Outdoor Creator Marketing Resources for Brands & Creators

We all know the feeling of scrolling and stopping on Instagram or TikTok just to watch a cute or funny pet video.

Social media has transformed the way pet content is consumed and created. Some accounts are dedicated entirely to the pet and managed by the owner, while others grow because audiences love seeing creators and their pets together.

These Popfly pet creators are producing content that inspires: wholesome, engaging, and filled with furry friends. If you’re a brand looking to collaborate with creators who warm hearts and move the needle for your business, these accounts can do it all from UGC to sponsored content to brand ambassadorships. 

Follow these pet creators to bring some joy t to your feed. 🐾

Meet our Top Pet Creators

1. Samy, Her Dogs, and Her Little Explorer: Samery Moras

Instagram followers: 31K

TikTok followers: 108K

Brands they’ve worked with: Farmina, Stewart Pet, Nature’s Miracle, and more.

📸: @lifewithsnowdogs

Samy is a devoted boy mom to two high-energy pups and one equally spirited toddler, keeping their days full of outdoor adventures. Together, they love exploring Utah’s scenic hikes, and Samy has recently taken up trail running and canicross with her dogs, with skijoring on their winter bucket list. She delights in sharing the joyful chaos of her daily life, along with tips and insights to make life with kids and dogs a little smoother and a lot more fun.

2. Two Rescue Dogs, One Big Adventure Heart: Lindsey Lehr

Instagram followers: 2.6K

Brands they’ve worked with: Hibear, REI, Merrell, and more.

📸: @livinoutlehr

Lindsey is an obsessed dog mom. Naturally a huge animal lover, rescuing two dogs was a no-brainer for her. Her number one goal in life is to provide the best adventure-filled life for her two boys; after all, they’re not here for a long time, they’re here for a good time! In giving them a life of adventure, exploring and spending time outdoors doing what they all love most, she in return lives a life filled with so much love, silly moments, and true loyal companionship and for that, she is always and forever thankful.

3. The Neurodivergent Nomad: Emily Poliner

Instagram followers: 14.9K

Brands they’ve worked with: Stay Wyld Organic, Paka Apparel, TrustedHousesitters, and more.

📸: @exploremorewithemily

Emily is a neurodivergent nomad, adventure travel creator, and passionate lover of nature and animals. She has explored over 40 countries and loves sharing her journeys with her community. Her adventure-ready cat, Katana, joins her whenever she can and stays with Emily’s parents in Florida when she’s traveling abroad.

Emily often travels by pet sitting, ensuring she’s never far from furry companionship. She’s grateful to be part of the PopFly Co creator team and has already partnered with incredible brands in the adventure travel world.

4. Exploring With Sora: Jackie Lasky

Instagram followers: 6.9K

Brands they’ve worked with: Hurtta, Diggs, Link My Pet, and more.

📸: @somewherewithsora

Jackie is a fully remote engineer who spends her free time adventuring and creating with her dog, Sora. Together, they stay up late to admire the Milky Way, wake up early to chase sunrises, and drive for hours to reach stunning mountain trails. They love collaborating with brands that reflect their values and sharing those experiences with their community.

Jackie produces high-quality content using her professional Sony camera and drone, taking pride in bringing each scene to life in her own unique way. She seamlessly weaves brands into her storytelling, ensuring they feel naturally integrated into her lifestyle and vision.

 5. Exploring the Maritimes: Emma Foster

TikTok followers: 8.1K

Brands they’ve worked with: Stoke resorts, 

📸: @emmaandmolson

Emma Foster is a photographer with over a decade of experience behind the lens. This year, she shifted her focus toward brand and product photography through UGC, bringing her creative eye and storytelling approach to a wider range of businesses.

She is from New Brunswick and enjoys four full seasons of adventure alongside her dogs, Tobi and Molson. Emma and her partner, Marcuisse, spend much of their time exploring the Maritimes, whether camping, fishing, hiking, or glamping with their two dogs by their side.

6. Dogs Through the Lens: Dominika Kaločai

Instagram followers: 1.6K

📸: @dominika_kalocai

Dominika is a passionate photographer and creator based in the Czech Republic, dedicated to capturing the unique bond between dogs and their humans. Her work celebrates outdoor adventures, everyday moments, and the joy of life alongside pets. Her two dogs are not only her beloved companions but also the heart of many of her creative projects. Through authentic photo and video content inspired by nature and movement, Dominika reveals the beauty and connection found in a life shared with animals.

7. Adventures of a Brown Husky: Nikki Spahn

Instagram followers: 1.2M

TikTok followers: 198K

Brands they’ve worked with: Decathlon, Ollie, Zesty Paws, and more.

📸: @huskyquoi

Quoi is a uniquely brown Siberian Husky who travels North America with his mom, Nikki. They spend much of their time road tripping, but like to stay home in the Tetons during the winter months so they can backcountry ski together. Nikki is a professional photographer and part owner in a production company. Quoi’s favorite food is pepperoni pizza, but other than that Nikki makes sure he only eats the healthiest of meals.

8. Heart of a Husky: Ashley Albright

Instagram followers: 503

Brands they’ve worked with: Doggie Diggz

Link

📸: @herandahusk 

Ashley is the creator behind HerandaHusk, a Colorado-based space where she shares life with her husky, Iris. Her content centers on simple adventures, quiet mountain moments, and the genuine connection that comes from exploring the world with a dog. Inspired by their time in the Rockies. Ashley also founded DoggieDiggza, brand that turns trail memories into thoughtfully designed bandanas, created in collaboration with talented designers and modeled by Iris herself. As they continue to grow their pet and outdoor presence, Ashley and Iris hope to inspire others to slow down, wander often, and bring their dogs along for every adventure.

9. The Aussies: Morgan

Instagram followers: 21K

Brands they’ve worked with: Heybike, Walmart, Tread Labs, and more.

📸: @authenticallyauss

Morgan lives in Colorado with two Australian Shepherds, Phoebe and Archie. She creates fun, informative outdoor and lifestyle content inspired by their adventures together. As a dedicated advocate for working-breed dogs, Morgan loves taking her Aussies herding and giving them the fulfilling jobs they were bred for. When they’re not on the ranch, you’ll find them out on the trails, hiking, exploring, and making the most of Colorado’s great outdoors.

How to use this list:

We all stop our social scroll for pets. These creators turn that pause into lasting influence by sharing joy, tips, and authentic stories. Partner with them to:

• Reach a rapidly growing, pet-obsessed audience
  
  
• Create content with authentic product integration for your brand socials
  
  
• Turn creator content into trackable sales through affiliate links.

Popfly makes it easy for brands to connect with creators. These pet partnerships spark engagement that audiences can’t resist. Turn playful moments into meaningful collaborations that drive real growth for your brand. 

Let’s be super honest: “We should build an ambassador program” sounds exciting in the meeting and then turns into chaos instantly.

Gear getting lost.
Creators going quiet.
Leadership asking for numbers.
Everyone claiming it’s “top priority” with no actual owner.

It doesn’t have to be like that.

This is your playbook for running an athlete + ambassador program in 2025 that:

• feels good for the people in it,
• actually supports your brand story,
• and has real, trackable impact.
  
  

I’ll walk you through how we structure this for outdoor / gear / performance / lifestyle brands, and you can steal the whole thing. 

First: Athlete vs Ambassador (you need both, for different reasons)

A lot of brands lump these together and wonder why it’s messy. They’re not the same.

Athletes

• Proof of performance.
• They live at the edge of what your product can do.
• They’re credibility and capability. “I trust this because I watched them actually run/sail/climb in it.”

Ambassadors

• Proof of lifestyle.
  They’re how your product fits into your day to day real life.
• They’re the ones your actual buyers relate to: parents, weekend hikers, van travelers, cold water swimmers, etc.
  
  

You need both stories in market:

• “This gear can perform.”
• “This gear fits my life.”
  

That’s when the brand feels legit and accessible at the same time.

Step 1: Define your lanes before you recruit

Do not start by saying “we need 10 creators.” Start by asking: “What are the core identities we want people to see in the brand?”

