CrappieNOW publisher “Crappie Dan” Dannenmueller is intentional about boat angle, background
and fish positioning to ensure quality photos for his social media pages. (Photo: Jeff Samsel)
Social Media Dos and Don’ts
by Jeff Samsel
Learn to create better content and to avoid common social media pitfalls.
As your buddy slips the net under the best crappie of the day, you realize it’ll be a great fish to show off on social media. You’re eager to get your bait back in the zone, though, so there’s a temptation to grab a very quick, zero-thought photo.
To do so is a significant mistake in the mind of CrappieNOW publisher and professional crappie angler Dan Dannenmueller.
“It doesn’t require a major effort but taking a bit of extra time and paying attention to details can make a big difference in the quality of photo you get, whether that’s just to show to friends or to post on social media,” Dannenmueller said, noting that most anglers already carry a quality camera in the form of a phone and simply need to be intentional about the set-up.
Dannenmueller understands the value of quality content for social media. CrappieNOW and its sister publication, CatfishNOW have nearly 50,000 social media followers and a combined reach approaching 150,000. Dannenmueller also maintains personal social profiles and angler pages for himself and for the Crappie Mates team, which consists of him and his wife, Mary Sue, along with contributing significant photo content to sponsors.
Photo Considerations
Think first about the positioning of the boat and where the angler holding the fish should stand. You want the sun on the fish and the angler’s face and the background free of distracting elements and of rods or trees that might appear to be growing out of the angler’s head.
He also clears noteworthy clutter in the boat and advises any angler getting photos to put aside drinks, cigarettes or anything else that would tend to draw someone’s eye away from the primary photo elements.
CrappieNOW Editor Richard Simms is also a fishing guide. When he’s taking photos of clients, and their partner is in the background, he always tells the partner to turn and look at the camera, saying with a smile, “Everybody in the picture has to look like they care that Joe caught a fish.”
Dannemueller says, “Whoever is taking the photos needs to pay attention to those things. If you look for them, you’ll see things when you frame a photo that you might not notice otherwise.”
“If you post a picture of every fish you catch with one post after another that all look the same,
people are going to lose interest in a hurry.” ~ Dan Dannenmueller, Publisher, CrappieNOW
When Dannenmueller is holding a fish, he takes care to hold it at an angle that displays the fish well. He never “long arms” fish as an attempt to make them look larger, knowing that looks phony, harms credibility and make social media viewers scroll past posts.
It is also important to make sure the fish isn’t blocking the angler’s face, or anyone else in the photo.
It is also a nice touch if the lure is still in the fish’s mouth, but be sure the lure isn’t over the fish’s eye (which really robs life from a photo) and that neither the rod nor the line is crossing in a bad place. Again, these are things the photo’s subject often will be unaware of that that need should be noted by the person holding the camera.
Taking a good fishing photo should always involve more than just making sure the fish is in the picture. The devil is often in the details.
Engaging Posts
Looking beyond photos, Dannenmueller prioritizes keeping posts interesting, seeking to provide information about the areas where he is fishing or how he is catching fish, and telling a story.
Simms often shares some personal tidbits about clients that make them appear more “human” to anyone who reads his posts, even if they don’t personally know the person in the photo.
Dannenmueller warns against making posts too long, noting that social media users are looking for quick bites and will scroll right past anything that looks a little long to read.
He also noted that there’s a balance between under-posting and over-posting to keep followers interested in a page. Posting too infrequently hurts with social media algorithms and prevents people from ever seeing posts while posting too frequently hampers followers’ interest.
“If you post a picture of every fish you catch with one post
after another that all look the same, people are going to lose interest in a hurry,” Dannenmueller said.
Closely related, Dannenmueller seeks to vary his posts. While photos with fish remain primary for an angler audience, he likes to mix in posts that tell other parts of the story, including wildlife he spots on the water, sunrises, scenic spots, angling action shots and photos of the gear that has been delivering success. He also likes to share photos of more than one person interacting, especially when he has young anglers on his boat.
The Social Game
Dannenmueller noted that each social media platform is unique in its users and in the kinds of content that perform best. As importantly, all platforms remain dynamic. To maximize exposure and build pages, it’s critical to pay attention to the kinds of content that show up the most frequently in your feed.
That means paying attention to orientation and shapes of photos and videos, the balance of photo and video posts and the highlighting of various types of content, including traditional posts, carousels, stories and reels and seeking to produce the types of content that match current trends on individual platforms.
Instagram, as an example, is currently emphasizing reels over traditional posts – even other video posts. Short vertically oriented videos built into reels, which can be done directly with the Instagram app, will generally be shown to more people than other types of content. Of course, that’s right now and could change!
Because social media is social by nature, one of the best ways build a sense of community and engagement from your posts is to comment regularly on others’ posts. Closely related, when your posts prompt comments or questions, whether in the post feed or in the form of messages, responding quickly can go a long way toward building your page’s following.
Dannenmueller also pointed toward the value of adding appropriate hashtags to posts to help new users find posts and hopefully build interest in your page.
Many elements of the social media game can help you build stronger pages, and the rules are ever-changing. That said, the most critical key to maintaining interest is producing interesting content that is visually appealing, and that begins with intentional effort when you bring a good crappie into the boat!
(Jeff Samsel is an all-species angler and writer who has been “writing fish stories” for a living more than 30 years. He currently manages the blog on Lurnet.com and runs more than a dozen social media pages for fishing lure companies.)
