Blog

Why Facebook ads for summer camps?

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...

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Being your authentic self

I hear a lot from camp directors how many of their campers feel like they can only be their authentic self at camp. I know from my own camp experience too that there is something special about camp that lets you be closer to who you really are than the persona you have to hold up at school. Camp directors hold so dearly the idea that their campers can be so real at camp, yet I often see those same...

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Marketing your personal brand

Yesterday 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...

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Personal branding for summer camp directors

Each 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...

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Implementing the Google Conversion Tracking Pixel

Tracking actions on your summer camp's website is an extremely important part of tracking ROI (return on investment). A few days ago, I wrote about implementing the Facebook Conversion Tracking Pixel. Today, I created this video to help you learn more about implementing the Google Conversion Tracking Pixel on your website. Watch the video below to learn more about why this is an important tool for your camp's success. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqk1GzdJir4&feature=youtu.be...

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Make your Facebook posts engaging: Content

This is the last post in a series of posts around how to make your Facebook posts more engaging. I have already covered imagery and post type, but today I want to focus more on content. I specifically want to cover the following three questions: What should your posts say? What links should you drive to? Which videos/photos should you promote? It can be tempting to post anything and everything to your summer camp's Facebook page. But you should definitely be selective and only...

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Make your Facebook posts engaging: Post type

The next entry in this series on how to make your Facebook posts more engaging revolves around post type. According to SocialBakers, who looked at over 5,000 Facebook posts in the past year, the most engaging posts on Facebook include photos. However, depending on the kind of content you create, other types of posts can be equally engaging for your summer camp: Photo: As mentioned above, this is the most engaging type of post. Camps have amazing imagery and photo collections, so use...

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Make your Facebook posts engaging: Images

Today, I am starting a short series on how to make your Facebook posts more engaging. The first part of the series is going to cover imagery. Luckily, summer camps have great images from their summer photographers, which means they always have an arsenal of photos to use for Facebook posts. Still, I see camps all of the time using images that don't perform well on Facebook. Here are five quick tips to make your Facebook images more engaging: 1. Pictures...

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Social media planning sessions

With 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...

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