The Growing Importance Of Virtual Programming
Sponsored Content
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced the world to virtual yoga, online happy hours, digital birthday parties, and even live-streamed weddings. Now, citizens of every generation and technology experience level are learning to embrace virtual engagement opportunities. For parks and recreation departments, virtual programing means additional revenue potential with minimal overhead. To generate awareness and participation in virtual activity offerings, parks and rec departments should plan to use a multi-channel communication strategy that aligns with many of its traditional event and activity marketing tactics, including the following.
Social Media
Use your parks and rec department's social media accounts to promote online offerings. Create a dedicated hashtag that you and your citizens can leverage to draw attention to this new engagement model and encourage participation, such as #virtualcommunityname. Encourage event participants to take a selfie while participating in an online class or event, share it online, tag your profile, and use your hashtag.
Update Your Online Course Catalog
Create a new section in your activity catalog to promote your virtual offerings. Give the area prominence so that citizens cannot help but notice new offerings.
Offer Discounts For First-Time Participants
While you will need to pay your instructors and potentially cover your video streaming technology tool's costs, your overhead for online classes and activities will likely be lower than in-person courses, which means you can afford to offer incentivizing discounts. Offer first-time participants a reduced registration fee as motivation to experience the convenience and connection of online classes and events.
Work With Local Influencers
Identify those citizens with strong social media followings and invite them to participate in your programs and share their experiences with their network. For influencers with thousands, or even millions of followers, they have incredible power to generate awareness and motivate peers who respect their opinions to take their advice on products, services, and entertainment opportunities.
Involve Elected Officials
Some of the most important influencers in your community are your elected officials. When your citizens see their mayor participating in online yoga, or they can learn to paint in the same class as their town clerk, they will feel connected to their community in a powerful and meaningful way.
Conclusion
With concerns of a social recession, putting our citizens at risk of depression, anxiety, and other physical and mental health risks, people need their recreation departments more than ever. As you begin to reopen your facilities, do not deemphasize the continued need for virtual engagement opportunities for vulnerable and tech-minded populations. Using various communication methods to promote your offerings, you can boost engagement and revenue and move a step closer to your goal of keeping your community healthy and safe.
As the product manager and subject matter expert for CivicRec, Brian Stapleton is primarily responsible for ensuring that parks and recreation clients are fully leveraging all the flexible features and modern functionality offered by the company's local government recreation management software.