Is Your Bragging Board Brag-Worthy?

The largest outdoor retailer in my hometown is Sportsman’s Warehouse. I’m the kind of guy that drives my wife nuts. I go in at least once a week and probably only buy something once a month. I just like to look around and as I leave, I always pay homage to the bragging board.

Our store has two boards, both of which are nearly completely full. One is for hunting and the other for fishing. Most are photos of trophies which were harvested somewhere in our region of eastern Idaho or western Wyoming. There are a few pictures from Alaska and the occasional photo from Africa. Sadly, I have no photos up there but that is another story.

Why do outdoorsmen like to look at the bragging board? I believe the reason is due to our primal urge to one-up the other guy. You got a wide 5X5 bull? You should see my 6X7 with heavy beams! Men have been competing since time began, and that is not a bad thing. It demands we be our best! It requires dedication, hard work and sacrifice! And like most males in the animal kingdom, we want to flaunt our stuff! Thus the birth of bragging boards.

That is all well and good, and at least for the men reading this it makes sense, but how does that help me run my business? Images and videos are powerful. Can anyone forget the image of the young student in Tiananmen Square standing in front of a tank? Or the young Afghan girl who graced the cover of National Geographic? Or, perhaps my favorite, the iconic Ansel Adams photo of the Grand Teton taken from a bluff overlooking the Snake River? These images evoke emotion and create a powerful connection in our minds. You can harness this energy in your business if you do it the right way.

So often I look at a website and I see a lot of text, but very few photos. Instead of writing about the amount of king salmon you supposedly catch…SHOW IT TO ME! This adds credibility and evokes much more emotion than mere words. You can add these powerful images to your website, Facebook page, tweet them, or place them on your blog. Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but they can also be worth thousands of dollars by helping you sell your services. If you do not currently own a decent digital camera, invest in one. And yes, I purposefully used the word “invest.” These images will help you capture the emotion your clients experience while hunting or fishing with you. Those images are priceless.