Go camping for a few days and you miss Facebook's acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion, Google+'s announcement of a redesign, and Twitter user finding out for that Titanic was actually real and not just a movie. And since everything changes so quickly online, it can be hard to separate the important trends from the fads.
For parks and recreation agencies, there are some new-ish online marketing tools and trends that you can use to spread the word about your programs, classes, and facilities. Here are five free resources to take advantage of:
1. Daily Deal Coupon for Activities and Memberships
Search for “extreme couponing” on the net and you’ll turn up with more than four million search results. Yes, coupons have long been popular with grocery chains and similar stores touting their latest deals on everything from canned soup to shampoo. We usually associate this type of promotion with commodities rather than activities.
2. Online Recreation Guides
Many P&R agencies are transitioning from hard copy printed brochures to interactive online versions. Not only is this a much cheaper option but it is also a greener way of communicating with your customers and offers 24/7 access to the most up-to-date recreation information.
3. Online Reputation Management
The internet is a huge place where people talk about everything. Through blogs and social media, each and every person has a voice. The reality - people are on the web talking about your community organization; mostly good stuff, but maybe some bad stuff.
4. Foursquare for Recreation Facilities
It’s time to check-in with this whole Foursquare thing. Now, I understand that it’s hard enough to keep up with social media from Facebook‘s changes to Google throwing its hat into the social ring, but Foursquare is unique for rec departments.
5. Pinterest for Recreation Organizations
We know what you’re thinking: “Just what we need, another social network to learn about.” And believe us, we hear you. But this one is getting popular quickly, plus it’s fun and based around images, so it won’t be too much work for you to keep it up to date.
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