Example lanes we’ve built:

• Cliff jumping / water access / river life
• Thru-hiking and long miles
• Coastal / sailing / saltwater travel
• Van life / off-grid living
• Everyday carry / commuter tech
• Parents who still get outside with kids
• Snowboard / Skiing
  
  

Notice what’s happening here: You’re not just filling a spreadsheet. You’re building character roles in an ongoing story.

When you assign a creator to a lane, it’s easier to:

• Brief them (“you own the off-grid living story”)
• Feature them (“meet the person who lives on a boat full time”)
• Measure impact (which lane is driving conversions / new eyeballs)

This is where most ambassador programs fall apart. They recruit random people instead of building a world.

Step 2: Make expectations extremely clear (and human)

Creators don’t burn out because “content is hard.” Creators burn out because brands are vague, slow, and constantly changing the ask.

So when you onboard someone, athlete or ambassador, give them clarity on Day 1:

• What kind of content are you hoping they’ll create? (format, vibe, length, platform)
• How often do you want it?
• What’s off-limits? (claims, safety language, competitor mentions)
• Where might this content live? (brand socials, ads, email, PDP, etc.)
• How are they being compensated / rewarded?

If you cannot say this clearly in plain language, you do not have a program. You have vibes.

Bonus: don’t write briefs like legal memos. Talk like a person. “We want this to feel like you talking to a friend, not an ad.” That lands.

Step 3: Get logistics under control early

This is the unfun part that will make or break you.

Here’s what needs to be dialed:

• Who is getting what product?
• In what size / color / config?
• When is it shipping?
• Do they have tracking?
• Did it arrive?
• Are they clear on what they’re making with it?

If you can’t answer those in two clicks, you’ll end up chasing DMs and apologizing.

This matters a lot with athletes. If someone is your “cold water swim storyteller,” and the insulated booties don’t show up before their next trip, that story never happens. You just lost that moment.

Brands that run clean ops win creator loyalty, and creator loyalty is everything.

Step 4: Make it worth staying in the program

You’re not just competing for screen time, you’re competing for emotional energy.

Things that keep athletes and ambassadors around long term:

• Early access to new product (being first matters)
• Being featured on brand channels (spotlight them and their unique story, not just the gear)
• Being seen as a voice, not a prop
• Supporting creator passion projects, give them a platform to share their passions
  
  

People will absolutely show up for you if they feel like they’re part of the build, not just a rented face. For athletes, that means having the chance to test gear early and share real feedback before major releases. Being involved in early product testing not only strengthens authenticity, but also provides brands with insights that can be invaluable to future launches.

Step 5: Build a real community layer, not just a spreadsheet

Here’s the difference between a brand with ambassadors and a brand with a movement:

Brand with ambassadors:

• Sends out gear, gets tagged.

Brand with a movement:

• Has a private place where creators talk to each other.
• Shares what’s launching next.
• Surprises people with “hey, we saw what you posted last weekend, that was sick.”
• Makes creators feel like faces of the brand, not just labor.
  

That community layer can live in Slack, Discord, group chat, whatever. But if you don’t create it, people feel replaceable. If you do create it, those people will defend you in comments, hype you in their circles, and self organize shoots you didn’t even ask for.

That’s the dream. It also protects you when paid media gets noisy and algorithms shift, because you’ve got humans who care.

Step 6: Track what matters (and keep it visible)

Someone inside your company is going to ask:
“Is this doing anything?”

You need to be able to say things like:

• Here’s how much content we got this month.
• Here’s the reach / engagement / watch time on that content.
• Here’s how much traffic and how many orders those creators drove.
• Here’s the cost per acquisition from this channel vs other channels.
• Here’s how many of those orders were NEW customers, not just repeats.

Step 7: Know when to level someone up

Every program should have a path.

You want to be able to say:

• “You started as product-seeded.”
• “Now you’re on affiliate / performance.”
• “Now you’re one of our faces. We're building content around you.”
  
  

Why this matters:

• Creators see there’s room to grow.
• You retain the good ones instead of losing them to bigger brands.
• Your content voice stays consistent over time instead of constantly resetting.

This is how you get people who feel almost unofficially “signed” to your brand. That’s how you get someone wearing your gear everywhere, not because you asked, but because it’s part of who they are now.

Step 8: Recognize that this is long term brand architecture

This is the part that a lot of teams miss, especially in outdoor / performance / lifestyle:

An athlete + ambassador program is not “Q4 content help.”
It is your ongoing proof of:

• who your product is for
• what it enables
• and why it matters in real life.

When you build it right:

• It feeds your paid media (better inputs = better ads).
• It feeds your organic social.
• It feeds product pages.
• It feeds retail pitches.
• It feeds future product decisions.
• It feeds community loyalty.

Final Takeaway

To run an athlete + ambassador program that doesn’t fall apart:

1. Define your story lanes before you recruit.
2. Match real humans to those lanes (don’t chase follower count, chase fit).
3. Give them clear expectations in real language.
4. Nail logistics. Gear in hand = content in world.
5. Build something they actually want to be part of (access, respect, upside).
6. Create a private community space so it feels like a crew, not a contract.
7. Track performance 
8. Give people a path to level up with you.

Do that, and you’re not “working with influencers.” You’re building a world your customers want to live in. Popfly exists to make this ^ repeatable.

If you’re ready to build something that looks less like “influencers on our moodboard” and more like “a living ecosystem around the brand,” that’s literally what we do every day.

Let’s build it.

Ski films built ski culture, their gatherings and community rituals turning athletes into icons. We all know the feeling of a packed theater filled with the collective YEWWWs of an audience stoked for the season. 

Social media has broadened the spotlight, lifting up underrepresented skiers and snowboarders as well as grassroots creators so more stories are told. What used to be reserved for big-screen premieres and local Pray for Snow parties now streams wherever you are.

These Popfly ski and snowboard creators are producing segments that mean something: real stoke, teachable technique, and honest stories. Whether you’re a brand looking to collaborate or a fellow rider searching for inspiring content, these creators show they can do it all from high-quality content that can be leveraged for brand campaigns to social media content.

Follow these ski and snowboard creators to get hyped for the season. Snow is already falling on The Rockies. 🤘

1. The Art of Recovery: Austin Becker

Instagram followers: 13K

Brands he’s worked with: Ikon Pass, Majesty Skis America, Oakley, and more.

📸: @theskierguy

Austin Becker is a skier, podcaster, and creative director based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. After competing at a high level and beginning skiing at the age of two, his career was halted in 2016 by a severe spinal injury, resulting in multiple fractures in his spine. The subsequent recovery led to a painful battle with addiction, which he decisively overcame in 2018 to rediscover his passion for skiing, filmmaking, and photography.

Today, he travels the world capturing breathtaking landscapes and pursuing endless powder. His ultimate mission is to use his story of resilience and hope to inspire others, proving that anything is possible.

‍2. On Skis Since Two: Jenna Henry

Instagram followers: 4K

Brands she’s worked with: Mountain Hardwear, Icelandic Skis, Snowbird and more.

📸: @jenryhenna

Jenna Henry is an East Coast native who grew up on a hill in Stowe, Vermont, and who is happiest at the top of a mountain for sunrise. Thanks to her parents’ passion for skiing and their decision to build a life around the mountains, she’s been skiing since she was two years old and competed throughout high school and college. After graduating, she couldn’t wait to head west and put down roots in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, where she expanded her love of skiing into big-mountain adventures and new creative pursuits.

Whether she’s advocating for mental health in sports, representing brands she believes in, or collaborating on photo and video projects, finding ways to create and connect through the outdoors continues to be a privilege that she will cherish.

3. Professional Amateur: Tyler Haven

Instagram followers: 55K

Brands he’s worked with: Garmin, REI, Teva, and more.

📸: @tygoesoutside

Tyler Haven is a part time content creator and a full time amateur at many different outdoor hobbies. He started creating content while living in a van, and found out that he had a knack for it! You can usually find him out skiing, hiking, fly fishing, or climbing depending on the time of year, or sitting around the house researching a new hobby he wants to try. Tyler’s content is as authentic, genuine, and down-to-earth as the lifestyle he lives.

4. Raw & Rebellious Skiing: Sarah Smyth 

Instagram followers: 11.5K

Brands she’s worked with: Raw & Rebellious, VanCraft Rentals, and more.

