Hit The Target

Use social media to engage a deliberate demographic

By Camille Donne

In 2014, the Peninsula Fine Arts Center (Pfac) in Newport News, Va., had terrible attendance for its art-themed camps. Pfac is both an art museum with rotating exhibitions and a studio art school for adults and children. While most class registration was great, summer-camp numbers dwindled, and all but one camp was canceled. The executive director took a careful look at registration and decided to overhaul the way camps were scheduled, designed, and advertised. I was hired in the fall of 2014 as the Director of Education to grow family attendance for both venues. The Pfac team was deliberate in how camps were restructured, and since then they’ve grown to be very successful.

Illustration: © Can Stock Photo / maxkabakov

In Virginia, summer-camp options abound, and registration begins the first day of spring break. Once this happens, parents rush to get their children enrolled—and most camps have a wait list by the last day of spring break. In the six years since Pfac ArtVenture Camps began, we’ve learned a lot about operating and marketing camps successfully; it wasn’t by chance that the camps became popular.

Know Your Audience
In the first year of camp, a large ad was taken out in the local newspaper that advertised camp dates, themes, and the address. Facebook events were created for each camp, and a free kick-off celebration with samples of camp activities and a puppet show was held. Registration took place in person or over the telephone, which allowed staff members to ask parents how they heard about the camps. Most parents who enrolled their children had attended the kick-off or had seen Facebook posts. Registration was slow at first because many parents wanted to try one week before they committed to more.

In the following years, camp-registration software (ActiveWorks) was purchased, and surveys were sent through Survey Monkey to learn how people heard about the camps. We noticed a large percentage of campers’ parents learned about camps on Facebook and searches on the internet. We were very intentional with Facebook marketing from that point on, making an event for each week of camp and targeting advertising to a specific age range, location, and gender. We created the events months in advance of the camps but boosted the events two weeks before the camp start date to get last-minute registrants. We never spent more than $4 to $5 boosting each camp, and it worked!

Let Them Know The Details
The first year that we created Facebook events for each camp, we kept the description vague because we were still planning details of the activities. As the activities were confirmed, more details were added. Once the camp listed specific activities for the morning and afternoon, parents quickly registered their children. It happened again and again. In the following summer, Facebook events included morning and afternoon activities that children would complete in each camp. Parents were able to choose the best camp for their children’s interests and understood that each camp had unique activities that did not repeat. Some parents even signed up for multiple camps!

A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words
Images of sample projects and real campers having fun are wonderful to use in advertising. There are times when a stock photo must be used, but try to avoid that if possible. Instead of using terms that not everyone is familiar with, consider using a great image of the finished product or a camper engaged in the activity. Instead of using art terms like frottage, papier-mache, or mixed media when describing camp lessons, I named the camp, “Don't Try This At Home!” In the description, I used fun words and described the camp as “so messy that parents and teachers would never let students do these activities at home or school!” The camp filled quickly. Ask an instructor to take photos during camp lessons that can be used in future advertising, but be sure to include a photo release form in the registration process.

Use Funds Wisely
Advertising is expensive and can make or break a camp. Get the most bang for your buck by being intentional and deliberate. Know your audience and be sure to learn how to interpret analytics. If your Facebook page gets the majority of its visitors on weekends, then that’s the best time to boost posts. If the majority of people clicking on a post or event are women ages 35 to 50, then boost to that group instead of choosing men and women ages 16 to 75+. Also, be sure to keep the text short and sweet, and include dates, times, and pricing in the image. Use a large font in a color that’s easy to read against the background. Always include a link to register a camper then and there. Parents are busy and life is distracting; don’t lose a customers because they had to call during business hours.

Learn How Social Media Works
Social media is still relatively new, so those parents in their 40s or older may need some help learning how to get posts seen by the people who register for camps.

Instagram is a great way to get the word out about camps, and hashtags can contact even more people. If you don’t use hashtags correctly, you’ll have a ton of “likes” but no potential customers.

I use local hashtags because most of our campers live within a 30-mile radius of the museum. I keep a list of local hashtag groups on my desk and include those when posting on Instagram. For example, I begin with a hashtag followed by my area code. A ton of groups will pop up, and I choose the groups that most closely match the audience I want to reach (example: #757 #757parents #757moms #757events #757camps). By keeping it local, I am targeting a specific audience that might include potential customers. The number of “likes” don’t matter if they are all from another continent.

Facebook is a great way to reach parents of potential campers. Facebook visitors to the museum’s page can see upcoming events—but when I want to get the word out to people who aren’t familiar with the museum, I use my own Facebook account to share events. I often join groups for parents, local artists, or people looking for family events. I join only groups that match my interests. Most groups have a set day when businesses can share events or classes, and that’s when I share information for camps. I am very careful to use web etiquette, not to post more than once, and to read and follow each group’s posted rules.

Camille Donne is the Education Director for Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, Va. Reach her at (757) 596-8175 x 205, or cdonne@pfac-va.org.