How To Increase Summer Program Enrollments

For a summer camp to thrive, it needs strong marketing to attract campers. Millennials comprise the bulk of parents whose kids are summer camp age, so here are some insights to help your marketing team craft campaigns that appeal to this audience especially.

First, consider these key insights.

• Experiences over things. Millennials prioritize experiences for their children. Focus your marketing on showcasing the unique adventures, skills, and memories campers will gain in your summer program. Highlight the “wow” factor — the feeling of accomplishment, joy of discovery, and lasting impact of your program’s experiences.
• The “fun” in fundamental. A TIME article revealed that over 60% of millennial parents believe in the power of unstructured playtime. Emphasize the fun, flexibility, and freedom participants will enjoy with your program. Invite parents to envision their kids exploring, making new friends, and simply having a blast. 
• The power of user-generated content (UGC). Millennials trust recommendations from other parents. Leverage the power of UGC by showcasing testimonials, photos, and videos from past participants and their families. Need help collecting reviews? Check out our blog for easy tips.

Understanding the values and priorities of millennial parents can help your marketing resonate deeply and effectively attract the next generation of happy campers and program participants.

Marketing strategies

Using email

Email marketing offers a powerful tool to reach potential participants, especially if you have an existing email list from past programs or community outreach. But with everyone’s inboxes overflowing, your email has to cut through the clutter. Here’s how you can craft compelling email campaigns.

Grab attention with strong subject lines that create urgency, spark curiosity, and highlight your program’s value:

• Limited spots remain! Program registration open now
• Exciting news! New adventure programs coming this summer
• Experience the magic: program testimonials & special offers inside

Today’s parents are busy! Get to your point quickly and concisely. Clearly state your purpose — why you’re emailing and what you’re offering. Showcase your unique selling proposition — what sets your program apart from others. Finally, provide easy access to registration or further information.

Include a clear call to action (CTA) guiding readers toward the next step, whether it’s “Register now,” “Schedule a tour,” or “Learn more.” Tailor CTAs to individual recipients. If they’ve expressed interest in a specific program before, direct them to that program’s registration page. 

Following these tips will increase your email campaign’s effectiveness in capturing the attention of potential participants and driving enrollment.

Using social media

Social media is a must for advertising your summer program. According to the CDC, 80-85% of parents use social media to access information and research various topics, including programs for their children. The most popular platforms are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. To maximize your social media presence, try the following recommendations. 

• Leverage visual appeal. High-quality images (and video!) are important. While professional photography is ideal, today’s smartphones can also deliver excellent photos. Showcase happy participants and a vibrant environment. Always obtain parental consent before sharing images online.  
• Harness the power of UGC. UGC shines here, too. Encourage families and participants to share their program experiences through photo contests, social media takeovers, and positive reviews. Check out our blog on how to use UGC.
• Build genuine connections. Social media offers the perfect opportunity to interact directly with families. Respond to comments and messages, answer questions, and share engaging content. These interactions foster trust and build a strong community around your program.

Implementing these strategies empowers you to use social media to attract new participants, build brand loyalty and awareness, and ensure a successful summer season.

Using Google Ads

Google Ads is an effective, cost-efficient marketing tool. This pay-per-click (PPC) model allows you to bid on relevant search terms, increasing your visibility in search results and paying only when someone clicks on your ad. You control your campaign’s reach and impact with flexible budgeting and customizable settings. Follow these steps to maximize a Google Ad campaign.

• • Research and strategize. Conduct thorough keyword research, analyzing your competitors’ strategies to identify relevant terms. Use Google Trends to see the most popular words and phrases over time.
  • Organize. Group campaigns (Google Ads’ higher level) and ad groups (lower level) into well-defined ad buckets based on specific keywords for improved targeting. This strategy allows you to tailor ads and bids to different sets of search terms, increasing their relevance and effectiveness.
  • Pick your keywords & match types. Google’s Keyword Planner can help identify high-value keywords and estimate their potential cost. Match types control how closely your ads must match search terms (broad, exact, or phrase match).
  • Optimize for different devices. Since over 96% of millennials use their smartphones to surf the net, optimize your marketing campaigns for easy reading on a mobile device. But don’t neglect other devices like laptops and tablets, either. Strive for a seamless user experience (UX) on all devices.

• Create your copy. Write compelling ad copy with relevant keywords, a compelling value proposition, and a clear CTA (like “Sign up today”). Use strong visuals and concise language to capture attention and encourage clicks.

