Summer Camp Marketing Tips From the Pros

Marketing – a basic necessity and an absolute must for any and every business. Even though the tools and strategies and the way we do marketing have changed and evolved over the years, it has always remained just as important. Today with the world being a smaller place and more connected, effective camp marketing has helped local camps receive national recognition. Several new platforms offer immense potential for smaller summer camps to flourish. Camp marketing today has become a well defined and structured entity in itself and is considered as one of the most valuable aspects of a summer camp business.

Like every other business, a summer camp also requires effective marketing to drive traffic and increase one’s visibility. The competition is so high in every field that, sometimes, it’s only marketing that can make one business stand out in the competition. One needs to use several tools and devise various strategies to be able to effectively market one’s camps. The most important marketing strategy is to know your target audience. For a summer camp, the target audience is children and parents. The age gap and difference in perception of the target audience makes marketing a summer camp a real challenge. The strategies must be able to convince as well as attract both children and parents. Here’s the game plan:

Collecting Data for Camp Marketing

Whether you own a new summer camp or a successfully running camp, you always use more and more data. Emails, phone numbers, and addresses of potential campers are the most important data points for you to collect. They will help you send out marketing messages and notifications. Start building a community by collecting these data points from your website by adding subscribe buttons. Or start an awesome Facebook or twitter page to attract followers.

Work with Schools for Camp Marketing

Involve nearby schools to help you market your summer camp. Send out brochures and flyers to parents. This will help grow your visibility and maximize your chances of receiving a positive response from a large group of interested customers. Working with the school gives your summer camp credibility.

Online Directories for Camp Marketing

There are several online summer camp directories that enable you to list your camp and get noticed. It is effective and gets a great response. American Camp Association is a great example of a directory that parents trust.

Think like a Parent for Camp Marketing

While it’s kids who you will deal with, your main customers are the decision makers- the parents. When curating any strategy and even sending out any information think more from the parent’s perspective. Imagine what kind of camp you would want your kids to go to. Then think about how you would find the camp.

Design Materials for Camp Marketing

For a summer camp, design plays an important role. The brochures, emails or flyers you send must be visually attractive and clearly, highlight all your strengths. Add a lot of pictures and colors that will help your customers imagine the fun and excitement you are offering. Here, you are targeting the kids too!

Technological Support for Camp Marketing

Make sure your camp is well equipped with all the necessary technological support that allows parents to understand your offer as well as make it easy for them to register. You may not realize it, but the registration process can hugely impact your camp enrollment. Help your marketing process by using quality camp registration software. Make sure your camp website is updated and mobile friendly.

Referrals are Great for Camp Marketing

Giving incentives for bringing referrals has and will always work! Encourage existing customers to build your network.

Keep Parents Connected for Camp Marketing

Small but significant ways of keeping the parents connected with the daily activities of their kids will go a long way. Sending out pictures, happy birthday cards, a thank you note or a holiday greeting card is all effective ways to build your camp name. This takes effort, but when done right will develop strong relationships. Parents will feel comfortable sending their kids to your camps. This could mean returning campers for decades.

Innovative, Creative and Consistent  Camp Marketing

These three things will always boost your camp marketing efforts. Be creative in your ideas and innovate new strategies from time to time to market your camp. Never stick to a basic and overused idea! You also need to be consistent as marketing is never a one-time affair. When you stop- someone else takes over!

You understand marketing is important; so think like a parent and imagine like a child and you’ll have the most effective marketing strategies.