REI (Recreational Equipment Incorporated), is a national outdoor retail co-op that has popularized the outdoor and adventure travel spaces. The company has cultivated its brand by not only being a one-stop-shop for hiking, camping, bicycling, walking your dog or taking the kiddos out to the park, but one that has continued to nurture the passion of those who love the outdoors.
REI’s marketing strategy is unique because while their goal as a store is to sell products, their online presence tells a different story. Most other stores use their social media pages to share links to the products on their website or bombard feeds with their newest collection of products, but REI’s tactics aren’t so obvious. The brand instead opts to highlight an enthusiasm for the outdoors— regardless of the hobby.
The company believes in its mission so much that a few years back on Black Friday, REI took what is usually a store’s most profitable day and instead closed all 143 of their stores in their push to have their customers #OptOutside. It was during this announcement that they first started used the hashtag and have used it on their social media platforms ever since. While they weren’t physically selling anything at their stores, this digital marketing strategy worked in their favor as it was widely-reported on by news outlets at the time, and created a new level of brand awareness for them.
The brand has shown through its actions what they care about, but can the same be said about its social media presence? In an analysis of their social platforms, which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, it was interesting to see everything that works, and what could help improve their online presence.
Several things stood out in REI’s various social media pages. REI’s largest social media platform, for example, is Instagram with 2.3 million followers. They do well on this platform because it doesn’t look like they’re just selling their products. Rather than selling their WHAT, they’re promoting their WHY, which is a love for outdoors.
Their page is filled with beautiful photos of everyday people exploring the world. This also looks to be the platform they post the most on. But in taking a page from their own Instagram strategic plan, they should work on posting more visually appealing content across all their platforms.
REI also does a great job of utilizing Highlights in a creative way, opting to categorize them in topics like Gear, Expert Advice, CoOp Action, Editor’s Choice, Q&As, DIY Trail Snacks and more. The brand recognizes these are topics their customers will keep coming back to and designed a fun way to showcase their knowledge— as well as one that’s nice to look at and easy to follow.
REI’s Facebook page does a great job of providing their followers with opportunities to learn more about the products they have at their stores, as well as how and where they can use them. A recent example is the post below. The average person wouldn’t think that a simple post about sandals would move the needle, but as a popular topic in the hiking community, REI knows it could get people talking.
The next post is a simple but fun video featuring an Iron Chef America champion and another award-winning chef as they use camping tools and ingredients to make a meal outside. While the latter post didn’t go viral, it could have added more to the post had REI tagged Iron Chef America as well as both chefs for additional engagement from all three fan bases.
REI can also do better on Facebook by adding more video and visual elements in general. They don’t have their audience on this platform quite locked down as the number of likes and shares on each post differ greatly from one another.
Twitter, like Facebook, could use a bit of help engaging with their audience. With 418.5K followers you’d think they’d have a solid base, but every post on their feed is a link to a blog post. Their goal on Twitter looks like it’s only about teaching their customers about a certain topic or product they can use outdoors.
Their tweets don’t do well because it looks like all they’re doing is selling their products.
Rather than use the same playbook every other store does, REI could benefit from having regular Q&A with their outdoor experts and highlight different hobbies a week such as camping, hiking, climbing and running. Taking part in these virtual events can boost engagement significantly. They can also create polls with popular products to get followers sharing their opinions and talking to each other in the comments.
TikTok
With only five videos posted since first debuting the account on June 11, the brand has not given TikTok the attention it requires. It may be that REI has its established base on Instagram and don’t quite have a voice on this new platform, but TikTok can also be their way in to reach a new group of customers or fans.
The five videos they have posted are both interesting and unique. If they create a plan that allows for frequent content, it could help the brand showcase their mission in a fun and creative way. Among the videos they’ve posted is a beginner’s guide to longboard dancing, a video featuring a very charismatic hiker and one that promotes their new footwear, but does so at one of the most beautiful mountains in the country.
It’ll be interesting to see how they continue experimenting with TikTok, but the only way they can start improving on this platform is by actually creating content.
YouTube
Based on its numbers, REi’s YouTube page is one of its most engaging platforms. Their channel houses unique videos that include tips on hiking in the heat, a day in the life of a backpacker, taste testing backpack meals, how to choose trail running shoes and hundreds of others that are beneficial to both the amateur and advanced outdoor community.
Each video has thousands of views and hundreds of likes. With these videos being extremely successful on this channel, it’s a wonder why they don’t cross share any of these helpful and attention-grabbing videos on their other platforms. The shorter videos could easily be shared on Twitter, and Facebook could be used to post the longer ones.
If REI wants to grow their Twitter and Facebook engagement, the first step they could take is sharing the original content they already have on YouTube.
Opportunities for growth
While there is a lot that REI does right, there is also a lot that the brand can do to increase their social media engagement. Their Facebook and Twitter platforms alone are primarily links to blog stories on their website. They do occasionally post their share of special events and a few videos on both, but scrolling through their timelines, you’ll mostly find links. Doing something as simple as sharing their unique YouTube videos on these platforms has the power to increase user-engagement exponentially.
At the end of the day, we know REI is a store that needs to promote its products. But REI should continue to work on finding creative ways to do so without being overbearing on a customer’s social media feed. They’ve built their dedicated fanbase by providing helpful tips to those who are passionate about the outdoors. What they should now hone in on is posting more videos and stories about loyal customers who use their products and love them enough to tag them online. These fans share a passion for the outdoors and should be featured more on their platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
The brand does a good job of selling their “we why do what we do” and can continue to harness that fanbase by sharing more visual content online.
References:
Lee, K. (2020, July 24). The 15-Minute Social Media Audit Everyone Can Do. Buffer Library. https://buffer.com/library/social-media-audit/.
Nally, B. (2020, June 23). REI’s Ingenious Black Friday #OptOutside Ploy. Relevance. https://www.relevance.com/optoutside-rei-marketing-tactics/.
Shannon, M. (2018, April 9). REI’s Unique Social Media Presence. Medium. https://medium.com/@mattshannon_42630/reis-unique-social-media-presence-5e0a76a762e3.