Once your school year has closed, your school’s summer camp picks up right where your academic program left off. A new group of students arrives on campus ready to learn, discover, and soak up the summer sun with new friends.

But planning for a steady stream of campers begins months before families break out the sunscreen and lemonade stands. Don’t get burned: preparation can’t be an afterthought.

A successful summer enrollment depends on your camp’s digital marketing strategy today, and if your school hosts a specialized summer camp like an athletic, STEM, art, or academic program, spreading the word and attracting the right families is a must.

In late winter and early spring, Google Trends shows there’s a spike in searches for “summer camps near me,” so now is the time to put your plan in place.

Here are the strategies for marketing your school’s summer camp.

1. Be at the top of local search listings

To capture the attention of local families, you’ll want your school’s summer camp to be at the top of local searches. As families search “summer camps near me,” they’ll be served local results and that includes data from Google Maps. To improve your summer camp’s local ranking, use Google Business Profile to update (or claim) your information for this season. Make sure you:

• Verify your location, address, and phone number
• Keep your hours accurate
• Manage & respond to reviews as appropriate
• Add photos of your programs
• Link to your website
• Link to your social accounts

Holton-Arms’ summer camp, Creative Summer, has a great presence on Google Maps. And with supporting contact information and content to showcase the school’s summer program, all the resources needed to keep families in the Bethesda, Maryland area interested are all right here in the map results.

2. Audit your SEO and page settings

Related to your Google Business Listing, your website’s title & meta descriptions are going to play a critical role in ranking higher for local listings and search engine optimization (SEO). When naming your summer camp page titles and their descriptions, add popular (but relevant) search terms, including

• Best summer camps for [child’s interest]
• Summer camps in [region]
• Top summer camps for [child’s age range]

Once again, Holton-Arms School’s SEO game is on point. Through Composer’s page settings, the school has worked its camps name, as well as phrases and keywords like “summer camp, in-person programs in 2023, and sports camps,” into its title and description to entice users to click. That strategy would pair well with families looking for a program just like theirs.

3. Improve your school website experience

A mobile-friendly website with a great user experience is a must for your marketing efforts. It’s even more critical because your summer program could be the first introduction to your school for new families. Showcasing the value of your summer programs with a mobile-friendly microsite includes a simple sitemap, large images and text, and comprehensive navigation.

Carroll School’s summer camp website is a great example of bright, easy-to-access calls-to-action (CTAs) for families to browse their site on the go. And since families may just be browsing your site on a mobile device and not yet ready to enroll, Carroll School has a branded “more information” form embedded directly on their website with Finalsite Forms. It’s a great option to keep families engaged and make your office available to answer any questions.

4. Create incentives to boost early registrations

Providing that little extra *nudge* to get families to register can help spread the word and boost registrations for your summer camp programs. Engage a targeted audience and consider adding these incentives to help seal the deal for families.

• Early bird discounts
• Multiple sibling discount
• Referral programs
• First-timer discounts
• Flash sales
• Financial aid

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy put its early bird discount front and center on its homepage with a Page Pop — a great way to get users engaged with a timely announcement.

5. PPC and social media advertising campaigns

Investing in pay-per-click advertising and social media campaigns shouldn’t be reserved for your school’s marketing and admissions departments; budgets should include digital marketing for your summer programs, too.

Paid ads are needed to burst through the bubble of your community and find new audiences. Besides, what better way to fuel the pipeline of new families for your admission and marketing teams than to have new campers experience a fun-filled summer on campus?

Pay-per-click advertising for summer camps

PPC ads are valuable when you want to get to the top of search results — fast. If your camp is new, or you’re hoping to attract families who are actively searching for camps in your area, investing in paid ads might be the way to go — just be sure you have an optimized landing page to engage users and convert them into enrolled campers.

Social ads for summer camps

Ads for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are a great place to start when working with a small budget. Furthermore, you can create a look-alike audience of families who may be interested in what your summer camp has to offer, based on your current fans and families.

The Chestnut Hill School launched ads on Facebook to promote its summer camp in a competitive Massachusetts market. It’s a great way to increase awareness and engage users who are already on social media, located within a particular area, or interested in related content. And with great visuals for multiple versions of their ad, they're sure to catch the eye of a family interested in creative arts, theater, sports, or science.

6. Automated email marketing campaigns

Part marketing, part communications, an automated email from your summer program’s office can help engage current and prospective families. Even during your camp’s “off-season” an email that promotes your summer offerings, a countdown until registration opens, or important information about early-bird discounts or deadlines can help market your camp.

For current families:

For current families and returning campers, make sure to include important sign-up information in your regular newsletter or stand-alone announcements about program details. As families return from winter break, they’ll set their sites on warmer months and start making their summer plans. Don’t be left out!

For prospective families:

Make sure to engage your prospective families with what your camp is all about. If they’ve inquired recently or in previous years, let them know about what’s in store for this summer. So often, summer camps serve as an introduction to your year-round academic programs, faculty, and facilities, and represent an essential opportuntiy for your admissions office to make introductions.

St. Mary’s Ryken sent an email to families announcing it was receiving registration for its camps, highlighting the schedule of its favorite returning sessions, as well as its new offerings. Schedule and set these regular announcements ahead of time, then schedule automatic reminder emails based on open rates and engagement levels with Finalsite Workflows.

7. Tell your camp’s story with video

When it comes to communicating a story, few mediums are as impactful as video. Whether it’s a 30-second ad, live footage, or a professionally produced marketing video, video is one of the most popular and effective ways to quickly engage your audience. 

Furthermore, video is preferred by 80 percent of people over the written word, and as user-generated video continues to dominate social media, 60 percent of consumers think user-generated video continues to be more authentic and trustworthy than brand content.

Queue the rock music, the video embedded at Santa Catalina’s site pumps you up for what’s sure to be an amazing summer. It’s well-produced and captures the excitement and energy of its all-girls summer camp. Bonus points for the call to register on the title slide at the end!

Similarly, Rumsey Hall’s video embedded on their summer camp’s webpage is a montage of various moments through the camp. It works because it's able to capture a range of opportunities and activities for campers to explore.

8. Offer a summer camp open house — in winter

In the grasp of winter, it can be tricky to convey the experiences of your summer program to families. (“Trust us, there’s green grass everywhere!” ) As registration opens, make a splash by offering an open house for families to gain a better sense of what to expect during the summer months. It’s a great way for families to tour campus, see the facilities, and meet with program directors to ask questions about the camp.

Hotchkiss School offered a virtual open house for its Summer Portal Program. It’s easy to increase awareness through a Finalsite Page Pop, just like Hotchkiss did, and since it’s a virtual open house, it’s a convenient, low-commitment option for families looking for more information, especially if they’re from out of town.

Key takeaway

Your school’s summer camp planning begins today! Implementing a strategy that involves local search and SEO, digital advertising, and nurturing families with incentives that lead back to your school’s website will help those registrations fill up in no time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. As Finalsite’s Senior Content Marketing Manager, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.