• Execute, monitor, and adjust. Launch your campaigns and monitor their performance using Google Analytics 4. Track key metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost-per-conversion to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven tweaks to your campaigns.

Following these steps and continuously optimizing your campaigns will help you effectively leverage Google Ads to attract new potential customers, increase enrollment, and achieve your summer program marketing goals.

Connecting with schools

Collaborating with schools is another excellent strategy for building trust, increasing enrollment, and reaching new families in your community. These partnerships are also wonderful for establishing a strong initial participant base.

Start by identifying the right individuals within the school community. To initiate the conversation, connect with members of the school board or board of trustees, school administrators, and even the parent-teacher association (PTA).

Write a concise email clearly articulating your value proposition. 

• Introduce yourself and your program, briefly explaining its mission, programs, and unique offerings. 
• Emphasize how your program enriches students’ lives and fosters personal growth, social development, and academic enrichment.
• Show value for the school by offering discounted rates for its staff or scholarships for its students.
• Express gratitude for their time and provide clear contact information for further discussion.

Following these tips can help you cultivate relationships with schools effectively, expand your reach and create a win-win partnership that benefits your program and the school community.

User experience

Once users visit your website, you don’t want to lose them before they’ve had a chance to look around, get more information, and hopefully enroll their child in your program. However, a website delivering a poor user experience (UX) can lead to a high bounce rate and lower enrollment. Here are some of the top factors that can cause bounce rates to soar.

• Poor UX: A cluttered layout, complex navigation, or outdated design causes confusion.
• Slow load times: A website taking too long to load creates frustration.
• Irrelevant or out-of-date content: Page content doesn’t match the user’s intent or expectations or hasn’t been updated since the previous summer. 
• Misleading titles and descriptions: Page titles and meta descriptions don’t accurately reflect page content.
• Not mobile-friendly: Not optimized for mobile devices is a big no in today’s digital world.
• Poorly-designed CTA: A lack of a clear CTA (or one that’s not prominent) can confuse viewers.

The moral of this story? Review your current website, page by page, to see whether (and where) it might need a refresh before the upcoming summer season.

Easy registration

In today’s digital age, parents expect a smooth, efficient registration process when enrolling their kids in a summer program. Online registration platforms simplify information collection and payment processing, enhancing the overall customer experience.

Your forms don’t have to be complicated or pages long. Common information to request includes:

• Participant’s name, preferred pronouns, birthday
• Any allergies or medical conditions and medications (if applicable)
• Parent/guardian emergency contact information (names, cell number, and relationship to the participant)
• Participant’s t-shirt size and experience level (beginner, intermediate, etc.), if applicable

Depending on your specific program, you may want to include a space for parents to add other relevant information about their child’s needs, preferences, or behavioral considerations. Collecting this essential data upfront helps you provide a safe, enjoyable experience for all participants.

Easy payments

Offering flexible payment options can significantly increase program accessibility and drive enrollment. You'll attract a wider range of participants by making it easier for families to budget and afford your programs.

Digital payments offer many benefits. Online payments offer 24/7 accessibility for parents and program administrators, streamlining registration. Digital platforms often integrate with popular payment gateways like PayPal, allowing parents to spread payments out in installments or use a credit card. Automating payments also reduces administrative overhead, freeing staff for other essential tasks.

Post-program follow-up

Retaining participants is also critical for long-term summer program success. Repeat customers aren’t just profitable — they also provide valuable insights into your program’s strengths and weaknesses. To maximize retention, prioritize gathering and analyzing feedback from participants and their parents.

• Conduct post-program surveys after each session, asking about the overall experience, specific elements of the program, and areas for improvement.
• Analyze the responses to identify key trends, areas of satisfaction, and areas of opportunity. Use this data to guide future program improvements.
• Communicate the results to families and show how you’ve used their input to enhance the program experience. Doing so demonstrates your commitment to continuous improvement and fosters trust and loyalty.

Prioritizing participant retention through feedback collection and program improvement can help boost your profitability and create a consistently exceptional experience that attracts and retains loyal program participants every year.

As summer approaches, now’s the time to kickstart your summer program marketing efforts. Implementing a strategic approach will help reach new families, welcome back returning participants, build a thriving community, and ensure a successful season. 

Creating your own marketing strategy isn’t as challenging as it may seem — but it does require strategizing, planning, and monitoring. If your marketing team doesn’t have the bandwidth to juggle everything right now, TeenLife can help. Think of us as a one-stop shop for all things summer program marketing. We’ll handle the hard work so you can focus on what you do best: creating and providing the best possible summer programming.