The 2025 Social Playbook: 5 Outdoor Brands Winning with Community & Content

Hi, I’m Maren Hamilton - Director of Global Brand & Community at Popfly. I help outdoor brands and creators grow through smart storytelling and community-led marketing. Before Popfly, I spent over a decade leading social strategy for brands like The North Face, ADT, and Starbucks. My work has earned recognition from The Shorty Awards and consistently driven major organic growth through social-first campaigns. I’m passionate about building engaged digital communities and helping creators turn their content into impact. At Popfly, I get to combine my love for the outdoors with my background in brand and content strategy, and I’m excited to share what’s working!
In 2025, outdoor brands are driving a new era of community-powered growth through social media marketing. In a crowded digital landscape, a select few brands stand out by combining authenticity, community-first content, and scroll-stopping visuals. From empowering women on mountain trails to guerrilla beach branding, these companies have cracked the code on social media.

‍

‍
Wild Rye: Empowering Women with Community Content

Wild Rye anchors their social presence in their mission and values, empowering women’s adventures and creating community in the outdoors. Their Instagram feed goes beyond expected product photography and shows how their gear makes the world a better place, whether that’s protecting public lands or giving their community the opportunity to invest in the brand. 

Seasonal product launches are always tied to tangible causes, making every purchase feel purposeful. This values-first approach keeps followers invested in both the gear and the greater good.

How Wild Rye Nails Social Media Marketing (and How You Can Too)

1. Lead with purpose and align your product drops with cause marketing
2. Invite your community to be more than just consumers, bring them into the brand as investors who are committed to helping you scale
3. Invest in a distinctive aesthetic to build instant recognition and elevate brand perception—color palettes, graphic overlays, shot styles, etc.

‍

Danner: Sustainable Outdoor Brand Marketing 

When you visit Danner’s Instagram, it makes you want to get outside. It’s like an open invitation to strap on boots and explore. Their elevated, moody imagery transports followers into misty mountains and sunlit forests. Beyond beautiful shots, every post educates: from leather-care tutorials to explainers on sourcing responsibly. Their “Recrafting” series documents the journey of worn-in boots returned to mint condition, reinforcing both product durability and the brand’s sustainability values. By interweaving craftsmanship narratives with aspirational visuals, Danner builds trust and inspires action.

Danner’s Sustainability Content Wins & Wisdom

1. Invest in high-quality creator content when selling a premium product
2. Educate your audience to foster long-term loyalty
3. Highlight circularity programs to underscore sustainability claims
4. Use video storytelling to bring behind-the-scenes processes to life

‍

Paka: Storytelling Through Andean Origins

Paka’s social feeds are a love letter to the brand’s birthplace: The Andes Mountains. Every image, whether it’s alpaca herds grazing at sunrise or Quechua artisans on a handloom, evokes a deep sense of place and purpose. Captions don’t just describe product features; they tell the journey from fleece-shearing in remote mountain valleys to fully traceable garments shipped in biodegradable packaging. By centering origin stories and community impact, they set their brand apart on social media where most outdoor companies seem to be following the same playbook and creating a sea of sameness. 

We love that they don’t just tell us their original story, but bring their community along for it.

Lessons From Paka’s Content Strategy

1. Ground your socials in your origin story to forge deep emotional connections with your audience. Nobody wants to see your ads. Everyone wants to hear your story. 
2. Collaborate with creators beyond standard sponsored content, immerse them into your brand to create real impact
3. Discover influencers who amplify sustainable outdoor brands in our guide to Sustainability Focused Influencers to Follow in 2025 and build long-lasting relationships

‍

Sun Bum: Social-First Content with Guerrilla Marketing

Sun Bum is the epitome of “social-first.” Every post feels like a conversation with friends, not once do you feel like you’re being advertised to. From the laid-back beach shots to the behind-the-scenes office shenanigans, their social-native content sees strong engagement.

We love how they infuse the brand’s startup roots with guerilla marketing (and gorilla marketing 😂) into their social strategy, with videos showing stickers around New York City and impromptu “graffiti” sessions in the sand. 

Their launch of Sonny No. 101 perfume is a masterclass in marketing, starting with social listening. Customers were asking for this perfume across social media for years…some apparently even sending knife emojis via DMs demanding it. The rollout was flawless, from teaser videos to giveaways for their most engaged fans.

While other sunscreen brands shout marketing messages across their socials, Sun Bum builds community. And it’s all in the details. Like their “DM 🏖️ for a free air freshener” line in their Instagram bio that turns casual scrollers into brand insiders.

Sun Bum’s Social-First Formula

1. Embrace a conversational, user-generated style to lower barriers and invite your audience in
2. Embed simple, social-only offers to turn followers into ambassadors
3. Sun Bum’s social-first approach turns followers into ambassadors. To scale this strategy, explore our guide on How to Launch an Affiliate Program That Actually Works for community engagement strategies that drive revenue.
4. Solicit feedback in the comments, using social intelligence to inform product line expansions

‍

The North Face: Viral Response Through Reactive Marketing

I have to give a shout out to my professional alma mater here, The North Face is known for incredible reactive marketing moments. You might know about their viral helicopter “raincoat rescue” that turned a customer complaint into a powerful brand storytelling opportunity. 

But it’s not all about grand gestures for them, it’s about surprising and delighting their engaged community of everyday customers.  Like when they sent this guy a jacket and his candid review video absolutely blew up, leading to an entire content series.

The North Face proves that social listening is the secret sauce to curating an engaged online community. They treat unfiltered customer moments as content gold, elevating every day adventures into epic storytelling.

Viral Social Media Lessons From The North Face

1. Build a rapid-response process so you can pivot real-time creator, affiliate, or influencer content into branded content
2. Surprise and delight your customers to deepen loyalty
3. Be candid and authentic with your content
4. To effectively budget for creator partnerships, see our Influencer Marketing Budget Guide for Outdoor, Travel & E-Commerce Brands

‍

How to Build Trust with Your Audience

These five brands all incorporate the following: elevated storytelling, consumer-first content, purposeful creator programs and thoughtful community engagement. To emulate their success:

• Define a clear brand narrative and weave it into every post.
• Truly provide value through your content, don’t just post ads. 
• Partner with creators who genuinely reflect your values.
• Listen and respond to your audience, create a community to build loyalty. 
• For a deeper dive into mastering social media for outdoor brands, check out our guide on Outdoor Industry Digital Marketing Insights

By blending authenticity, creativity, and rapid response, your brand can transform social feeds into vibrant, loyal communities.

Need help turning your content into real brand growth? Popfly helps outdoor brands turn community content into conversion...

‍