Facebook is a powerful marketing and communication tool, especially for summer camps and after-school programs. With over a billion users, it’s like a massive chat room where businesses can connect with their audience, have fun, and get to know their customers better. Since managing a business page differs from handling a personal one, here are some tips to help you get the most out of Facebook:

1. Facebook is Highly Visual

Visual content is king on Facebook. Posts with images, photo albums, and videos receive significantly more engagement—180%, 120%, and 100% more, respectively—than text-only posts. To increase your reach, make sure to include plenty of visual content in your updates.

2. Facebook is All About Relationships

While it’s important to post announcements and reminders about your camp or program, don’t stop there. Share a variety of content, including articles, contests, challenges, videos, pictures, industry insights, surveys, and links to your latest blog posts.

Engagement is crucial. Get involved in conversations, not as a business, but as a person. This approach allows you to monitor for negative comments or issues that might arise, turning them into opportunities to showcase your excellent customer support.

Ensure your page’s message feature is activated so people can contact you privately. This is becoming an increasingly common channel for customer service, with 42% of customers expecting a response within an hour, according to Edison Research.

To increase your visibility, you need to engage actively. Since 96% of fans never return to your page after the initial Like, your best chance to be seen is through their News Feeds. However, only about 1 in 6 fans will see your post in their feed. Regular posting (2-5 times a week) helps, but you need to encourage Likes, comments, and shares to improve your reach. Engage with commenters, and even revisit old threads to extend the conversation’s lifespan. Every interaction boosts your Facebook visibility.

3. Build a Facebook Community

Invite all your partners, vendors, counselors, employees, and camp parents to Like your Page. You can also invite friends from your personal profile and upload email contacts to send invitations via the “Build Audience” option on your Facebook Admin Page. Promote your Page across all channels—your website, printed materials, emails, and registration pages.

4. Go Deeper

To unlock Facebook’s full potential as a business marketing tool, explore these features:

  • Page Insights: Facebook’s analytics tool that helps you measure your page’s activity and performance.
  • Apps: Customize the tabs under your profile photo with apps for YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, contests, polls, and surveys. Most business apps come from approved third-party developers.
  • Advertising: Invest in Facebook Ads to target your audience more effectively.
  • Boosted Posts: Pay to increase the reach of your posts in News Feeds.
  • Sponsored Stories: Pay to have your followers’ interactions with your Page promoted to their friends.
  • Facebook Offers: Promote special offers once you reach 100 Likes.

5. Posting Tips

  • Introduce your staff to create a personal connection with your followers.
  • Ask followers to vote on your next blog topic, offering them choices.
  • Rotate your profile photo often to keep your page fresh.
  • Always include a link to your website in your posts.
  • Include registration links when relevant.
  • Address people by name in comments using @ before their name (e.g., @mary).
  • Most importantly, have fun with your posts!