Whew! What a few weeks it has been! From Sheep Show to ATA to SHOT Show – I need a break from virtual shows for a little bit. I am sure you do, too. The kicker is all these virtual shows are ON TOP OF the inordinate amount of time already spent on Zoom-like calls. Before COVID-19, I was on Zoom maybe 2-3 times a week. Now, I am there upwards of three times a day. It can get a little tiring. And I’m pretty sure many of you will agree with me when I say, I cannot wait to get back to these shows IN PERSON.

In a matter of a few days, I conducted two webinars on social media – one for ATA and one for SHOT Show University. In last week’s Archery Wire editorial, I shared a little about some of the questions brought up during the ATA event. This week, even though my SHOT Show topic was on “Social Media for Teams Masterclass,” I received questions not necessarily related to the webinar. What were people asking? Once again, they were wondering, “How do I advertise on social media?” “How do I get Facebook ads approved?” and the like.

Yep. It’s a struggle. Some companies are able to do some ads, sometimes, and others are banned for life. (Raise a hand if your ad account is banned on Facebook. We can start a support group, if needed.) You think there’s a workaround. There isn’t. You think you are doing something wrong. You aren’t. You think you absolutely must give Facebook hundreds, if not thousands, of your dollars. You actually don’t.

You want to know how my Facebook ad account was banned? I tried a workaround. If you want to, also, try a workaround and potentially get banned, feel free to email me and I’ll tell you what I did.

If you’d rather not go that route, then, my friends, I think it is high time we consider the alternatives.

Last week I mentioned using your resources to up-level your e-mail marketing and SEO.

This week, I want to explore social media alternatives. Full disclosure: many of my clients are not in these spaces – yet. The time is coming, however.

Clubhouse App

• The Clubhouse app lets you chat with other users, live, using your voice.
• As of December 2020, the app had around 600K members. This may not seem like a lot compared to Facebook’s 2.7 billion active users, but given the app was only created in mid-2020, this is impressive.
• If you’re curious what the Clubhouse app is all about, I recommend reading this post.
• Note: It is only available to Apple iOS platform; you need an invite, or feel free to download the app and wait for it to get out of beta mode.
• Why I’m kind of excited about it: I like the fact it will allow users to create Rooms. I’m reading that Rooms are the equivalent to Facebook groups. There are some restrictions, but this could be a solution for our industry.

MeWe (and a bit on Parler)

(Above is a screenshot from Parler.Com. May they continue fighting the good fight. And by “good fight,” I am referencing Free Speech.)

• Labeled as the “anti-Facebook,” MeWe was downloaded 787,000 times the week ending January 12, according to this article. Its main function is NOT to sell your private data, which seems like the very basics of social media.
• I know a small group of industry insiders on this platform. Many joined MeWe and Parler at the same time. Alas, Parler is in the doghouse, working stuff out. If you want to keep up with them, they are sort of mini-blogging their status here.
• For us, this might be a safe place to explore and connect. From that same article I referenced above, see excerpt with MeWe CEO, Mark Weinstein.

Q: What is your stance on potentially dangerous speech and misinformation of the type that could, say adversely impact public health during a global pandemic?

A: We have absolutely no censorship for good people who follow our rules. We don’t care what your opinion is, if you’re on the right or the left. That’s none of our business. Also, MeWe’s structural design prohibits the amplification (of misinformation). Members do moderation for us, but a very deep violation can lead to immediate removal and being reported to outside authorities. For others, a member can be placed “in jail” — temporarily suspended — and then a three-strike rule applies.

GoWild

• Our friend, Brad Luttrell, just sent a release announcing his app grew 75% in seven days this month. "Big tech is going to realize the cancel culture it empowers can cut both ways,” said GoWild Cofounder, CEO, Brad Luttrell. “The hunt, fish and shoot audience is canceling its ties to the big blue apps. Silicon Valley has done little to stop harassment against outdoorsmen and women, because they don’t understand us. As of this week, it’s clear this audience is finding a new home on our platform, GoWild.”
• GoWild has been billing itself as the “social media for the outdoors” since its inception a few years ago. Anecdotally, I’ve seen huge growth in Brad, his team and the app in the last 8-9 months. Here’s a guy literally spilling his heart and soul so that we all have a place to connect.

This was brief and to the point – I highly recommend conducting your own research on each of these platforms. And, if you think it might be a place to go, at least log in and claim your username. More to follow – which is a lot sooner than I wanted to be talking about these platforms. But our hands are forced.

-- Michelle Scheuermann, editor, Archery Wire