Establishing a consistent social media presence can help stabilize your customer base and avoid unexpected highs and lows. At Waverly (Iowa) Municipal Golf Course, head professional Greg Mason has designed a marketing plan that incorporates the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to keep players engaged all year long.
“Some people think you have to post something every day, but that’s not really true,” says Mason, who began by writing a blog in 2008. “You just have to be consistent so people will know where to look.”
Mason sends out an email each week that points recipients back to the Waverly Golf Course website, where they find club news, features, event results and specials. Photos of local events and players have also proven popular on his Facebook posts.
Last year, Mason expanded more heavily into YouTube, using video of tips he’d recorded or events filmed at the golf course. When he began the videos last winter, they were getting 180 views; this summer, the number was more than 500.
Because the course closes for the winter in November, Mason believes the consistent social touches have helped his facility avoid the drastic disconnect that many other operators experience during the off season.
“It’s important to stay connected during the winter,” Mason says. “We want to push through the winter so that our players will already be engaged with us when it’s March and April.”
Waverly’s revenue was up 1 percent over last year, and Mason attributes part of that to the increased social interaction. And while other clubs in the area saw rounds fall by as much as 20 percent, Waverly was down only 3 percent. Meanwhile, merchandise sales grew by 38 percent from 2013 numbers.
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