Marketing For New Campgrounds

You are probably here because you are thinking about or have already started to construction on a brand new RV park or campground. Some of you might have been in this industry for years already, some might be part of a larger investment group, and others might be figuring all this out for the first time. Regardless of whether you fall into one of those categories or something else entirely, we’re here to help you get an understanding of where to begin with your digital marketing efforts.

The most important thing we can stress is do not wait. If you want your investment to hit the ground running, you need to begin your marketing efforts at least six months before you plan on welcoming the first guest. We know there will probably be delays with permitting, contractors, and other things beyond your control. That doesn’t mean you should build those into your expectations and delay your marketing efforts, however. It means doing it right means one less thing to worry about.

If you are reading this and thinking that you plan to open in less than six months, there is no need to worry. Everything can still be running smoothly, we just have a little less time to strategize and need to spend more of that time actually taking action. Regardless of your timetable, the foundations for what you need are the same.

1. You need an online presence. Right now your park does not exist. If you expect people to find you and make a reservation, you need to be online. For us, that means the first step is creating a landing page for your campground that gives everyone the most important details. Contact info, opening dates, photos, and a little about your plans. This does not need to be a full website, yet. We simply want a place to start sending people to get them interested and asking questions.
2. You need your campground listed on as many places as possible. Start with the big ones like Google Maps, Facebook, and Bing. Then more on to the hundreds of other directory sites, social media sites, GPS devices, apps, and other places where people look for a campground. It’s a lot of work, but the same as laying a good foundation.
3. Start posting at least twice a month (hopefully more) on social sites. Share the pictures of your progress, construction efforts, bathhouses, amenities.
4. Circle back to your landing page from the first step and begin to build a full website. Finish this at least three months out from anticipated opening. When the basics of this are complete, make sure to add a booking link to your online reservations platform. You should begin accepting reservations as soon as possible.
5. Set aside a budget for Google Ads as soon as you begin accepting reservations. This can get complicated, as is everything above, so don’t be afraid to hire an expert who can help you build out the perfect strategy. You want to show ads to people who you think would stay at your park. This requires careful thought to not waste money.

That’s the plan and now you have it for free. You can take that strategy and do it yourself or even hire an agency that doesn’t work exclusively with campgrounds. We’d love to be a part of your future success, but we also know that not everyone has the same size marketing budget. If we can help, chat with us in the lower right corner anytime.

We’ve also given you the prices and details for all of the services we recommended below. Prefer to talk on the phone? Book time with our CEO.