How To Get The Word Out About Your Youth Sports Summer Camp

You made the decision to run a summer camp or camps for your club, now how do you best get the word out? Summer camps have the potential to generate a lot of revenue for organizations, so that means there is a lot of pressure to make sure the registrations come in.

The biggest thing to keep in mind with running a youth sports summer camp is that there has to be ample time designated to marketing the camp or camps. Along with proper time for marketing comes with a long list of tips to make sure the word gets out about your youth sports summer camp.

Here are 5 ways to get the word out about your youth sports summer camp.

Start Early

When you are planning out the year ahead; the timeline of practices, games, preseason meetings and more, make sure to start planning for camps as well. Summer camps are something parents begin asking about at the beginning of the school year, so to best promote your camps, get them on the calendar early. The earlier your camp information gets out, the more kids that will likely register because families love getting summer plans sorted early. Once you get your camp dates set, make sure you add them to your calendar, TeamSnap app, email blasts, and social media.

Marketing and Social Media

Marketing and social media are a huge part of making sure people know about the summer camp offerings. Once you have the dates and registration information uploaded to your website and TeamSnap app, continue to market the camps through various social media channels. For a summer camp, you can start promoting it as early as the fall and continue to post new details about the camp throughout the year. If you have special guest coaches leading the camp, lean into that for a social media highlight. If you have testimonials from previous summer camps, post those. Make sure that if people are finding information about the summer camps on social media there is a call to action. This will ensure that they can register or send the camp information without opening a new window, tab, or something that feels too difficult so they move on.

Promotion By Local Groups and Establishments

Youth sports summer camps typically draw in new families and players from other organizations. One way to target new players and families is to get your summer camp posted and shared by local outlets, Facebook groups, parent groups, and news wires. Some cities have local groups for parents that include constant sharing of recommended tutors, coaches, and sports organizations. If your town, city, or neighborhood has any outlets like this – get involved! Even though social media are the new flyers, don’t be afraid to go the local route. Word of mouth spreads fast and the more people that know, the more campers you’ll have!

WATCH this 4-Step Game Plan For Managing Camps and Clinics with TeamSnap

Coaches

If your club or league will staff your summer camps with current coaches, let them spread the word to their teams. Players love to continue working with their coach during the summer. On the other hand, coaches also love to continue to work with their players. Lean on your coaching staff to get their team or teams involved and booked for the summer. If there is a visiting coach leading a summer camp, have them tap into their network. Coaches usually have a huge network of players, former and current, coaches, former and current, and loyal families.

Mini-Camps Throughout The Year

One way to get families excited for the summer is to start teasing with mini-camps and pop-up clinics throughout the year. If there’s a school vacation, use this opportunity to have a half-day camp or a mini camp that week. This is a great way to run a camp successfully, start building momentum, and reel families in for a summer filled with camps. Obviously, planning mini-camps takes a lot of work and great marketing too, but it’s another way to tease at what’s to come. One thing to consider when running mini-camps is how the format of them can be a teaser for the summer. If you’re running a full-day camp with a focus on technical, tactical and physical components of the sport, maybe the mini-camp only is focused on technical mastery. You can tease at the summer camp as an opportunity to master all parts of the game. Have fun with it!

Do you or someone you know need help managing their sports team or club? Sign up for a free 21-day trial today. Or check out our club and league solution, TeamSnap for Clubs and Leagues if your team is part of a larger sports organization.