ceremony in our humble city, he was approached by several customers who said they had seen his picture on the Wichita Cabela’s Facebook. Nelson was astonished at how quickly the crowd reacted to Facebook, because the ceremony had taken place less than an hour prior to the customers approaching him. Nelson said himself, “I am now a HUGE believer in social media, and you should be too.” Having a celebrity endorse the company really kick-started our Wichita store’s business. Now, it seems to me they just need a little more push in their marketing department to keep their popularity up while competing with places like Gander Mountain.

One of the most endearing aspects about Cabela’s has yet to be showcased on their Facebook, but many videos have been uploaded to YouTube. In every fishing department at every store, there is the “Bragging Wall,” where fisherman can have their picture displayed indefinitely, along with a small plaque. Jeanette Clement, the Cabela’s Event Manager in Wichita created a small video for one of the cashiers who lost her uncle. Uncle Mike, as he was known to many at Cabela’s once caught a 42-inch catfish. In his passing, the managerial staff at Cabela’s wanted to honor his memory by placing him on the Bragging Wall. To make the event public, Clement created a video and uploaded it to YouTube. While something like this may seem small, it still goes to show that Cabela’s appreciates their customers and their staff. Small actions like this from a company can also bring in customers because it creates credibility. Not only is the video heart-touching, it goes to show that even though Wichita is one of the bigger cities in Kansas, we’re still all about hometown love and respect for our family and friends.

Advertising is a big portion of the marketing strategy used by Cabela’s. Once a person has created their Facebook or Twitter profile, advertisements comparable to that person’s interests pop up on the screen on the right side of the page. As soon as I started liking the Cabela’s fan page and similar hunting pages, I started seeing more and more advertisements on the side of my Facebook page that led to coupons and discounts. This strategy is pretty sly because consumers are being exposed by visiting their social media page. In fact, it’s rather genius because most people who visit Facebook on a daily basis don’t realize they’re being subjected to this kind of advertisement. Facebook has a way of keeping their ads relatively out of the way, where users seem to blindly glance over and read, usually finding things they are interested in.

Cabela’s is currently hiring a Social Media Program Manager at their corporate office in Denver, Colorado. The job posting says that the position is in high demand and they are actively seeking someone with 4 or more years experience to fill the position. While this is not ideal for someone coming out of college, there are probably several internship opportunities to build experience. A job like that would be a dream come true for me, working to promote the outdoor experience including hunting, fishing and camping.

Most of my friends know that while my first degree is in communication, I am not planning on going into any kind of journalism or public relations. In fact, I want to be a social worker. However, social media is such a large part of the corporate world these days that no matter what I decide to do, I know I’ll be able to use what I’ve learned in my Comm 660s class. So in closing, I would like to thank our teacher, Lou Heldman, for all the knowledge and experience he has given us as well as my classmates who will always remain some of the best friends I ever had. Social media is the way of the future, and we as Wichita State students are getting a head start!