We love to highlight other fantastic male bloggers and influencers, so here we go again! Greg and Colin run an awesome enterprise, Eh Canada Travel where it's part blog, part podcast, part marketing agency, and a lot of other parts. These guys are the epitome of influencers that figured out a way to do what they love and make money doing it by not just plugging ads into their content but by leveraging their influence to provide value.
You guys are all over the place as content marketers, influencers, speakers, podcasters, and probably 25 more things that I haven't discovered yet. How did you get started?
(eh Greg) Both of us, learned a lot in our previous lives working the “suit and tie” life of corporate Canada. Colin, hospitality and myself international marketing. It was a life of long hours with little satisfaction. At that time living life came last. That did not sit well with us. When we teamed up in 2002, we both brought our skills from of our previous lives, and got to work on what we love to do – travel, explore, adventure and road trip. How can we make money at it? Then came the Eh Canada Travel website, blog, talk show and our small and rural community marketing program called “Experience Community”. All are winning awards. In a “nut-shell”, it all came down to quality of life over quantity of life. It was not about who has the most toys anymore. It became about who had the most life experiences. We consider ourselves very wealthy, when adventures and experiences are used to measure a life.
Now on the Bucket List is to hook up with Mr. Mancation, James Hills, and do some adventuring.
What's it like traveling together as brothers?
(eh Colin) Awesome! We both like adventures in a big way. We always joke around that we are collectors of bumps and bruises. Bottom line, what works for us is that there is no filter. We like that. No bullshit. All is real. We talk innovation. We create. We explore. We experience. It is pretty cool to always have blood around who is willing to explore and experience the same things you like when you want to. I know this might sound unrealistic, but Bro and I have never had a fight while working together. Teasing yes! Lots of it. But never any yelling, and punching.
You guys have travelled all over Canada, what are some of the places you are most proud of when it comes to sharing your country with others around the world?
(eh Greg) Ah Man! That is a “toughy”. I would have to say, most proud, would have to be our abundance of wilderness back-country and our national, provincial, territorial, regional, and community parks systems. (Canada Parks: https://www.ehcanadatravel.com/parks-trails.html ) Some of our greatest adventures, memories, video and photographs have come from our activities exploring the wilderness back-country and the parks of Canada. Plus, the big bonus is that these parks and wilderness areas come with so many adventure opportunities like horseback riding, kayaking, bird watching, mountain biking, backpacking, hiking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, golfing, wildlife sightings to name a few. If you do not believe us check out our page of all the adventures in Canada to explore. https://www.ehcanadatravel.com/canada-things-to-do.html
What are some tips you have for planning a successful RV road trip?
(eh Colin) That is funny. No matter how much we plan, stuff always happens when traveling in the Maple Leaf Bomber (our nickname for our RV). But here are some of the basics. (1) Know your distances. Canada is 9,984,670 square kilometers in size. There is a whack of kilometers (miles) of gorgeous wilderness forests, lakes, mountains, grasslands and rivers in between some of our civilization pods up here in Canada. Regardless of rumors I do not know your friend in Toronto nor Vancouver; (2) Check Gas. Do not take chances that a gas station is open in the next small town. Could be spending the night until they open in the morning; (3) Internet and cell? That depends on if you are near an urban area, or some mid to large community, otherwise it can be challenging. (4) Bring a camera, video and note pad wherever you go; (5) When you venture off on a self guided adventure away from the motorhome, please tell someone in case something goes wrong.
I find that one of my greatest assets is being able to see both sides of the industry, brand as well as blogger. You guys clearly do too. What are some of the things you wish hospitality brands better understood about working with influencers?
(eh Greg) I believe brands should make an effort to have a better understanding of (1) the long term effects of a good influencer article when it gets traction on social media and positions well on search engines for popular search terms. (2) the overwhelming statistics pointing to the high viewing numbers of experience (influencer) stories over corporate messaging and (3) the 84% of B2B buyers who say a sales referral from trusted sources like influencers started the purchasing process for them.
What are some things you wish influencers understood better about working with hospitality and travel brands?
(eh Colin) I am afraid there is not much here we can comment on because it always seems influencers are doing all the work talking, educating and backing it up with results. The brands seem to be 5-10 years slower in adapting new marketing and influencer trends regardless of the statistics in the market place. I guess if there is one thing influencers should understand about brands is that they do not understand influencers.
While Canada might not be a good fit for Americans this summer, what would be your picks for a dad looking to take his family somewhere in Canada next year?
