Effective Marketing Channels & Tools for Summer Camp Success [Part 4]

June 11, 2025

Welcome to Part 4 of our Summer Camp Marketing Series! In this final installment, you'll learn how to align your goals with the right marketing channels and tools to boost visibility, drive registrations, and keep campers coming back.   

Today’s parents are online, researching and comparing camps long before registration opens. They grew up with the internet and early access to cell phones. To stand out, you’ll need to do more than rely on word-of-mouth and brochures. You need a clear, engaging marketing strategy that meets parents where they are. 

In this article, we will highlight the best online marketing channels to explore. These channels can help you increase online visibility, drive registrations, and keep campers returning each year. 

Map Your Camp's Customer Journey

Before diving into tools and channels, let’s zoom out to view the big picture. Great marketing begins with a clear plan. You'll need to plan how potential camp visitors will find your camp, evaluate it, and choose it over others. Then, after they've experienced it, how to keep them wanting more. 

Parts one to three of our series provided insights and ideas to design that journey. We also shared types of messages and content to help bring it to life.

As a brief recap of our journey so far: 

• Part 1: Turn Uncertainty Into Excitement addressed common questions and concerns that you may face from potential camp customers. 
• Part 2: Tips to Engage Campers & Parents talked about ways to convert casual interest into actions and registrations. 
• Part 3: Building Retention & Loyalty Programs discussed different methods to keep campers loyal and interested in coming back year after year. 

With these strategies in hand, you’re ready to build a roadmap that tells your camp’s unique story. To tell that story, you’ll need to match the right messages to the right marketing channels. 

Define an Overall Marketing Strategy

Think of your marketing strategy as your trail guide. It will detail your long-term goals, your camp’s vision, the audience you’re trying to reach, and how. It defines your camp’s identity and the unique value you offer to attendees and the community. 

Outline Your Camp Marketing Plan

The marketing plan is about planning the details of the adventure ahead. It covers how you plan to share your marketing with others. In it, you will identify goals and milestones. Then identify the channels you will use, your main messages, and how you will measure and track your progress over time.

Your camp marketing plan should include: 

• Your Audience — Who are you targeting? 
• Your Message — What makes your camp special? 
• Your Channels — Where will you reach parents and campers? 
• Your Metrics — How will you measure success? 

With that information mapped out, you can begin more detailed planning of your customer journey! This means identifying what marketing efforts are geared toward potential camp customers at each stage of their relationship with your camp.

Choose Camp Marketing Tools & Prioritize Channels

Once you’ve mapped out your customer journey and marketing concepts, it’s time to select the right marketing platforms to achieve your mission. These tools will help you reach new families, nurture existing relationships, and track your success along the way. 

Next, let’s explore core marketing tools that you’ll need to get your camp’s message to the right audience. 

To pick the right channels and tools for success, you need to understand how each tool fits into your marketing plan. Understanding their roles will help you select tools with the right metrics and features baked-in to achieve your goals.   

Website Optimization 🌐 - Camp Introduction & First Impressions

Your website is the digital front doorstep for your camp. It should present a modern, welcoming experience and leave a strong first impression—tapping into your marketing strategy. 



• Optimize site SEO to rank in top Google search. 
• Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and loads fast on any device. 
• Feature clear call-to-action buttons to drive registrations. 

Track key metrics such as your website’s traffic, bounce rate, average session duration, and form completions or CTA clicks. For more information, visit our article on Building Your Camp's Online Presence. 

Email Marketing ✉ - Nurture Camp Leads & Customers

Email marketing is great for adding a personal touch and staying connected year-round.  Getting an email may not be as exciting as it was when Tom Hanks starred in You’ve Got Mail. But it remains a useful tool for camps. It helps them share timely, personalized messages and build relationships. The messages connect directly with your audience at their lifecycle stage using long-form, trustworthy communications.



• Build campaign workflows for camper onboarding, retention, and feedback. 
• Stay top-of-mind by sending newsletters, event updates, and storytelling.
• Schedule reminders for early registration and special offers. 

Key metrics to track for emails include open rates, click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates (registrations), bounces, and unsubscribes. 

🌟  iCampPro Users: Our built-in communications module makes it easy! 