📸: @sarahrsmyth

Sarah Smyth is a skier, podcaster, creator and founder of the clothing brand Raw & Rebellious. She’s obsessed with all things outdoors, and loves sharing her passions with her community that she’s cultivated over the years. If you need her in the winter months, you’ll probably find her on a mountain, going downhill or uphill on a pair of skis. She hopes to bring laughs, inspiration, and authentic connection to the world wide web through her content.  

5. Ski. Create. Inspire.: Jess Cohen

Instagram followers: 8.5K

Brands she’s worked with: GoPro, Ikon Pass, K2 Skis, and more.

📸: @jess.cohenn

Jess Cohen is a full-time content creator and big mountain skier competing on the IFSA Qualifier Tour. Skiing has shaped her life and she gets to spend her days chasing powder, creating content, and traveling in a truck camper with her partner and dog.

She is a storyteller who tells the real story behind mountain life from competition days to van parking lot edits and working with outdoor brands that share that same love for adventure and the outdoors. For her, content creation is a way to blend skiing, creativity, and community, and hopefully inspire more people (especially women) to get outside and push their own boundaries.

6. Family on the Slopes: Ro Marshall 

Instagram followers: 72K

Brands she’s worked with: Insta360, Woom, Oru Kayak, and more.

📸: @britishadventuremum

Ro Masshall is a British mom of two proving that skiing with kids isn’t the end of progress it’s just a different kind of adventure, more wholesome than she ever imagined. She’s built a confidence in skiing she’s never had before. Through women’s ski clinics and embracing every turn, she’s riding better than she ever has.

Every bit of effort, from bundling kids into snow gear to missing laps to breastfeed and mastering an evolving slopeside nap routine, is about more than just skiing. It’s about building a family love for a sport that’s so much more than a hobby; it’s a way of life.

She shares her journey to remind women that they can grow, evolve, and still chase their own summits even with tiny humans in tow. And when she’s not chasing progression, she’s watching her heart walk around in tiny snow boots, eating snow, and realizing that this right here is everything she ever dreamed of.

7. Where He Feels Alive: Jake Leach

Instagram followers: 5.6K

Brands he’s worked with: Stio, TREW gear, 10 Barrel Brewing, and more.

📸: @jakewub

Jake Leach spends every chance he gets in the mountains, especially when there’s fresh snow waiting in the backcountry. Snowboarding is his way to feel alive and connect with the outdoors. He’s all about chasing new lines, big adventures, and good times with friends along the way. For him, it’s all about soaking it in, embracing the moment, and enjoying the ride.

8. Finding Sendy: Cass Peterinelli

Instagram followers: 14.5K

Brands she’s worked with: Mammut, Insta360, Bern Helmets, and more.

📸: @sendymcsendersonn

Cass Peterinelli, better known online as SendyMcSendersonn, calls Salt Lake City, UT home, though she’s lived in plenty of places along the way. Snowboarding found her at the height of the pandemic, and it completely changed her life. The sport helped her discover who she is leading to a career in the industry, lifelong friendships, and a passion she loves sharing with others. It’s been the hardest thing she’s ever learned, but also one of the most rewarding, teaching her to trust herself in ways nothing else has.

What started as a small account to track her progress has grown into a community of riders who come for the stoke and stay for the messy, hilarious moments in between. Through Sendy, Cass hopes to keep spreading that same stoke and show that snowboarding is for anyone who loves it no matter how you send it.

9. Snow to Sand: Brittany Bruhn

Instagram followers: 3.3K

Brands she’s worked with: Optic Nerve Eyewear, Wildhorn Outfitters, Savage Jerky Co., and more.

📸: @bruhbrit

Brittany Bruhn splits her time between the snowy mountains of Vail, Colorado, in the winter and the sunny beaches of Baja, Mexico, in the summer. She’s passionate about adventure and finds balance between snowboarding and surfing. Her dog is her constant companion and a huge part of her life. Inspired by the street dogs of Baja, Brit started a dog rescue to give them a second chance at life. Whether she’s carving through fresh powder or catching waves, Brit is happiest living with purpose and doing what she loves.

10. The Outdoor Girly Girl: Brynn Weigelt

Instagram followers: 12K

Brands she’s worked with: Turo, the Nomadik, Decathlon, and more.

📸: @brynnsadventures

Brynn Weigelt is not your typical outdoor adventure content creator and that’s exactly the point. An outdoorsy girly girl, professional photographer and videographer, and tourism-trained storyteller with a degree in Tourism Management majoring in Adventure. She blends creativity with courage in everything she does.

Her content is where wild freedom meets real, relatable storytelling think hiking rugged trails, solo backpacking across new countries, absolutely shredding the gnar on every powder day, and yes, always rocking a cute outfit along the way. She loves sharing her favorite tips, tricks, and lessons learned from her adventures to show other women that they belong in the outdoors no matter what.

11. Created to Create: Kenna Mills

Instagram followers: 9K

Brands she’s worked with: Tread Labs, Bern Helmets, Kiehl’s, and more.

📸: @kennaaaswrld

Kenna Mills is a travel content creator with a deep love for the outdoors and an even deeper love for snowboarding. She’s all about sharing the real side of the ride from the highs and lows of vanlife to snowboarding fails and everything in between. Last season, she lived out of her van so she could hit the slopes every day and fully embrace the ski bum life. Now, she’s gearing up to hit the road again, chasing fresh snow, exploring new places, and seeing where the adventure takes her next.

12. The Instructors Line: Emma Hutton

Instagram followers: 2.8K

📸: @outsidewithemma

Emma is a snowboard instructor and coach who has spent the past decade chasing winter around the globe. She splits her time between the snowy mountains of Australia and the powder-filled slopes of Niseko, Japan. Her content captures the highs and lows of life as a snowboard instructor constantly pushing her skills, refining her riding, and inspiring others to do the same. When she’s not coaching, you’ll find her lapping the park or skinning up to a backcountry peak in search of fresh lines.

13. From Olympian to Changemaker: Julia Murray

Instagram followers: 4.7K

Brands she’s worked with: Stay Wyld Organics, No Meat Athlete, Complement, and more.

📸: @jules.eliz.murray

Julia Murray is an Olympian, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, plant-based chef, digital marketer, social media manager, Realtor, and animal lover born and raised in Whistler, BC. A former member of the Canadian National Ski Cross Team, she is a World Championship silver medallist, X Games top-five finisher, multiple World Cup podiumist, 48 Straight Jeep King of the Mountain gold medallist, and a 2010 Olympian who competed despite a serious knee injury.

After two major injuries, Julia redirected her energy toward plant-based entrepreneurship, co-founding Ski with an Olympian with her husband, fellow Olympian Davey Barr, and later creating her brand Hooked on Plants to inspire others to embrace a plant-forward lifestyle.

Today, Julia helps people realize their Whistler dreams through real estate while co-creating vegan retreats in tropical destinations. In her free time, she enjoys biking, skiing, trail running with her rescue dogs, and volunteering at animal sanctuaries.

14. From Park to Powder: Shelby Burns

Instagram followers: 92.5K

Brands she’s worked with: NomNom, KaChava, Carve Designs, and more.

📸: @shelbssays

Shelby Burns is an avid outdoorswoman with a deep passion for inspiring others to find joy and adventure in the great outdoors. In the winter months, she shares her ski adventures with her community, spreading her enthusiasm for mountain life and exploration.

Shelby first discovered her love for park skiing, but after moving to the West Coast, she uncovered a new thrill in deep powder and the satisfaction of earning her own turns. Today, she embraces every side of the sport from high-energy laps in the terrain park to peaceful sunrise missions in the backcountry.

How to use this list (for you):

According to the National Ski Areas Association, 10.6 million U.S. residents skied or snowboarded last season, the third-highest participation on record. This means the audience for ski-related content is both large and highly active. Partnering with snowsports content creators is one of the most direct ways to connect with this community.

For brands looking to collaborate:

• Define your goals: Are you looking to showcase lifestyle, technical skill, or community-driven content?
• Choose the right creators: Consider their content style, audience size, engagement, and authenticity.
• Streamline your creator collaborations: Use a platform like Popfly to automate the admin so you can scale brand momentum and revenue.

