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Capturing Summer Camp Customers Post-Tour

Posted on July 31, 2018
in Social Strategies
by Blake Sunshine
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Summer camp tours are winding down and camp families are starting to make their final decisions about camp for next summer. While some families want to make a decision quickly post-tour, it is very common for some families to wait until closer to the early bird deadline to make a final decision. So what can you do to help turn these touring families into customers? Show them great content- I'm always shocked at how camps don't specifically advertise to families who...

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More Social Media Content Does Not Equal Better

Posted on July 20, 2018
in Social Strategies
by Blake Sunshine
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Anyone who has ever been a client of Social Summer Camp knows that we recommend posting daily on social media during the summer. We recommend daily posting because of 1) increased attention on our social media pages and 2) the quality of content available during the summer. However, I've noticed a trend recently where camps are posting 3, 4 or sometimes even up to 5 times a day during the summer. The bad news for these camps though is that...

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Should My Summer Camp Advertise Through The Fall?

Posted on July 11, 2018
in Social Strategies
by Blake Sunshine
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As visiting day approaches and camp starts winding down, I get asked one question A LOT by my clients. "Now that summer is over, can I take a break from advertising?" Is it really worth spending money on ads through the the fall? The answer is (obviously) a resounding yes, but I wanted to explain why we think it is so important. Don't Lose Momentum Summer is the most important marketing time of the year. You create daily content for social media,...

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Instagram Aims at YouTube: IGTV

Posted on June 21, 2018
in Social Tools
by Blake Sunshine
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Today Instagram announced a brand new app for watching long-form video on Instagram called IGTV. Videos posted to Instagram have long been limited to only 60-seconds, which means that most users still rely on YouTube for long-form video. Now you will be able to upload hour long videos to IGTV. Things that make this app unique are: Videos are full screen and vertical. Most people prefer watching content the same way they hold their phone, so this is a nice addition...

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Testing Out Dynamic Creative for Facebook Ads

Posted on October 19, 2017
in Social Tools
by Blake Sunshine
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When creating Facebook ads it can be very tempting to only include a few different photos or text variations. However, testing different creative is the key to a successful ad campaign, which is why it is so exciting that Facebook has launched dynamic creative. According to Facebook: "Dynamic creative accepts the basic components of a Facebook ad and automatically explores a series of ad variants based on these components. The system converges on creative components that deliver the most efficient results...

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As Snapchat’s Losses Continue to Climb, Instagram’s Stories Soar

Posted on August 16, 2017
in Social Tools
by Blake Sunshine
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Last November, Instagram launched Stories, a feature that closely resembled the photo and video sharing application Snapchat. Since then, Snapchat has experienced a decline in daily users and engagement. This has led many to believe that the relatively new Instagram feature encouraged users to stay on the application instead of using Snapchat for their temporary video and photo postings. What might have caused this shift from Snapchat to Instagram Stories? First, Instagram users are much easier to locate than Snapchat users. If...

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Heading Into Summer: What’s New at Summer Camps in 2017

Posted on June 1, 2017
in Camp Inspiration
by Blake Sunshine
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The weather is warming up, school is letting out and you can just feel that summer is in the air! This year the American Camp Association reports that more than 14 million children will attend camp in the U.S. at one of the more than 14,000 day and resident camps. While many things about the unique summer camp industry remain the same, there are a few interesting changes this summer. Camp tuition prices are rising, making the potential customer base for...

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Advertising During The Summer for Summer Camps

Posted on May 24, 2017
in Social Media Roundup
by Blake Sunshine
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Many camps stop advertising during the summer. I've written in detail before about why you shouldn't do that, but if you camp decides to try out during summer advertising below is a great plan to follow: Promote your best content to friends of fans With daily posting during the summer you should have a lot of new content coming out! Use this content and promote it to your friends of current fans in target zip codes. We want potential customers...

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Quick Tips for Phone Call Follow Up

Posted on May 11, 2017
in Social Strategies
by Blake Sunshine
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Phone follow up is absolutely crucial for summer camps reaching out to prospective families. We have included some of our favorite follow up tips below. Phone Call Follow Up Quick Tips: Avoid the opening statement blunder: “I was calling to follow up on your info request.” “I am calling to see if you had any questions.’ “I just wanted to make sure you got my e-mail.” “The reason for my follow up was to see if you had come to a...

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During Summer Marketing Strategy

Posted on April 12, 2017
in Uncategorized
by Blake Sunshine
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Ever since I started Social Summer Camp, I’ve been baffled at how summer camps focus on marketing and recruiting all winter and spring long, only to completely stop marketing when summer starts. This isn’t just bad business, this is a crucial mistake! Summer is THE most important marketing time of the year. During this time, we have an amazing opportunity to amplify your message to the friends and family of your campers and significantly grow word of mouth. What we do...

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