Social Media 📱 - Spark Camp Awareness & Engagement

Expand your reach and create buzz-worthy content. Social media platforms can help you capture attention quickly.  Gain followers and  connect with future campers, all while building a culture and community around your camp. Use elements like groups, hashtags, paid ads, and shared interests to do it! Select your platforms and... 

• Engage followers & visitors with polls, quizzes, and contests on your timeline. 
• Share authentic moments by going LIVE and sharing behind-the-scenes content. 
• Join niche micro-communities like parents groups focused on enrichment opportunities or specialized programming. 

Measure key social channel metrics based on your goals, such as followers, interaction or engagement rates (likes, comments, shares), and link click tracking. 

Video Marketing 🎥- Emotional Investment & Camp Storytelling

Showcase your camp’s story with immersive content. We've witnessed the power of "show & tell" since grade school. Video provides a unique opportunity to do both in educational but also entertaining ways. For many, seeing is believing. That’s why video can be an absolute game-changer for camps that are having trouble capturing new interest.

• Post walkthroughs like facility tours and activity highlights. 
• Share your vibe with staff intros, hangouts, value-centered highlights, and real stories about camp experiences. 
• Cross-promote full-length videos with YouTube Shorts, social reels, and stories. 

Depending on where you share your video content, some common metrics to track include subscriber counts, video views, watch time, shares, CTR on video CTAs. 

💬 Did you know?   YouTube had more TV time than any other streaming service in February 2025. It reached 11.6% of viewership that month, according to Neilsen ratings. An active YouTube channel linked to your website and social channels can have a big impact on camp visibility.

Audio Content (Podcasts)🎙 - Create Camp Content for Busy People

Build deeper connections through audio storytelling.  If you have staff with engaging, unique, or relatable personalities, consider launching a podcast! Podcasts are an immersive way to share meaningful content with families and campers who are always on the go.  They can tune in while commuting, exercising, doing chores, etc.

• Entertain listeners with camp history, interviews, and staff stories. 
• Teach others about the value of camp, childhood exploration, and independence. 
• Connect with listeners by sharing relatable experiences and advice.

Measure your success with common podcasting metrics such as subscribers, downloads, listens per episode, and average listen duration. 

Paid Search & Social Ads 💻- Boost Camp Registration on a Budget

Looking to reach more people, fast?  Think about investing in Google or Meta Ads to target parents who are actively searching for camps. 

• Target parents with interests in family outings and summer activities. 
• Optimize existing traffic with remarketing ads to re-engage past website visitors. 

Track effectiveness related to common online advertising metrics. These include impressions, click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-click, cost-per-acquisition, and conversions. 

Start Building Out Your Marketing Strategy & Content!

A thriving camp starts with smart, engaging marketing. With the right mix of digital content strategies, you can increase registrations. Mixing storytelling into your marketing lineup will delight camp parents, help them feel connected to camp activities, and highlight unforgettable moments for campers!   

💬  Tip: Don’t try to do everything, everywhere, all at once. Some ideas take more planning and resources. Keep a wish list. Need tips to manage it better? We do that here. 

How iCampPro Makes Camp Marketing Easier

If you’re an iCampPro customer, here are some built-in features to help streamline your marketing:

Registration Portal Marketing Tools

• Custom branding includes colors, text, and images to create a seamless and professional first impression for parents. 
• Custom FAQs can answer last-minute questions and reassure hesitant parents before, during, and after they complete registration. 
• Enable friend groups to allow camp families to invite their camper’s friends along. 
• Camp Links displayed alongside registrations help parents keep track of resources. 
• Use Coupon Codes to create and manage special offers to fill spots. 
  

Communications Module Features

• Draft emails to use as templates for future one-off emails. 
• Schedule emails or SMS to re-engage past campers and increase retention. 
• Track metrics for delivery, open and click s to measure email success. 
  

Other Marketing Features

• Add featured promotions to automated emails triggered by actions in the software to drive your latest initiative, upcoming events or merchandise sales. 
• Create custom staff applications to gather details about special qualifications or points of interest that might be used for future marketing. 
• Track partnering organizations and any sponsorships, reserved spots, or special coupons for campers referred to your camp by them.

Customers can access the Knowledgebase, email support, or contact our representatives for help with these tools. 

If you’re not a customer, but you’re interested in what else iCampPro can do—start with a demo, below! There’s a lot to explore together.