For creators looking to get noticed:

• Research your craft: Study what these ski and snowboard creators are doing to break through.
• Be authentic: Identify gaps or unique angles where you can bring your own voice.
• Create community: Partner with other creators to capture content on the mountain.

Popfly makes it easy for brands to connect with ski and snowboard creators. Hit us up and we’ll line up the right partners for your next campaign.

Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter about creator rates being “inflated.” Scroll through any marketing forum or LinkedIn thread and you’ll find someone questioning whether creators are charging too much for sponsored content. 

That perception is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of what creators actually deliver. Many still think of sponsored content as a digital billboard: just a static ad slapped onto the feed. But creators aren’t just selling ad space. They’re offering something far more valuable: access to an engaged audience and creative execution that brings your brand to life.

What You're Really Paying For

When you hire a creator, you're not just paying for an ad placement. You’re tapping into a full-service creative engine. Imagine the cost of hiring a traditional agency to handle everything from concept to execution:

• Storyboard and script the spot: You’re not having to pay for copywriters, creative directors, and rounds of revisions.
• Cast and pay talent: Creators are the talent, and often bring their own network of collaborators.
• Scout and select locations: Many creators shoot in their own homes or studios, saving you location fees.
• Hire stylists + hair & makeup: Influencers often handle this themselves or work with friends and connections.
• Produce and shoot: They own the gear, know the lighting, and understand what resonates on social media.
• Record voiceover: No need to book a studio, they’ve got it covered.
• Edit and make revisions: Creators are editors, sound designers, and animators rolled into one.

And then, after all that they run the spot across their own media to an audience that actually cares. Their audience aren’t just passive viewers, they’re a community that listens, engages, and trusts their recommendations. That kind of influence is priceless.

Take for example this incredible content made by Popfly creator Marcus Catlett for Hyundai.

Have Creator Rates Increased?

It’s true that creator prices have risen given increased interest from brands in collaborating with creators. Especially after Unilever announced they would work with 20x more creators this year as part of their new “influencer-first” strategy to make their brands more trustworthy to consumers who are skeptical of traditional advertising. However, most brands are still spending less than 10% of their total ad dollars on creator marketing according to eMarketer. 

So no, creator rates aren’t inflated. They’re finally starting to reflect the true value of what creators bring to the table. Even as prices rise, the ROI remains undeniable. When you partner with creators, you're accessing their expertise, community, and the creative. All in one.

How can smaller and emerging brands still drive value from creator marketing as prices increase?

You don’t necessarily need bigger budgets to win at creator marketing, you just need a smarter, more strategic approach. Smaller brands can outmaneuver competitors by leaning into nano- and micro-creators, thinking differently about incentives (consider a revenue-share model or affiliate commissions vs. straight cash payments), surprising audiences with bold creator stunts vs. your typical one-off post, and doubling down on truly building community with creators.

‍Net Influencer asked 47 experts in the space for their advice, the message was clear: success isn’t just about reach, it’s about real relationships. By prioritizing authentic partnerships and aligning with creators who genuinely connect with their audiences, brands can carve out a meaningful presence in an increasingly competitive space.

Melissa Wood from Shorthand Studios said, "While some macro and celebrity talent have increased, many creators remain competitively priced. Smaller brands can focus on depth by building authentic connections within niche verticals and cultivating community trust."

Dev Karaca from Kyra reminded us that smaller brands still have an edge, "they can move fast … running reactive, always-on campaigns, backing creators who genuinely love the product, and building momentum in micro-communities."

Aurélie Sauthier from Made In shared that big budgets "can’t replicate the human connection a founder or small team can create. For smaller brands, success comes from building genuine relationships with creators: inviting them into the brand story, asking for input, welcoming them to their store or studio, celebrating their content, and showing up as mutual ambassadors."

Ready to see the ROI?

Creator marketing isn’t just a vibe, it’s a smart investment with 90% of our brands recouping their monthly spend in less than 3 months. If you're ready to supercharge your marketing efforts with creators, we're here to help. Whether you’re running a UGC campaign, sponsored content partnerships, affiliate programs or ambassadorships, our platform was purpose-built for adventure brands like you.

Are you holding off on planning for Black Friday? Well your competitors aren’t.

If you’re waiting until November to plan your Black Friday strategy, you’ll be late. The sharpest outdoor, adventure, and travel brands are locking in creator partnerships, mapping content calendars, and building affiliate funnels right now. The biggest shopping moment of the year is coming in hot. 

Where most see chaos, we see creative opportunity. This is your playbook for getting Black Friday-ready with a strategic timeline that sharpens your competitive edge. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide is built on research from key platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, as well as the boots-on-the-ground perspective we live daily at Popfly.

This Black Friday Demands Different

Today’s consumer expectations demand a new playbook. Black Friday 2025 is longer, noisier, and more omnichannel than ever. The adventure brands breaking through are those that understand shoppers don’t stay siloed, they move fluidly from discovery on social to adding to cart. Authentic creator content is the connective tissue through these journeys, blurring lines between entertainment, inspiration, social proof, and sales.

What’s Different About Black Friday, Cyber Monday 2025:

• Consumers will be more cautious with spending. Shoppers are approaching the holidays with practicality, with 63% of people being more selective about what they splurge on. This shift has prompted some to begin their holiday shopping earlier than usual with a stronger focus on essentials. [Pinterest]
• Shopping starts earlier than ever: Consumers are engaging with holiday content earlier than historically seen with traditional retail cycles. And they’re making purchase decisions through organic discovery rather than planned shopping trips.
• Personalization is expected: Brands can tap into AI ad optimization on platforms like Meta and TikTok to find the right shoppers at the right moment as well as make tailored product recommendations. 
• People shop where they scroll: The bulk of holiday shopping occurs on mobile, with platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram Checkout making shopping seamless. [eMarketer]

Why Your Brand Needs To Prioritize Creators:

• Creators drive product discovery and purchase: 86% of people make purchases inspired by influencers. [Sprout Social] 
  
  • Pro tip: Authentic content from real adventurers captures attention. It doesn’t look or feel like an ad, so people stop scrolling, lean in, and engage. In this noisy world where attention is everything, that’s a serious advantage.
• Online content consumption translates to in-store sales: 50% of Black Friday retail shoppers do their planning online. [Tribe] Omni-channel approaches drive results with efficiency.
• Creators aren’t a niche play anymore, they’re the new mass media. Leading brands are heavily investing in creators (some allocating up to 50% of total spend, eMarketer), tapping into the speed, agility, and relevance that they bring. 

Here’s your step-by-step guide defining key milestones, actionable tactics, and content inspiration:

📆 8 Weeks Out: Laying the Strategic Foundation (September)

Why start so early? The highest-performing Black Friday creator campaigns begin now, not in November. Creators are approached for more brand deals this time of year given the powerful combination of increased consumer spending, heightened marketing budgets, and the emotional resonance of the season. 

Getting ahead of creator outreach means lower rates, more meaningful collaborations and a whole lot less of “sorry we’re booked.” 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Lock In Your Hero Products: Dig into your sales data to surface what’s resonating, then prioritize products with strong storytelling potential. When creators feel genuinely excited to share about that innovative new puffer, performance follows. 
  
  • Pro tip: Don’t let high inventory numbers drive your selects, choose the products that spark authentic stories.
• Set Campaign Goals: Use the SMART framework and ensure your KPIs are aligned to your objectives. Focus on fueling your brand’s future growth, not just chasing short-term sales in a year of economic uncertainty.
  
  • Specific: Clear and well defined.
  • Measurable: Able to track progress and outcomes.
  • Achievable: Ambitious but within the realm of possibility.
  • Relevant: Aligned to larger business priorities.
  • Timely: Target date for completion.
• Segment Your Creator Audience: Use creator audience insights to reach different buying personas. Build messaging that’s specific for each segment to truly resonate.
  
