​
What is camp insurance?
If you run a camp, you need protection against accidents that could occur on your property. That’s where camp insurance comes in. The primary form is general liability insurance, although your camp could require other forms depending on the scope of its operations. For instance, if your camp has vehicles, you will need auto insurance.
General liability insurance covers the camp and those who act on its behalf (the director, counselors, etc.) from the risk of liabilities incurred through lawsuits and other claims. Simply put, it’s protection against getting sued.
 
Why do I need it?
Your general liability policy should provide protection for three types of risk:

• bodily injury (covers your liability for injuries occurring on your premises)
• property liability (covers property damage to a third-party caused by camp operations, you, or your employees)
• medical payments (covers medical expenses of those injured on your property; typically excludes camp participants whose coverage can be purchased separately)

Camps are composed of myriad elements, from your administrative staff and counselors, to vendors, campers, and their parents. There is no way to control every part of your camp, and, even if you could, that would destroy the spontaneous joy that comes from camp. General liability insurance allows you to run a camp smoothly without constantly worrying about being held liable for something you can’t control. Take reasonable precautions against risk, but know that your insurance is there if something does go wrong.
 
How do I choose the best coverage for my camp?
Check for specific requirements in order to get exactly the combination you need. For instance, Nationwide’s General Liability Insurance for Youth Sports Camps and Clinics offers zero deductible for liability claims but only covers camps held on land not owned by the camp. Event Insurance Now offers a relatively inexpensive broad form Commercial General Liability Insurance for camps under 10 days which host no athletic events. Do your research and find the policy which works best for you in terms of coverage and cost.

​​You’ve heard of business-to-business marketing before.
And you’ve definitely heard of business-to-consumer marketing.
But have you heard of the third form, business-to-parent marketing?

​Consumers differ in needs and desires, likes and dislikes, priorities and requirements. The markets to which you must advertise are as varied as the individuals which compose them. To ease the confusion imparted by such incredible market diversity, marketers traditionally begin with a single, simple distinction: will they be focusing on B2B or B2C marketing?
 
The distinction between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing is the first of many which allow marketers to properly segment and target their audiences.
 
B2B marketing relies on a small and targeted market with whom marketers foster close relationships. Because purchase decisions must be justified and rational, marketing centers around building product awareness and educating potential users on the business value of their product. It’s all about the ROI.
 
B2C marketing relies on a large market with whom marketers try to form an emotional bond. Due to shorter product cycles, this focuses on creating an immediate emotional response which produces an immediate purchase decision (e.g. “this brand understands me;” “I’ll look so powerful driving this;” “what great value”). It’s about being desirable.
 
The B2B/B2C distinction provides valuable marketing insight for traditional companies to develop efficient marketing plans. Unfortunately, not every business falls neatly into one of these two categories.
 
Camps, for instance, fall into another category for marketers: business-to-parent (B2P).
 
B2P marketing relies on an appeal to both parents, who make the final purchase decision, and their children, for whom the purchase is made. While products and services marketed towards minors follow traditional B2C rules (emotional appeals, large audience, etc.), the product cycle is extended due to the differing interests of the two decision making parties. Typically, parents want safety and long-term value, children want fun, novelty, and to fit in. Marketing in this category is all about convincing both sides.

​​As a camp, you must effectively market to both children, your potential campers, and their parents, your potential buyers. To do this, provide value for both. Make your camp fun, but make it safe. Make it cool, but still have rules. Make it exciting, but teach campers something.
 
Do both, and you’ll have mastered the trick to B2P marketing.

A few social media stats to get your minds going… Americans spend 16% of their internet hours on Facebook. Pinterest and Instagram have 20 and 150 million active monthly users respectively. 56% of Americans use social media. 47% say Facebook ads have the greatest impact on their purchase decisions.

Obviously social media matters. Using it correctly can create impressive value, but choosing the correct platforms to target your potential customers can be a huge challenge. To make things easier, we here at Camp Network have created Social Media 101, highlighting the marketing value of four of today’s largest social media networks.
 
Facebook
With 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a social media behemoth. Considering that 48% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook as soon as they get up, the platform has become an integral part of Millennials’ lives. These potential camp counselors and young parents are most likely to engage with your camp online once you’ve gotten them engaged. Gen Xers are also avid internet users, and nearly 65% use Facebook. While they are less likely than their younger counterparts to post their own content, they will engage with brands they already like, commenting on or sharing provided posts.
​
Although teenagers spend more time online, especially on mobile devices, than any other generation, Facebook is not their primary platform. As of 2013, more teens use Twitter than Facebook.
​
Twitter

Twitter has only 120 million monthly active users but an added 500 million who just don’t log in! To many it serves as a news source—it’s basically that little news ticker on the bottom of the tv transferred online with a lot more celebrity gossip. Since 74% of users fall between the ages of 15 and 25, with many users never disclosing their age, this medium is a great way to reach young adults when they are actively seeking information.

Pinterest

Instagram
Another social media network used by a younger demographic is Instagram. Owned by Facebook, this platform attracts 300 million users daily. These users, 90% of whom are under 35, split evenly between male and female. If you want to reach this demographic with a visual message, go on Instagram. As on most social media platforms, you can target ads to specific types of users. These ads comprise of a visual, a link to your company’s Instagram profile, and a “Learn More” tab which can link to your website. With photo, video, and carousel ads available, Instagram is finally for more than #selfies and #foodphotography

“The real preparation for races is done in the off-season. I put in the hard work during the summer and fall, and I'm always working on technique so that when the actual races come around I'm ready to go.”
-Shani Davis

​Like athletes, camp directors still have a lot to do in the off-season. Once the kids go home, the supplies have been tucked into storage, and the counselors have said their goodbyes, the real work begins. The camp season might be busy, but the off-season is when the important work of preparation gets done.

Here are three valuable things you can do during the off-season to help make 2017 your best summer yet:

Use your off-season to revamp your image. First, take stock of your online presence. Do customers interact with you on social media? Do they read your blog articles? Do they click your Google ads? Once you’ve evaluated your current position, decide how to move forward. Potential improvements include improving your SEO, updating your website design, or revitalizing your email newsletter. Next, take the opportunity to engage with the community where you’re located. By chatting with local customers and other members of the community, you become a part of it. Never underestimate the value of a face-to-face conversation; one conversation can result in multiple sales if it builds a real relationship. As with digital marketing, take stock of your situation. Take advantage of the opportunities you have locally to build your business, whether that means improving local presence through print ads, partnerships, sponsorships, etc.

Use your off-season to plan ahead. What non-exigent tasks can you complete before the next camp season begins. By getting done in advance anything that does not need to be done during camp, you save yourself from unnecessary stress during the busiest time of your year. Tasks to be done in advance include activity planning, hiring, and the creation of any policy changes. You can also schedule content in advance on social media and blogs, if you use one for content marketing. This saves you time and effort later; just make sure you don’t post anything that will be obviously outdated by the time it’s posted.
​
Use your off-season to reflect on last camp season. What worked well? What didn’t? Even the traditions your camp has held for years should be reflected upon. If campers seem bored with them, tweak them! This is your opportunity to change, as much or as little as you think appropriate, anything about your camp: hiring practices, marketing metrics, the logo, activity schedules, policies, price, location, etc. Reflect on the previous season to make rational decisions about to (and not to) change for the next one. By using camper, parent, and employee feedback as well as your own observations, you can make well-informed decisions on how to keep improving your camp year after year.