Here we go! Camper recruitment season is in full swing. It's a race to enroll new kids at your camp and to retain returners. As I continue to see camp advertising not only through the lens of a camp director and director coach and consultant, but also through that of a parent of young kids, I begin to think more critically.
When was the last time you looked at the front page of your website as if you were a prospective camp parent? Parents and guardians are overwhelmed with all the choices they have in life for their kids. While they used to be comparing a handful of camps for their child's summer plans, they're now balancing comparison of sports pre-season needs, vacation time, another specialty program, travel, and, hopefully, camp in there somewhere. That means that camps are competing not only against other camps but against any program or possibility that might fill non-school time in the summer. That's a heavy lift, and I know it's not news to you. So, what have you been doing about it? How do you make yourself stand out in an increasingly crowded field?
I look at a LOT of camp websites in my line of work. Most camps are not nailing this aspect. Lots of websites make camps look fun, wonderful, and like a great place to spend the summer. But when you're one of many, that doesn't necessarily help. When you get face-to-face with a family, whether in person or virtually, sure, you can differentiate and add great personal touches. But only a small percentage of those who see your website will actually end up meeting with you. How do you grab the attention of both kids and parents in a few seconds when they get to your landing page?
I recently started looking at private schools' websites in an effort to understand how some of them market to young students and their parents. I was looking specifically at private schools that are known to be full with waitlists. This is not because I think private schools are like camps, but because they are often competing in cities or areas with other private schools, and for the same families; that's what camps do. Kids need to see that your camp looks fun and exciting. That's a no-brainer. If your camp doesn't look fun and exciting to a kid (and you should ask kids to give you feedback), then start to revamp from square one.
Now, for the adults: one component I noticed immediately is that many private schools share the exact number of students they have. I saw one that is very small and one that is much larger and both put these numbers prominently on their landing pages. They both thought it was important to share this with parents. The size of your camp is a common question that gets asked of camp directors if you're in conversation with parents, but it's difficult to find on most camp websites. Why is that? Some camps may feel that a very large number or a small number might be a turnoff to those families who desire the opposite. But isn't that the point? Don't you want to draw families in who want what you are offering? Why is your camp's size ideal? (If you feel it is.) Similarly, I see ratios of faculty to students highlighted as well. Is your staff to camper ratio advertisement-worthy?
Private schools seek to point out their worth (some have over $50,000/year price tags) by touting lifelong learning, building never-ending curiosity, and providing a foundation for future success. What about camps? What about lifelong friendships? Bonds? Lessons? Experiences? What do your alumni say about their time at your camp? Can you harness the power of your camp's experience lasting a lifetime? How is the way you do it different from the next camp?
You don't need to have a menu item that says "what makes us different?" or "The Camp _____ Difference." In fact, it's better to just lay out the difference right there, front and center, so that prospective families clearly understand it. Extra clicking to more pages = more time, and time is parents' most precious resource. Make it clear immediately: what is their child going to get at your camp that they can't get anywhere else?
School leadership is almost always displayed prominently. Is it easy for parents to find out who your camp director(s) is? Is there a nice photo of them taken somewhere at camp? Parents are looking for these details, even if they don't necessarily know that at first. They might like one generic camp website that doesn't have many of the components listed above. Then they get to your camp's site, that does have these components, and it may very well make them think, "this is what we're looking for." Now the previous camp looks fine, but not great. Your camp looks great.
What unique components of your camp and its program will draw parents and kids in? Anything that doesn't: either get rid of it or bury it in a sub page that only the die-hard researchers will read. Your website's most important job is to draw in prospective families. It should be easy and helpful for current families, alumni, and donors (both non-profit and for-profit camps!) to navigate as well, but that is all secondary.
Perhaps most importantly: make sure it's mobile-friendly! Websites need to look great on mobile devices. That's where a lot people are visiting them. So go find some parents and kids to help you look at your camp's site and tell you what they think. And, as always, if you want to knock around some ideas or questions with me, feel free to schedule a time here.
Happy recruiting!
Nick
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