  • Moms make up to 83% of purchasing decisions for households, including adventure gear and travel destination choices [Forbes]. Consider partnering with creators that resonate with her.
  • TikTok found that 87% of holiday shoppers are actually buying gifts for themselves during Black Friday, Cyber Monday. Perhaps a “gift yourself” message makes sense for your brand.
• Build Your Dream Creator Roster: Consider top-performing creators from past campaigns or use Popfly’s curated database to source outdoor, travel, and lifestyle talent.
• Define Paid Advertising Creative Needs: Creator content outperforms brand produced assets in paid media because it offers greater authenticity, relevance, and credibility. Set your campaign up for success by licensing creator content beyond just organic media.
  
  • Pro tip: For every $1K you invest into paid ads, match it with 1 creative asset. Spending $100K this holiday? Aim for 100 unique pieces to avoid ad fatigue.

📆 6 Weeks Out: Lock Partnerships & Incentives (Early October)

With the strategy set, now it’s time to operationalize your campaign.

Your Checklist For Success:

• Create a Compelling Promotional Offer: Remember, the market will be flooded with promotions, so ensure yours stands out. According to new research from Boston Consulting Group, “shoppers expect at least a 30% discount.”
  
  • Pro tip: If steep discounts aren’t in the cards this season, consider offering a free gift with purchase, or activity related gift sets (gift for campers, skiers, travelers, etc.). 
• Send Out Black Friday Creator Campaign Invitations: Dial in a solid brief that clearly communicates your brand’s goals, product differentiators and promotional offers. 
  
  • Pro tip: Use Popfly’s “Playbooks” feature to give creators the context they need to tell your brand story. Share your brand guidelines, visual style, tone guidelines and inspiring past work. 
• Lock in Affiliate Links and Discount Codes: Assign unique, trackable affiliate links for every creator to track success. Create and send codes in two clicks with Popfly. 
• Get Gifting: Send creators a link to your brand shop, where they can select their favorite festive gear. 
  
  • Pro Tip: If you’re sick of all the back and forth fulfilling product seeding manually, Popfly automates the process end-to-end so you never have to follow up. Get centralized shipping info, delivery tracking, and unboxing content all in one dashboard. 

Creator Content Ideas You Can Steal For Your Brief:

What compels consumers to purchase? Honest reviews that share both the pros and cons of the product, detailed product info and demos as well as entertainment. 

Based on this data, here are 9 creator content ideas to inspire your Black Friday brief:

1. Trail-Ready Test Drives. Creators hit the trails with your gear in tow, think GoPro footage, on-screen Strava metrics (distance, elevation, pace) and live commentary on durability and comfort.
2. Unboxing Adventure. Put a twist on traditional unboxing videos and have influencers talk about an upcoming trip or trek they’ll be using your product for. 
3. Styling From the Outdoors to Everyday. Creators are naturally remixing their trail staples into everyday fits, blending durability with aesthetic. Have them show a single item and how they wear it for a hike, date night and even to work. 
4. Myth-Busting Gear Challenges. Put product claims to the test. Have creators wear those waterproof boots on a rainy day hike and record their honest reviews.
5. Gear Demos. Your audience craves the details (fit, function, feel), but they don’t want a sales pitch. Have creators show how your gear handles the wild, the weather, and whatever the trail throws at them.
6. Scroll Stopping Sketches. Content that provides value in the form of entertainment does more than just inspire engagement, it converts. Just look at Matt Lyons: his relatable skits don’t just rack up views, they drive action.
7. Holiday Gift Guides. Remember those personas you built in the planning phase? Use them to build out segmented gift guides: Gifts For Outdoorsy Moms, Gifts for Travelers, Gifts for Adventure Seekers.
8. Community Choose Your Adventure. Gift creators a trip of a lifetime, the catch? Their audience gets to pick the destination by voting in the comments.
9. The 10 Essentials. Rapid-fire reel of creator’s go-to gadgets or apparel for any adventure.

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📆 4 Weeks Out: Go Live & Start Testing (Late October)

Starting early means more time to test, learn, and optimize. 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Creator Content Starts to Roll Out: Get ahead of the noise by having creators share your Black Friday campaign early. That could mean simply communicating the offer that’s to come or giving them custom affiliate links to share to their audience doesn’t have to wait.
  
  • Pro tip: One post won’t cut through the holiday noise. Build in multiple touchpoints with each creator across the season like unboxings, gift guides, last-minute deals, and festive recaps.
• Launch Paid Early to Take Advantage of Lower Costs: With all the holiday competition, ad costs spike in November. Launch your campaigns early so you’re already dialed and delivering strong ROAS.
• Optimize For Social Search: Caption content with intent. Use phrases like “best Black Friday deals for hikers,” “camping gifts under $50,” or “best travel destinations for winter escapes.”

📆 2 Weeks Out: Optimize & Prepare (Mid November)

Prepare for the main event. 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Check The Pulse: Identify what’s resonating, flag what’s falling flat, and tweak your plan while there’s still time to move the needle.
• Prep Your Social Shops: When a creator tags your gear or a shopper stumbles on your reel, they expect to tap, browse, and buy in seconds. If your product feed is broken, laggy, or missing key SKUs, you’re leaving money on the table. Make sure discounts, bundles, and holiday offers are reflected in your feed.

📆 Black Friday Week: Go Live, Go Everywhere (Late November)

It’s finally here! This can be the moment that makes or breaks your year so don’t leave anything on the table. 

Your Checklist For Success:

• Double-Down on Affiliate Commissions: Announce a “Black Friday Weekend Boost” with higher commissions and special perks for top-performing affiliates.
• Spark Top Performing Sponsored Posts and UGC: Leverage authentic creator and organic content, which feels more like native posts than traditional ads.
• Extend Creator Content Beyond Social: Turn high-performing influencer content and UGC into email campaigns, add to your website or even run as Connected TV spots. 
• Run Omnichannel Ads: A customer may see an Instagram ad, browse your website, and later walk into your store to buy the product. An omnichannel campaign will attribute and optimize for that journey. Target saw a 51% higher return on ad spend when they ran omnichannel ads [Meta].

Don’t Miss Small Businesses Saturday 

The creator economy has leveled the playing field for small businesses with 82% of people saying they have discovered a small business on TikTok before seeing them elsewhere. [TikTok]

• Tap Local Creators: Partner with influencers who live near your HQ, flagship store, or key retail partners to host an in-store event. 
• Shop Small Messaging: Gift creators gear ahead of Small Business Saturday and have them post unboxings day of to keep the momentum going. 
  
  • Pro tip: Drop a “Small Biz Saturday Exclusive” to drive re-engagement with your brand.
• Values Driven Content: Ask creators to share why supporting small outdoor brands matters, tapping into sustainability and community. These emotional posts resonate deeply with audiences who care about conscious consumption.

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📆 Post Cyber Week: Keep the Momentum Going (December)

Don’t make the mistake of going so hard for Black Friday, Cyber Monday that you forget to tap into all the momentum going into December. Shift from discount-led content to deeper storytelling that taps into the emotional connection consumers have with the holidays. 

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The Future Of Holiday Marketing Is Creator-Led

Don’t rely on ads alone, empower a growing network of creators to drive buzz, trust, and conversion. Start early, go deep with creators, optimize every touchpoint, and turn each moment into momentum. 

Pressed for time? Popfly is your shortcut to scaling content, locking in affiliate partners, and getting your product out there in time for the holiday rush. We streamline every step of your brand‑creator collaborations so you can focus on the big wins.

These ten women are proving that mountain biking isn’t just about speed or skill, it’s about creating a more inclusive, joyful, and welcoming community. Because the goal is always, more butts on bikes, right?

Written by: Rachel Engen

For decades, mountain biking has been portrayed as a high-adrenaline, agro, male-dominated sport. But in 2025, a new generation of women creators are rewriting the script. They’re making the trails feel more approachable, celebrating vulnerability alongside victories, and building communities where everyone belongs.

From comedy to advocacy, coaching to content creation, these ten women are changing the way the world sees mountain biking, and inviting more people to hop on a bike and join the ride.

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Why Female MTB Creators Matter for Brands

With creator-driven commerce projected to hit $186.6 billion in 2025 (Statista, 2025), brand aren’t just relying on athletes now to display their logos, they are relying on creators to share the stoke and relate to the everyday recreational riders. Shaping mountain biking into a more inclusive community that new riders can actually envision themselves in.
These voices make mountain biking accessible and exciting for audiences who might have once felt shut out, or too intimidated to give it a go.

