Employing Social Media Creators and Influencers to Retain Female Anglers – An Application of the Find Your Best Self Campaign

According to previous surveys and license dashboard work, churn rates, or the percentage of anglers not renewing their licenses the next year, have averaged just under 50% for the past 10 years. In 2021, MAFWA states reported an overall angler churn rate of 44%, while the female angler churn was 53%. In the Midwest female anglers represented an estimated 37% of the overall angler population. In Southeastern states, the overall churn rate was 53%, and the female angler churn rate was 65%. In the US the reported annual churn rate was 50.4% with 46% of survey respondents being female having a churn rate of 56%. (Data courtesy of Southwick Associates data dashboard.) High churn rates, and the reported higher churn rate amongst women is alarming. Women are more likely than men to lapse after purchasing an angling license, meaning female anglers may be dropping out at rates that result in little or no net gains in female participation. Reducing churn will benefit retention and has the potential to increase conservation funding for states and organizations. This project will be a partnership between the Midwest and Southeastern Associations of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA and SEAFWA), the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS), influencers/creators, and participating states. The purpose of this project is to utilize the research and messaging assets recently developed by RBFF (Find Your Best Self) and the networks and reach of social media creators to reach female anglers around the Midwest and Southeast Regions. The project will track female angler churn rates in participating states, design and implement social media video campaigns to encourage continued participation and measure their effect. Influencers/creators will create content throughout the year and MAFWA and SEAFWA will cooperate with participating states to organize placement of online content (videos and resources accentuating the fun, and family benefits of angling). Our goal is to create content with these influencers that has a shelf life of at least 5 years. Digital ads, emails, and additional outreach will be incorporated. Participating states will be required to provide local expertise to develop the videos, advise on outlets for placement of the videos, and will place the videos on sites they select. Placement will be targeted to regional angling opportunity areas such as the driftless area, Missouri River, Great Lakes, Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, large lake systems (i.e. Kentucky Lake), the Ohio River, etc. Videos will be family friendly depictions of the regional features available such as communities, resorts, eating establishments, and angling opportunities. Outreach will target female anglers, particularly those in the Friendly, Occasional, Social Dabbler and Zen personas identified by Southwick Associates (2020), all of which reported that an invitation from friends or family members would be a motivation to fish more. Control samples will be held and the impact of the content will be analyzed and reported. Video performance will also be measured by analytics including tracking video click-throughs and views.