Steve_Cony
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Sep 5, 2008, 11:15 AM
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The YouTube Factor – for Camps
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By Steve Cony
YouTube has done it to us.
We sell a product – summer camp experiences – and we need to be perceived as legitimate and professional providers of that product. Due to the pervasive use of video, enabled and enhanced by YouTube and others, that medium is no longer a luxury. Video imagery is expected as part of the way legitimate and professional companies market their products. Web sites that offer substantial products are considered incomplete or even outdated if they do not include picture-and-sound messages.
That now means camp too. Some camps have used promotional videos for years, perhaps even decades. Others have not. You no longer have the option. Video must become part of your Web site, and the following plan is recommended:
Four video clips, each one 40-60 seconds in length - One on the Home Page, featuring the owner, director or suitable spokesperson delivering an intro message
- One on the Activities page, showing a montage of scenes depicting happy kids being carefully supervised in unique experiences
- One on the Facilities page, providing a tour of the shiniest and most intriguing buildings and recreational areas
- One on the Staff page, featuring 3 or 4 video quotes from truly inspiring people, the kind that would make a parent trust your camp
In their abbreviated lengths, these new messages now become even more like tightly crafted commercials than longer video tours. Each must stand on its own, but should also cause the visitor to your Web site to have interest in viewing the others.
Once finished and mounted on your site, the clips should require the user to opt for viewing. They should not simply start playing. They should be streamed using a technology that results in quick downloads.
Even while YouTube may be the inspiration for more prominent use of video, you must not expect that this project is as easy as mounting any-old-thing on YouTube, directly from your phone. Unlike many YouTube submissions, your new video clips should not be planned or shot by amateurs. Likewise, these should not be examples of what campers do in their video classes at camp.
Video clips are your new promotional messages. Treat them with care, and they will perform for you.
Steve Cony is a marketing consultant who assists children's camps with the development of strategic plans and the execution of marketing materials. Camp directors may contact him at 914-271-8482.
Visit Steve Cony's website: BiggerIdea.com
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(This post was edited by Steve_Cony on Oct 17, 2008, 11:00 AM)
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