For brands, partnering with these women means connecting to values that resonate deeply: inclusion, creativity, and community. Popfly makes it simple to collaborate with creators like these to build authentic campaigns that have meaningful impact.

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The Women Redefining MTB Culture

1. Champion of Body Inclusivity: Marley Blonsky

📸 @marleyblonksy

Marley is breaking barriers in cycling as co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes, a nonprofit dedicated to size inclusivity. Her content mixes gear talk, advocacy, and pure stoke, proving the trail is for EVERY BODY.

For Brands: Align with size inclusivity, and community.
For Inspiration: Marley shows us adventure isn’t about fitting in, it’s about making space for everyone.
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2. Humor + Heart: Jess Hana

📸 @jessthemaker

Jess has brought a special level of playfulness into the space. Her comedy skits and relatable reels make the sport feel fun, not intimidating. By laughing at herself and celebrating the relatable moments, she creates a space where anyone can imagine themselves on a bike. Which is exactly what we need more of

For Brands: High-reach, shareable video content that is guaranteed to make you smile.
‍For Inspiration: Jess reminds us not to take things and biking so seriously all the time, laugh a little!
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3. Community & Trail Builder: Kacy Guajardo

📸 @kacystrails

Kacy keeps it real and inviting on the trails, sharing both the wins and the “still figuring it out” moments. Her content is packed with helpful tips, trail building, and encouragement, making mountain biking feel less intimidating and more inviting. She’s proof that you don’t need to be a professional athlete, or "hardcore" to belong in this community. You just need to show up, advocate for your local trails, pick up a shovel, get your butt on your bike, and get out there! You can find her on group rides, or with a shovel in hand!

For Brands: Perfect for campaigns centered on learning, trail stewardship, entry-level gear, or riders finding their trail legs.
For Inspiration: Kacy reminds us that every rider’s journey matters: progress, not perfection.
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4. Coaching + Confidence Building: Joanna Yates

📸 @joannajyates

Joanna is a leader in more ways than one. From hosting group rides to education for coaches to advocating for her local trails, she’s making mountain biking a more encouraging place for women to show up. She’s as passionate about building up women, trails, and her community as she is about shredding.

For Brands: Ideal for campaigns searching for an expert voice and / or women empowerment.
‍For Inspiration: Joanna shows that building your confidence can be done with encouraging communities and a lot of dedicated practice.
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5. Athlete & Artist: Brooklyn Bell

📸 @badgal_brooky

Brooklyn brings unapologetic energy to the MTB scene. Her feed is full of bold lines, her beautiful art, and personality - making her a standout voice for women who want to see themselves represented in a multi-faceted way.

For Brands: Perfect for creative, high-energy campaigns.
‍For Inspiration: Brooklyn reminds us that women riders can take up space, and have many talents.

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6. Relatable Ripper: Kayla Malone

📸 @kaylaann.malone

Kayla is quickly becoming a must-follow voice in MTB. Her creative edits and authentic progression stories resonate with new riders, especially Gen Z, who see themselves in her journey.

For Brands: Perfect for reaching newer to the sport audiences with relatable content.
‍For Inspiration: Kayla reminds us that confidence grows one ride at a time.

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7. Community Builder & Outdoor Educator: Annijke Wade

📸 @geodesicdome

For Annijke, cycling is more than sport, it’s a space of advocacy, representation, and belonging. What began as a way to explore the outdoors has grown into a platform that highlights accessibility and community, especially for those historically underrepresented in outdoor spaces. Through lived experience and storytelling, she uses her voice and visibility to welcome others into the cycling world.

For Brands: A meaningful partner for initiatives centered on inclusion, accessibility, and authentic representation.
For Inspiration: Annijke shows that outdoor spaces are for everyone, and that seeing yourself reflected in these spaces is powerful fuel for change.

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8. Gear Educator & Advocate: Kristen Bonkoski

📸 @femme_cyclist

Through her Femme Cyclist platform, Kristen is building one of the strongest online communities for women in cycling. From in-depth gear reviews to candid advice, her content empowers women to feel knowledgeable and confident about bikes.

For Brands: Great for technical gear partnerships and product education.
‍For Inspiration: Kristen proves that knowledge is power, and that every rider deserves access to it.

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9. Trail Stoke + Humor: Ellie Crabb

📸 @crabbtacular

Ellie brings joy and humor to every ride. Her content is equal parts stoke, skill, and silliness, creating a feed that feels like riding with a good friend. She shows the lighter side of MTB while still showcasing impressive trail chops.

For Brands: A strong fit for campaigns targeting inviting new women into the industry, because Ellie is - for the girls.
‍For Inspiration: Ellie proves mountain biking doesn’t have to be serious to be meaningful.

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10. Mother + MTB Shredder: Danica Fife

📸 @danicafife

Danica documents her MTB progression with honesty, humor, and heart. Her content resonates with riders who are still finding their footing after parenthood, showing the real process of learning to balance motherhood and your own endeavors, and celebrating the small wins.

For Brands: Great for parents, and athletes.
‍For Inspiration: Danica makes space for riders to embrace the messy, beautiful process of growth in the sport through life changes.

How These Women Are Changing MTB Culture

These ten creators are proving that mountain biking isn’t just for the fastest or the gnarliest, it’s for everyone. By leading with humor, inclusivity, advocacy, and community, they’re building a culture where more people feel welcome to ride, inviting the next generation of riders into the cycling world.

For brands, partnering with these women means aligning with a future of mountain biking that’s more diverse, more creative, and more connected.
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How to Hire MTB Creators for Campaigns

According to the Outdoor Industry Association (2025), participation in mountain biking continues to rise, with women and younger riders fueling much of the growth. Popfly makes it easy for outdoor brands to connect with creators like these, streamlining collaboration and helping campaigns resonate authentically.

Partner with MTB creators on Popfly today.

When I started Popfly, the idea was simple:

Make it easier for brands to tap into the power of UGC creators...

Why? Because I kept seeing the same thing happen again and again: brands would spend six figures on polished content that looked beautiful… but didn’t perform. Meanwhile, a scrappy creator with an iPhone and a great hook was out here driving conversions, building community, and selling product.

UGC creators were doing more with less. And nobody was making it easier for brands to work with them at scale.

So we built Popfly to change that. We connected brands with creators who could make authentic, effective content that actually moved the needle - without all the chaos.

It worked.

Campaigns crushed. Brands came back. Creators got paid.

One of the first brands to give us a shot was ALPAKA. They make sleek, functional travel gear and UGC was the perfect fit. Their creators didn’t need slow-mo drone shots and expensive studios. They needed a backpack, a destination, and a story. The content they created was real, relatable, and incredibly effective in ads.

But after running a bunch of campaigns in those early days, I started hearing the same questions from brands over and over:

“Can these creators also post on their own channels?”
“Do you have affiliates who can actually drive sales?”
“Is there someone we can work with long-term and not just for one-off content?”

At first, I brushed it off. We were built for UGC. That was our thing. But the more I listened, the clearer it became: UGC was just the start.

What brands actually needed was a system. A way to work with the right mix of creators across their entire funnel. And what creators needed was a platform that didn’t just hand them a brief and a deadline, but opened up real opportunities to grow, influence, and earn.

So we started building for that.

ALPAKA was one of the first to lean in.

They went beyond UGC and started layering in:

• Paid influencer campaigns to launch new products
  
  
• An affiliate program to reward and scale top performers (and continues to absolutely CRUSH IT - see the insane stats here)
  
  
• Always-on content from a trusted group of creators
  
  

All of it? Still powered by Popfly.

And this is just the beginning.

We’re doubling down on what works, making it easier for brands to scale performance through creator partnerships. That includes building affiliate functionality right into the platform, so brands can seamlessly turn top creators into revenue-driving partners without needing a second tool.

Because the future of marketing isn’t just creator-led. It’s creator-connected. And we’re just getting started.

<3 Taylor

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Building brand community has become one of the most important strategies for outdoor companies looking to create loyal customers and long-term impact.

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Today’s consumers want more than products. They want connection, authenticity, and shared values. The most successful outdoor brands are the ones that build spaces where customers feel like part of something bigger.

