I've written a lot in the past about how to use Facebook ads and how to track conversions on Facebook using their conversion tracking pixel. Still almost daily I get asked why any camp would want to run Facebook ads, so I decided to write up a few quick notes. Remember that I worked at Facebook for almost three years before starting Social Summer Camp, so I feel pretty confident in the following reasons that Facebook ads really work for...
Read MoreYesterday I wrote about how to cultivate your personal brand as a camp director or assistant director. Today I am going to quickly cover how to promote your personal brand (if you wish!). Like I mentioned in my previous post, having a personal brand in non-negotiable, you have one even if you don't want one. Which is why it always makes sense to think through your goals both short term and long term in regards to your brand. You don't...
Read MoreEach person has their own individual brand that represents how they portray themselves to the world. For a camp director or assistant director, this personal brand can go very far in helping establish their credibility to new and returning parents. Not all directors are going to want to promote their brand (I'll cover marketing your personal brand in my next blog post), but it still is important to actively cultivate your personal brand. The first step for defining your personal...
Read MoreWith the summer season winding down, it is time for your camp to hold an annual social media planning session. Here is an example of an agenda for this type of meeting: 1. Complete an audit of current social media activity, tools, and analytics 2. Decide if you are going to hire a social media consultant. Does your program need help? Or are you in a good place with the current staff? 3. Brainstorm your main marketing objectives for next year 4. Set a...
Read MoreWhen camp is in session blogging every day comes more naturally than it does the rest of the year. But when camp is over it is extremely important to continue blogging regularly. Regularly meaning at least 1-3 times a week when camp is not in session. It can be hard to come up with interesting and inspiring topics, but here is a quick list of ideas: 1. Repurpose blogs from during the summer to remind everyone of the amazing time they...
Read MoreBefore starting any social media program, it is important to build out your marketing objectives and understand the main goal your camp is trying to reach. Most camps I work with are looking to grow their number of campers, but have never set an actual goal around what that looks like. I often encourage my camps to build a chart to map out exactly what 25%, 50% and 75% growth looks like. For small camps it can be a very...
Read MoreDuring camp it is absolutely imperative for camps to keep their parents and community updated, but it can certainly become a daunting task when you have to update your internal camp software (campminder, bunk1, etc.), Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and the list goes on. I've posted before about how to best create content during camp, but I wanted to share a few additional tips on how much you should be updating your social entities. 1. Update twice a day, collect content...
Read MoreSocial media marketing for summer camps is a full-time job! In fact, when I built out the chart below to estimate how many hours per month a camp should spend on social media, I was stunned to see my estimations top out somewhere around 55 hours per month! This is why hiring a consultant to do social media is so important. In general, the services of Social Summer Camp can take the time spent down to around 15 hours per...
Read MoreAs part of the Social Summer Camp social media program for summer camps, I work with each camp to put together a short, medium and long-term measurement plan. A solid measurement plan is one of the most important aspects of a great social media program. Many summer camps are using social media, but have not figured out how to measure success. If you are running a social media program and not measuring results, try some of these short-term measurement ideas: Using Google...
Read MoreHiring a social media consultant for your summer camp can be extremely overwhelming. I get asked all sorts of questions by camps who are unsure of the process and benefits of hiring a consultant. Some common objections I hear are: I already have a marketing associate on staff I have a social media intern who is responsible for this We already use social media We don't want to invest in social media because it does not drive our business results These...
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