The Social Summer Camp March social media newsletter is now live! You can read it here. This month I cover the following topics: Summer marketing plans, Facebook buying WhatsApp and How to increase your Facebook reach. Don't forget to subscribe to continue to see my newsletter. Thanks for reading!...
Read MoreCamps often send out brochures to potential or current campers during the year to give them a taste of camp. Frequently, camps’ social media accounts are left off this brochure. Rather than making a new brochure, camps can make a small card and send it out along with the brochure. This is a fairly inexpensive way to ensure that all camp families have access to your social media networks. Here is an example of a social media card from Birds iView....
Read MoreOne of my awesome clients started reading Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook and asked me to join in with her for a work-related book club. This is the third book from award winning social media expert, Gary Vaynerchuk. We both found the book fascinating and I wanted to share some learnings with you all here. This book is a social media blueprint on how to jab, meaning to excite and delights your customer, on the right social media platforms at the...
Read MoreI get asked pretty frequently if camps should use Facebook promoted posts or create an ad using ads manager. My answer is always the same, always create an ad!! Why you ask? 1. Targeting- When you create a promoted post Facebook limits your targeting to "fans and friends of fans," or basic geo and interest targeting. When you create an ad using Facebook ads manager you get a lot more targeting options that will help you reach your audience without wasting...
Read MoreFacebook just announced that they are buying WhatsApp for $16B!!! According to Facebook, "WhatsApp has over 450M MAUs, with 70% of those active each day. In a staggering comparison, Facebook also notes that the messaging volume of WhatsApp approaches the SMS volume of the entire global telecom industry — and that it’s adding 1M users a day." So what does this mean for camps?? There is definitely a shift going on where messaging is becoming an important part of daily life. Right...
Read MoreTravis Allison and I just hosted our second ever Facebook Secrets for Summer Camp Marketing webinar! He focused on the social content side, while I discussed social ads. I absolutely love collaborating with Travis because of his deep understanding of the camp industry. If you missed the webinar, you can watch it here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIHVrgSd8FI&feature=youtu.be...
Read MoreI wrote a lot about holiday marketing for camps this past year! Now that the holidays are over, Facebook released some information on how consumers shopped using Facebook over the holidays of 2013. Here are some interesting stats I wanted to share with you all: According to Facebook, this was the holiday shopping lifecycle: "Before: Shoppers start with a plan but are open to discovery During: Mobile is perceived as a hero for shoppers and Facebook is a key companion After: Once the presents...
Read MoreWhen I spoke at CampMinder Camp a few weeks ago, I was on a panel discussing Twitter. Prior to the panel I brainstormed a few ways that camps can use Twitter and I wanted to share them below. How camps can use twitter: - Promotion (sign up more campers with conversion tracking) - Real-time information sharing (specifically during camp) - Cross promotion with partners and other brands - Connect with mommy bloggers - Reach new target populations (22% of online African American users are Twitter users,...
Read MoreWhile I certainly don't think camps should make it a huge part of their marketing strategy, there is something interesting to be said for camps using Buzzfeed. In fact one of my favorite Buzzfeed articles this year was about summer camps. If your camp is looking for a great way to engage campers, consider making a list on Buzzfeed. Example lists could be: 1. 21 ways you know you went to Camp Name 2. 10 things only campers know 3. 15 throwbacks from...
Read MoreInstagram is a social media tool rapidly taking the world by storm. According to Instagram there are 150 million active monthly members with an average of 55 million posts per day. With this many users, it is no surprise that brands use this social media tool as a way to reach customers and potential customers. Many current brands are expanding from traditional media outlets and joining Instagram. Brands from Converse to Starbucks to Nike and even the NFL are joining Instagram...
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