Let’s talk about how these three standout brands: Halfdays, Wild Rye, and Transition Bikes are building strong, engaged communities both online and offline.

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‍Halfdays: Building Inclusive Outdoor Community Spaces

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Halfdays, a women-led ski and outdoor apparel company, has quickly become a leader in outdoor community building by making the outdoors more approachable and inclusive.

• Digital Community with Slack:
  Halfdays created a Slack channel where customers, creators, and outdoor enthusiasts can connect. This private community builds deeper relationships than traditional social media.
• Real-World Outdoor Events:
  From hikes to yoga sessions to trail clean-ups, Halfdays hosts events that encourage in-person connections and strengthen their brand community.
• Inclusivity as a Core Value:
  With size-inclusive apparel designed specifically for women, Halfdays lowers barriers to entry in outdoor sports.

Takeaway: Halfdays shows that when brands prioritize inclusivity and create both digital and real-world spaces for connection, they transform customers into true community members.

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Wild Rye: Advocacy and Empowerment in Outdoor Apparel

Wild Rye, a women-owned outdoor clothing brand, has positioned itself as more than just an apparel company. Their brand community thrives on advocacy, inclusivity, and shared ownership.

• Women-First Design:
  Wild Rye designs apparel with women’s needs in mind, solving real frustrations and building loyalty.
• Advocacy for Change:
  As a B Corp and climate-neutral company, Wild Rye attracts outdoor enthusiasts who value sustainability and women’s empowerment. They've supported Planned Parenthood and the Conservation Alliance with their recent inniatives.‍
• Customer Ownership & Resale:
  With initiatives like their Wefunder campaign and resale platform Wild Rye Redux, customers are invited to invest in and extend the brand’s lifecycle.

Takeaway: Wild Rye proves that when outdoor brands align with purpose-driven values like sustainability, advocacy, and empowerment, they don’t just sell products, they inspire movements.

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Transition Bikes: Authenticity in Outdoor Culture

Transition Bikes, a rider-owned mountain bike brand based in Bellingham, WA, has built one of the most authentic and loyal outdoor communities in the cycling world.

• The Outpost HQ as a Community Hub:
  Transition’s headquarters doubles as a space for demo rides, food trucks, and trail access. It is designed as a destination for mountain bikers.
• Group Rides and Events:
  From casual lunch rides to women’s weekends, Transition hosts regular meetups that bring their rider community together. INCLUDING those who are just getting their feet wet in the sport.
• Rider-Owned Authenticity:
  Their “rider-owned for life” philosophy resonates because it is real. Their employees are riders themselves, living and promoting the mountain biking lifestyle.

Takeaway: By creating The Outpost as a welcoming hub for riders, Transition Bikes shows how a physical “third place” can turn a brand into a community, fostering real connections both on and off the trails.

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Key Lessons in Outdoor Brand Community Building

From Halfdays, Wild Rye, and Transition Bikes, here are the biggest lessons for brands looking to build community in the outdoor industry:

• Create spaces for connection → (Halfdays: Slack channel + outdoor events)
• Champion values and advocacy → (Wild Rye: sustainability, women-first initiatives)
• Live the lifestyle authentically → (Transition Bikes: rider-owned, inclusive community hub)

When brands embrace authenticity, inclusivity, and shared values, they move beyond selling products. They create movements.

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Outdoor brands like Halfdays, Wild Rye, and Transition Bikes prove that the future of brand growth lies in community-first marketing strategies. Whether it is through digital spaces, advocacy-driven initiatives, or authentic lifestyle engagement, these companies are redefining what it means to connect with customers.

If you are an outdoor brand, the question isn’t should you build community. It’s how you’ll make your community feel seen, valued, and inspired.

In 2025, outdoor brands navigate a challenging landscape: inflation, rising tariffs, and disrupted supply chains have led to revenue shortfalls and layoffs for many. Yet, consumer passion for outdoor recreation is at an all-time high. The OIA’s 2025 Outdoor Participation Trends Report reveals a 3% increase in outdoors participants, reaching 181.1 million people. Despite financial pressures, the outlook for consumers getting outside and active remains strong.

Digital marketing is critical for outdoor, travel, and adventure brands to thrive. Winning on social media requires more than beautiful product shots of mountains. It demands strategic, value-driven content, authentic partnerships, and seamless sales integration. 

This guide, crafted for brand managers and owners, provides actionable strategies to lead on social media in 2025.

1. Break Through With Consumer-First Content

Let’s be real: your audience isn’t hanging on your every update. Your audience is flooded with content: memes, viral reels, and creator posts vie for their screen time. To stand out, outdoor brands must create content that educates, entertains, or excites, positioning your brand as a go-to resource. 

People are watching content all day on their devices, might as well be your content! 

📝 Educate: Teach your audience something new

When you teach your audience something new (whether it’s how to waterproof a tent or the secret to breaking in your hiking boots) you’re instantly elevating your brand from seller to trusted guide. These moments build credibility, spark conversation in the comments and create long-term value as people will save and share this content, coming back to it over time. 

👀 Entertain: Make it fun

There’s been a huge shift in social media use over the past few years, from a way to connect with friends and family towards an entertainment platform. People are turning to apps like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube with a sit back and watch mentality, sometimes even binging entire seasons of television shows or 50-part creator content series. 

Entertaining content humanizes your brand, it invites followers to build an emotional connection that they wouldn’t from simply viewing ads. 

✨ Excite: Inspire with your content

Inspiration is the spark that turns interest into action. A sunrise time-lapse over your flagship store or a high-energy montage of paddlers carving rapids can ignite your audience’s desire to get outside. When you layer beautiful visuals with an emotive call-to-action like “Tag someone you’d hike this with,” you’re not just showcasing products, you’re selling the next great story your followers will live. When people share that content with their friends because they feel so inspired, it drives both engagement and the kind of word-of-mouth marketing that money can’t buy.

By embedding real value into every piece of content, you give people a reason to actually follow your brand. So before you hit publish, ask yourself: why would my audience save or share this? If the answer’s shaky, rework it until the value shines through.

When you lead with consumer-first content, customers will stop scrolling—and start following.

2. Creator Partnerships That Build Loyalty and Lift

In 2025, creators have unmatched influence over consumer behavior and have redefined the entire purchase journey. According to LTK’s 2025 Creator Marketing Trends Report, creators have cemented themselves as trusted figures for consumers, treating their reviews like advice from a close friend with 73% of Gen Z and 57% of Millennials relying on creators to make purchase decisions.

These creator endorsements build brand credibility and loyalty. But this trust isn’t built overnight, it’s cultivated through authentic, ongoing relationships. One-off sponsored posts might spark a momentary boost, but long-term loyalty comes from ongoing collaborations where creators feel like true brand partners, not paid billboards. 

Popfly can help you weave creators into every stage of your funnel from building awareness to driving in-store foot traffic and online conversions. Tap into the world's largest community of trusted outdoor and adventure creators to elevate your brand – from backcountry skiers to desert van-lifers to alpine photographers. 

3. Turn Scrolls Into Sales with Social Commerce

Social media has transformed into a vital sales channel for e-commerce brands. The 2025 Social Commerce Trends Report from DHL found that 70% of global shoppers buy directly through social apps. And social media isn’t just influencing purchases, it’s increasing them with 37% of people saying they shop more frequently and 31% saying they make more impulse purchases. 

What’s interesting though is that consumers don’t show up on social looking to buy—they come for inspiration, stumbling upon products they didn’t even know they needed. That’s why leading with consumer-first content is key.

To capitalize on this shift, brands need to deliver easy, frictionless shopping experiences:

• Integrate shoppable tags across platforms for one click shopping
• Showcase UGC on your website, turning peer reviews into shoppable galleries
• Offer augmented reality try-ons to let customers virtually “test” gear
• Connect your Shopify account to Popfly to seamlessly manage creator gifting campaigns to get your products in the hands of adventure influencers

4. Think Bigger, Move Quicker with AI as Your Creative Companion

AI is no longer a distant, futuristic concept, it’s become a critical tool increasingly integrated into our everyday lives. When it comes to outdoor brands, we like to think of AI as your brainstorming partner, supportive collaborator and trusted sidekick. Use it to help guide your content creation process by sparking ideas, shaping narratives, and streamlining execution.

