Time to Go Social
Starting and maintaining a fan page on Facebook might sound difficult and extremely time consuming, but similar to the social media giant, camps are all about community and bringing like-minded people, who have shared a similar experience, together. Reason enough to start adding “friends” right now
By Stephen Branstetter I
t is easy for business owners to see social media behemoths like Twitter and MySpace as toys that occupy too much of today's kids’ time, but with Facebook becoming the single most visited web site in the United States as of March 2010, camp owners who dismiss social media risk losing out on the best word-of- mouth advertising tool in the world. Not only has Facebook leapfrogged MySpace to become the king of social media, but site analytics show that the average person spends an incredible 32 minutes on it each visit. Your camp can grab some of that time and it only takes a few minutes to plant your flag in the world of social media.
Getting parents and kids to “like” your camp isn’t difficult, but you do need to take a measured approach. It may be tempting to simply ask your teenager to set up a page for you, but there is a specific strategy you should follow to maximize your social media presence. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to garnering a large and loyal online following. First, you need to be sure that you create a fan page on Facebook and not a personal or group page. According to Facebook’s terms of service, businesses and non-profits are forbidden from creating personal pages. Besides, per- sonal pages are limited to 5000 “friends” while fan pages can rack up unlimited adoration from campers past and present. You also want to avoid creating a “group” page as it had many of the same limitations that personal pages do. Now that your camp has a Facebook fan page, what do you do with it? This part baffles many business owners who already feel crunched for time and may not be as computer savvy as some of their campers, but creating content for
14 Canada Camps Fall 2010
your camp’s page is easy. Pictures are the most engaging way to attract fans and create conversation, and since most camps are picturesque, that’s a great place to start.
Once your photos are up and visible to the general public, be sure to go through and tag everyone who appears in the pictures. This is a very simple procedure that lets you identify each individual person in each photo, and best of all, that person will be notified that they’ve been tagged, which means they’ll likely become a fan of your camp. This is a great way to establish and grow your fan base.
If you are already using online regis- tration and camp management soft- ware, you know how much this kind of
technology can help. However, what if you could combine the power of social networking with your software to cre- ate a program that helps with your menial management tasks and serves as a social media marketing machine? By incorporating computer code into your online registration confirmation page, campers can “like” your camp and your camp will then appear direct- ly on each camper’s Facebook page. It’s quick, easy and the word of mouth can be invaluable. You can also begin posting impor- tant questions, issues and topics to help generate conversation. Ask your fans what sorts of new elements should be added to your camp, and have campers from years past share
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