How to Create Standout Turkey Hunting Content for Social Media
By the time February rolls around, social media feeds are overflowing with turkey hunting content, clogged with short Instagram reels of turkeys strutting in open fields, hunters showing off their ability to purr like a hen, hero shots with long beards hanging over an old stump, and companies showcasing their products in the fanciest edits the industry has ever seen. It doesn’t stop until the calendar turns the page to June, and turkey hunting addicts like myself realize the glorious days of another spring turkey hunting season has come to an end.
With so much competition in the turkey hunting niche, how can you make your hunting content stand out? Whether you’re a hunting brand, a content creator, or just someone who loves spring gobbler season, here are the top strategies to maximize engagement and differentiate your brand.
Prioritize Authenticity in Your Turkey Hunting Content
The most successful turkey hunting videos aren’t just the ones with the best cinematography—they’re the ones that feel real and relatable. A few years ago, “cool” edits and high-end footage were enough to gain traction. It’s gotten to the point where there are so many talented content creators in the woods with a camera that nearly everyone is making those edits and capturing the same shots. In order to stand out, you have to be authentic and show moments people can relate to. Whether it’s a 15-second clip of a dad and son full of elation after a successful hunt, or a beaten down hunter giving a comedic monologue of how they just got dupped by a longbeard, people want to see those real moments of real people and will stop scrolling to watch them.
In 2024, our team spent a week in Colorado chasing birds through snowcapped mountains and towering canyons. We filmed the hunt, but we filmed it exactly how it happened. No fake reenactments or bolstering the details. We didn’t notch a tag on any turkeys but the video still turned out to be successful, surmounting 13,000 plus views on YouTube and generating fantastic still images and short video clips that several of our clients utilized in various marketing efforts. Hunters who viewed this content resonated with the honest depiction of the hunt and actually enjoyed the fact that we were unsuccessful as everyone can relate to the fact that not every hunt is going to end in success.
High-Quality Edits Still Matter—But Make Them Unique
Contrary to my point above, “cool” edits and breathtaking footage of birds still need to be part of your content strategy, it just can’t be all of it. If every other company is putting out content that makes people say “woah,” you have to be in that race too, but don’t copy what everyone else is doing…do it your own way.
To make your content recognizable, establish a signature content style by:
- Choosing a distinct music style that fits your brand identity
- Applying a consistent color grade to all your videos and images
- Using recognizable motion graphics or video effects
You have to implement creativity that is different from the competition and unique to your company’s brand image. This is a short Instagram reel we created for our client, TrueTimber, showcasing a turkey we filmed during a hunt in South Carolina. At the time we posted this reel, we knew short clips of turkeys were performing well, but we also identified a music track that we knew was trending on Instagram at the time. Combining the two, the video reached 18,700 organic views and over 1,300 likes. That said, you have to get in the woods and film the moments that will allow you to create those edits. Those memorable videos of gobblers strutting at sunrise aren’t going to film themselves!
Don’t Overproduce Every Piece of Content
While high-production hunting content has its place, not everything needs to be polished. Many successful brands are shifting toward more raw, unfiltered content because audiences crave authenticity.
According to the 2025 Creative Trends Report by Motion, 42% of top-performing ads (from a $100M+ ad spend study) were lo-fi productions—shot on smartphones with minimal editing.
This is especially true for the hunting and outdoor industry, where overproduced content can sometimes feel too staged. Instead, mix in more behind-the-scenes footage, raw hunting reactions, and quick, off-the-cuff clips shot on an iPhone.
Pro Tip: Use less-produced content to drive traffic to your high-quality videos. When a casual post goes viral, leverage that momentum to promote your premium hunting films or product showcases.
Give Your Audience a Digital Escape to the Turkey Woods
Most people scrolling Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube are stuck indoors, wishing they were turkey hunting instead. As a marketer creating and publishing turkey hunting content to promote your brand, it’s your job to give that audience an escape that is as close to the real thing as possible. I don’t care how good your videos or photos are, or how far AI advances, there will never come a time when seeing it through a screen will replicate the real thing perfectly. However, the right content strategy can make your audience feel immersed in the hunt. If you can make your audience feel like they’re right there in the turkey woods, your turkey hunting content will stand out, boost engagement, and drive more sales for your brand.