Social Media for Summer CampsBy

Emma Krieg

A New Age

Social media is increasingly used as a means of communication for friends, family, & professionals who wish to connect.

Media Types

Just a few of the social networks taking storm:

The Now Familiar Images

The New Nature of Communication

• These networks are changing our lives, making communication faster & the forming bonds easier.

• Though, it is not without consequences.

• Through such networks one can provide countless others with access to professional & personal information, blurring the boundaries between what is public & private.

Proposal

• Though this ease of access to information characterizing social networks is why they are so recommendable.

I propose that: • Social media can be incorporated into the workplace for

communication improvement among employees & consumers, specifically at summer camps.

Uses:

1. Counselor Orientation

2. Camp-wide communication and collaboration

3. Keeping parents in the loop

4. Camp marketing

5. Maintaining camp interest

1. Counselor Orientation

• Camps can create a new network or utilize an existing one such as Facebook or Twitter.

• Individuals who have previously worked as counselors at a camp can provide necessary insight into the camp’s true nature.

1. Counselor Orientation

Benefits for counselors:• Increased knowledge of & confidence in their role• Gaining a better grasp of daily goings on at camp• Greater efficiency: • Counselors would spend less time adjusting &

more time improving performance.

1. Counselor Orientation

• Experienced camp counselors could share experiences & give advice regarding difficult situations.

• They could troubleshoot, discussing various ways to handle conflicts.

1. Counselor Orientation

As last summer was my first experience as a camp counselor, engaging in these discussions would have been helpful.

2. Camp wide communication and collaboration

• These forums can evolve into long-term, collaborative discussion boards for the camp as a whole.

• New counselors would be making positive connections to which they could return to for further assistance as camp continues.

2. Camp wide communication and collaboration

• All employees could come up with games, new field trips, or guest entertainers to invite.

2. Camp Communication and Collaboration

• Summer camp is all about fun & it is important that campers stay actively engaged to have a positive experience.

3. Keeping parents in the loop

• Though, it is not merely the experience of the campers that matters. • The opinions of the parents are the defining factor as

to whether a child is sent to camp.

• Social media could also be used to target the parents, who may wonder what their kids are up to at camp.

3. Keeping parents in the loop

• Websites like Pinterest could be used to send parents images of the activities their kids are involved in.

• It would give them peace of mind to know their kids are safe & having fun.

3. Keeping parents in the loop

• However, there could be consequences to such information sharing.

• Tension between parents & the camp can result when parents see images of their kids doing things they don’t allow.

3. Keeping parents in the loop

Solutions:

• Monitoring camper behavior as much as possible

• Carefully selecting the photographers who take the pictures.

3. Keeping Parents in the Loop

• Directors must weigh the positive and negative effects of such media.

• Camps can also utilize social media to create greater awareness about their camp.

• This marketing strategy can ultimately lead to increased enrollment and hence, greater profits:

Social media Profits

4. Camp Marketing

4. Camp marketing

• When camps create their own social network, they are also:

• Building respect in the community &

• Producing a forum where they can control the accuracy and quality of the information

4. Camp marketing

• Are they a camp that targets a particular age group?

•Do they focus on sports?

• They can go about establishing a brand for themselves by telling the public what they are all about:

Jennifer H. Selke, Ph. D. contends in her article for Camping Magazine:

• When camps do not have such a database, there can be inaccuracies in the way others portray the camp.

• Counselors may create camp pages on Facebook or blog

about their experience without camp awareness.

• Some may find out about the camp through such unaffiliated social networks.

4. Camp marketing

• Creating a camp network can solve this problem.

• On a camp network, directors can control who uses the site and monitor the visibility of what users say.

4. Camp marketing

• Parents will be able to:• Obtain reliable information • Engage in useful

discussions

4. Camp marketing

• Selke also emphasizes the importance of staying relevant. She recommends:

• Facebook chats or creating a page that parents can like to receive information about the camp.

• Starting a blog that parents can follow for updated on the camp.

5. Maintaining Interest

• Nancy Shenker asserts in her article for Camping Magazine:

• Utilizing social media also keeps parents interested.

• In the off-seasons, parents can be made aware of plans for the upcoming summer.

5. Maintaining Interest

Shenker also advocates using for getting information out to parents• For this is one of the most popular networks out there.

can also be used as a platform to share snippets about camp.

Shenker states that:• Getting the word out there will get parents talking

about it with others, leading to a growing number of families who are interested in camp.

5. Maintaining Interest

Conclusions

Applying social networks to the summer camp business promises benefits in the areas of:

1. Counselor competency,

2. Camp creativity,

3. Parent peace of mind,

4. Increased camp enrollment, &

5. Extending interest in the camp.

Conclusions

Though, along with these benefits come new challenges.

• How does the camp know counselors will use the network responsibly? • They may have to monitor the network utilized.

• Conflicts between parents and the camp may arise:• Parents may see or hear of their child engaging in

activities they disapprove of.

Conclusions

• However, if most camps resemble the one at which I worked, I believe camps provide a safe and fun environment.• Therefore, the benefits of social networking should

outweigh the challenges faced.

Thank you

• Thank you for taking the time to consider my proposal!

• If you would like to discuss social media strategies further, please feel free to contact me at: (567)843-****.

Emma Krieg

Works Cited

0 SELKE, JENNIFER H.1. "Social Marketing: Where Should You Start?." Camping Magazine 84.6 (2011): 36-39. Education Source. Web. 11 July 2013.

0 SHENKER, NANCY. "THE 24/7/365 Camp Community: SITTING AROUND THE ONLINE CAMPFIRE." Camping Magazine 85.5 (2012): 28-31. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 11 July 2013.

Images:0 Curren, Erik. "Camp Alleghany Blog." Curren Media Group. Curren Media

Group, 1 Sept. 2012. Web. 13 Aug. 2013. <http://currengroup.com/2012/09/camp-alleghany-blog/>.

0 Ensign, Marc. "Just Because You Can Have a Facebook Page Doesn’t Mean You Should." MarcEnsign. Marc Ensign, 30 July 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2013. <http://www.marcensign.com/just-because-you-can-have-a-facebook-page-doesnt-mean-you-should/>.

0 Web log post. Social Maximizer: Professional Social Bookmarking Service. Social Maximizer Blog, n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2013. <http://blog.socialmaximizer.com/>.