The Outdoor Hospitality Industry has witnessed unprecedented growth over the past few years with increased interest in camping paving the way for new park development and campground expansions. With more options on the market for campers than ever before, reaching new campers in a competitive campground marketplace is critical for sustaining revenue growth and ensuring long-term viability. Campgrounds can differentiate themselves from competitors and increase brand awareness through strategic campground and RV park marketing initiatives to expand their customer base. Engaging with new campers also provides opportunities for a new customer experience perspective and opportunities to gain valuable feedback for improving services and facilities, universally enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Explore proven campground marketing strategies to reach new campers and propel rapid revenue growth for your park.
Optimize Your Digital Presence
82% of campers report using online search to find their campground, according to the OHI 2023 Generational Camping Report, making it crucial to continually optimize your campground digital marketing strategies to reach new campers in today’s digital landscape.
Website Optimization
Your website should consist of informative and visually appealing content to captivate visitors and showcase the unique offerings for effective campground or RV park marketing. Audit your website for SEO keywords, prioritizing location-based keywords such as “campground near [state or national park, state name, local attraction]” and amenity and experience based keywords such as “campground with swimming pool” to attract new visitors. Include customer testimonials to establish trust and authenticity, and consider integrating your Instagram account to showcase your posts and posts of campers who have shared photos and videos of their experiences at your campground. Generate leads for your email newsletter through a prominently placed input form where visitors can provide their email address and subscribe in one click, and consider using a discount offer to motivate visitors to subscribe and follow through with booking.
Email Marketing
Utilize lead generation campaigns to build your prospective camper subscriber list through your blog, social media channels, and paid advertising spends. Tailor your email marketing efforts to entice prospective campers to book with new campground features, planned activities, exclusive booking discounts, local tours, and more. Leveraging email marketing campaigns and displaying authentic customer reviews and testimonials further builds trust and encourages website visitors to book a stay, ultimately expanding the campground’s reach and attracting new campers.
Digital Advertising
Enhance your campground and RV park marketing efforts with digital marketing to reach new campers and boost brand awareness by strategically targeting relevant audiences across multiple online channels and devices. Leveraging advanced campground advertising options such as location-based targeting, interests, and demographics allows you to reach individuals who are actively searching for camping experiences or who fit their ideal customer profile. Craft compelling ad copy and imagery that highlights the unique amenities, activities, and natural beauty of the campground to capture the interest of potential campers and drive traffic to your website. Click here to discover which digital media route is right for your campground.
Social Media
Campground owners can utilize social media platforms to reach new campers by creating engaging content that showcases the campground’s unique features, amenities, and outdoor experiences. By posting visually appealing photos and videos of campsites, recreational activities, and nearby attractions, owners can capture the attention of potential campers and inspire them to plan a visit. Additionally, leveraging targeted advertising options and engaging with followers through comments, messages, and user-generated content can help build brand awareness, foster community engagement, and attract new visitors to the campground.
Online Travel Agencies
Online travel agencies (OTAs) can boost campground bookings by providing a platform for campgrounds to reach a wider audience of travelers searching for accommodation options. By listing their campground on popular OTAs, campground owners can benefit from increased visibility and exposure to potential campers who may not have otherwise discovered their property. OTAs often offer convenient booking processes and trusted payment systems through integration with your existing property management system, streamlining the reservation process and increasing bookings for your campground. Click here to learn more about the revenue maximizing power of OTAs.
Defining What Makes Your Campground Unique
Your campground’s unique combination of amenities, accommodations, on-site recreation, views, and proximity to nearby attractions are what ultimately motivates a camper to book. Capitalize on everyday features of your park that make it extraordinary: scenic views, planned activities, on-site recreation, live entertainment, dining options – anything that differentiates your location can become a tactical tool for campground and RV park marketing. For inspiration on unique campground features to highlight, click here.
Entice Campers With Experiences
Today’s camper is prioritizing experiences and ways to make connections in the great outdoors, offering campgrounds a perfect opportunity to provide value to their existing customer base while also attracting a whole new audience. Look for new opportunities to provide your campers with exciting and educational adventures that will enhance their overall experience at your park. Explore mutually beneficial partnerships with local businesses to offer discounted passes for tours and excursions to attract new campers and deepen your campground’s ties to the local community. Offer discounts on national and state park entry to provide guests with an all-inclusive camping adventure.
Develop your on-site experience offerings with unique events: Invite local food trucks to your campground for a culinary tour of the region. Host community events with local musicians, craft fairs, and farmers markets, finding new ways to engage your campers with regional cultural events they won’t find anywhere else. Host a BBQ competition, inviting campers to test their cookout skills and build community connections. Use your local area as inspiration for unique experiences that will entice new campers with the promise of an all-encompassing camping journey.
Authentic Storytelling
Your campground’s unique story matters, and sharing that story serves as a catalyst to influence booking. Whether you are a family-owned campground with decades of making camper memories, or a new campground built on the foundation of lifelong dreams, establishing your unique story is key to attracting new campers to book.
Campgrounds can engage new campers with authentic storytelling by sharing captivating narratives that highlight unique experiences at your park and create emotional connections with prospective campers. Establish trust by showing prospective campers the face behind your brand – your dedicated campground staff. Showcase how your staff relates to campers in day-to-day operations and your hands-on management approach to customer satisfaction.
Implement authentic storytelling through the entire customer journey, from discovery on social media, online travel agencies, your website, and everything in between. Consistency is the foundation of trust, so be sure that your campground story is evenly distributed across all marketing channels.
Website Storytelling
Your About Us page is the place to showcase your campground’s story on your website. Weave a succinct but compelling narrative outlining your campground’s history, values, and promise of an unforgettable camping adventure. Include experience and location-based SEO keywords that define your campground in your About Us website copy to boost your search rankings. Be sure to include photos of your staff and campers to establish a visual emotional connection.
Social Media Storytelling
Center your social media strategy around the story you have established, sharing glimpses of your daily operations, campground activities, and community culture. Leverage user-generated content to make your campers a part of your story by sharing their photos, experiences, and memories at your campground.
Content creator partnerships are another excellent way to share your story in an authentic and relatable way while tapping into new demographics and broadening brand visibility. Content creator partnerships can help new campers discover your campground by leveraging the creators’ influence and audience reach to promote the campground’s unique offerings and experiences, establishing trust and motivating campers to learn more about and ultimately book at your park.
Through dedicated campground and RV park marketing efforts, campground owners can reach new campers and boost revenue through digital media, unique experiences, and strategic storytelling. For more ways to reach new campers, discover an audience of over 60 million campers for instant booking through seamless integration with Spot2Nite, the outdoor hospitality industry’s leading online travel agency and marketplace for private campground reservations.