We see AI not replacing creativity or human connection but as amplifying it. Whether you're crafting a campaign, managing a retail operation, or designing gear for the backcountry, AI is becoming the co-pilot that helps you move faster, think smarter, and connect deeper.

Let AI support your:

• Content Ideation: Brainstorm content ideas by sourcing emerging trends and surfacing fresh ideas.
• Personalization Engines: Sift through customer data like past purchases and browsing behaviors to deliver relevant product suggestions.
• Ad Optimization: Use AI to personalize ads and A/B test different creative versions. Tools like Meta’s Advantage+ will optimize your creative, targeting, placements and budget automatically.

Of course, guardrails are crucial. Always layer in human touch to maintain authenticity and ensure factual accuracy. When used correctly, AI can transform your digital marketing—making it faster, smarter, and more resonant with your audience.

5. Lead With Purpose

Consumers are craving trust and authenticity after years of global disruption. In 2025, brands that clearly articulate their mission and values are pulling ahead. Younger generations are leading the charge with 94% of Gen Z consumers believing companies should address social issues, according to Forbes.

It’s not about taking sides or weighing in on polarizing topics, it’s about consistently showing up in alignment with your values to build trust. According to the Salsify 2025 Consumer Research Report, 87% of consumers say they will pay more for a product because they trust the brand. 

Trust isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s the foundation of modern commerce. Shoppers today aren’t simply buying products; they’re choosing brands they want to connect with, align with, and return to again and again.

So spotlight your environmental initiatives, share authentic stories from the field, and host fundraisers or volunteer events that align with your company values. 

Purpose unites communities and elevates brand value beyond just the gear they sell.

In 2025, winning on social media isn't about shouting louder, it’s about connecting deeper. Outdoor brands that combine meaningful content, authentic creator collaborations and seamless shopping experiences will do more than just capture attention, they’ll build lasting relevance and brand affinity.

Who This Guide Is For: Social Media Managers and Content Creators

This guide is for social media managers, content creators, or small business owners who want to harness UGC to boost engagement without losing their sanity. Maybe you’re struggling to organize fan submissions, keep visuals on-brand, or scale interactive campaigns. If you’ve ever wondered, “How do I manage UGC without it turning into a mess?”, then this is for you. My goal is to share actionable steps and tools that save time, reduce errors, and make your campaigns shine.

Why UGC Matters (and Why It’s Tricky)

User-generated content is like gold for brands in 2025 - it’s authentic, engaging, and builds trust. The psychology behind UGC is compelling: social proof drives purchase decisions: LTK’s national shopper study and social media study (conducted December 2024, 1,500+ participants), revealed UGC boosts consumer trust by 64%. 

For outdoor brands in 2025, UGC is especially powerful social media because its marketing thrives on authentic, adventure-driven content that resonates with passionate communities. Want to dive deeper into strategies for outdoor brands? Check out our guide on social media marketing for outdoor brands in 2025. 

Next, I’ll break down how I use four tools to streamline UGC campaigns, with real examples from my workflow.

My UGC Toolkit: 4 Tools That Save the Day

🎨 1. Canva: Turning Raw UGC into Polished Branded Visuals

What it does:
Canva is my go-to for transforming raw UGC - think fan photos or shaky video reviews - into professional, on-brand visuals. Its drag-and-drop templates, including its amazing brand-kit feature make it easy to add logos, fonts, and colors that match your brand.

How I Use Canva for UGC:

• Testimonials: I take customer reviews from X or Instagram and drop them into Canva’s quote templates, adding the brand’s color palette and logo.
• Stories/Reels: I create templates for community features, like “Fan of the Week,” using user-submitted photos.
• Collages: For a food client, I combined user photos of their dishes into a vibrant collage for a campaign post.

Why it works:
Canva ensures visual consistency, so even raw UGC looks polished. It’s a lifesaver when you need to churn out multiple assets fast. Pro tip: Save your brand’s templates to reuse them across campaigns.

Example: For a fashion client, I used a fan’s Instagram photo of their outfit, added a branded border in Canva, and turned it into a Story that got 3x the usual engagement.

🤝 2. Assembly: Keeping Things Organized

What it does:
Assembly is like a digital project manager for collecting submissions, assigning tasks, and tracking permissions.

How I Assembly It for UGC:

• Organize Submissions: I set up folders for each client to store fan-submitted content, like videos for a food brand’s recipe contest.
• Legal Approvals: Assembly tracks permission forms to ensure we have rights to republish UGC.
• Task Management: I assign team members to review submissions or schedule posts, keeping everyone on the same page.

Why it works:
It is a central hub for all of the logistics, so I’m not drowning in email threads or lost files. This was a game-changer when I managed a 50-submission UGC contest for a tech client.

Example: During a campaign, Assembly helped me track 30+ user videos, ensuring we had signed permissions before posting. No more “Did we get approval for this?” panic.

🧩 3. Popfly: Streamlining Creator Collaboration for UGC Campaigns

What it does:
Popfly is a game-changer for UGC campaign managers, offering a platform to connect with creators, manage collaborations, and track performance - all in one hub. Built to simplify creator partnerships, it’s ideal for brands across industries, including outdoor and adventure, to drive authentic user-generated content.

How I Use Popfly for UGC:

• Discover Creators: I used Popfly’s advanced filters to find creators who align with a brand’s vibe, like sourcing five lifestyle influencers for a beverage campaign focused on summer vibes.
• Collaborate Seamlessly: Popfly’s tools let me share campaign briefs and product details, ensuring creators deliver on-brand content, such as a video series for an outdoor gear brand showcasing their products in action.
• Track Results: Popfly’s dashboard tracks engagement, ROI, and conversions, helping me identify top-performing creators and optimize campaigns in real time.

Why it works:
Popfly saves UGC campaign managers hours by centralizing creator discovery, communication, and analytics. Its intuitive platform makes it easy to manage multiple partnerships, ensuring authentic content that resonates with audiences. Whether you’re running a niche outdoor campaign or a broad lifestyle initiative, Popfly keeps everything organized and efficient.

Example: For an outdoor client, Popfly helped me collaborate with creators who produced 100+ authentic posts, with 75% shared on Instagram Stories, driving a 2x increase in brand engagement.

Ready to simplify your UGC campaigns? 

Explore Popfly for Brands to connect with creators and streamline your workflow today.

🤖 4. ChatGPT: Writing and Scaling UGC Content

What It Does: ChatGPT is my AI sidekick for brainstorming, writing, and optimizing UGC-related content. It’s like having a creative assistant who never sleeps.

How I Use ChatGPT for UGC:

• Captions: I feed ChatGPT a user’s review and ask it to craft a punchy caption that fits the brand’s voice.
• DM Templates: It generates polite, professional messages to request usage rights from fans.
• Repurposing: I use it to summarize long user reviews into bite-sized quotes for posts.
• Ideation: It helps brainstorm campaign ideas, like a “Day in the Life” UGC challenge.

Why It Works: ChatGPT saves time and keeps me from hitting writer’s block. It’s especially handy for scaling content across multiple platforms.

Example: For a tech client, I used ChatGPT to turn a 200-word user review into a 50-character tweet that eventually got 500+ likes.

Building a Foolproof UGC Toolkit 

That almost-posted meme taught me three big tips for managing UGC campaigns:

1. Double-Check Accounts: Always verify you’re logged into the right account before posting. I now use a checklist in Assembly to confirm the client, platform, and content.
2. Centralize Your Tools: Using a mix of Canva, Assembly, Popfly, and ChatGPT keeps everything organized and efficient. Each tool has a clear role, from creation to execution.
3. Plan for Scale: Interactive campaigns on Popfly and automated writing with ChatGPT let me handle multiple clients without burning out.

Final Thoughts: Your UGC Campaigns Can Thrive

Running UGC campaigns is like hosting a great party—you need the right mix of creativity, structure, and tools to keep the vibe alive. By combining Canva’s visual magic, Assembly’s organization, Popfly’s interactivity, and ChatGPT’s writing power, I’ve turned chaotic campaigns into smooth, engaging experiences. Whether you’re managing one brand or ten, these tools can help you avoid meme-level mishaps and make your audience feel like part of the story.