French Creek Council, BSA > Membership and Marketing

Membership and Marketing

AdventureOn-colorblock-logo-CSBC

The Adventure Begins…

Membership and Recruitment Tool Box

 

 

Let’s move Scouting forward. The Marketing and Membership page is a resource to help you serve more youth in your neighborhood and communities. From recruiting ideas to social media best practices, this page provides a one-stop resource to discover, activate, and improve your marketing and recruiting strategy.

Our main objective is to have multiple joining opportunities to ensure that every youth is invited to join Scouting, and to fulfill our promise to new Scouts for a great Scouting program. Adventure is Calling – Join Scouting!

 

Get all Recruitment Resources Here!!

Cub Scout Recruitment Sign-Up Options

All Sign-Up Nights are designed to be fast paced for today’s busy parents.

Option 1: Table Rotation Method Expand

All Sign-Up Nights are designed to be fast paced for today’s busy parents. The table rotation method has been used very successfully in recent years.  It allows families more flexible timing and it allows the pack to have better one-on-one conversations with new families as they visit the tables.  Families sign in at the first table, then they go on a self-paced journey through five stations to learn how Scouting and the pack work.  Families who are familiar with Scouting, or who have limited time, may hurry past some tables, and go directly to checkout. A model campsite with a tent, camp chairs, fishing poles, etc. should be in the center of the room so everyone circles some Scouting fun while they’re there!

The key to making any Sign-Up Night successful is advanced planning and preparation, including recruiting enough enthusiastic volunteers to help.

Option 2: Drive-Thru Method Expand

Set up in a parking lot (possible school or central location for families) and have families drive up to sign up stations. Have Leaders and current Cub Scouts be there to help! Also have unit leaders wear a Pack Shirt or Class B to have parents feel welcome and wear name tags.

  • Station 1– Welcome & QR code to fill out online registration
  • Station 2– What we do: provide families with an information packet (pack calendar/leader contact, Pack information, display table, pinewood derby cars, etc.) Have as much information as possible to have ready to brag about your unit!
  • Station 3– Den Leader Welcome and Q & A
  • Station 4– Check out (opportunity for Pack to collect dues, pack t-shirt, and remind family of the 1st upcoming event/activity
  • Come up with creative themes and FUN activities!
Option 3: Presentation Method Expand

The presentation method has been used successfully for many years.  If using this method, remember that the goal is to sign up new Scouts and adult leaders.  Packs are asked to avoid the use of PowerPoint presentations because they tend to include too much information, take too much time, and often cause interested families to leave without signing up because they simply can’t stay so long.  Instead, new Cub Scouts and parents should be invited back to a Parent Orientation a week later, which gives the pack an opportunity to share more information about their activities and leadership.

The key to making any Sign-Up Night successful is advanced planning and preparation, including recruiting a sufficient number of enthusiastic volunteers to help.  A model campsite with a tent, camp chairs, fishing poles, etc. should be to one side of the presenter, so everyone clearly sees some Scouting fun while they’re there!

Recruitment Resources

Pack Resources

The most effective recruiting occurs when volunteer leaders, and parents work together, share ideas, and leverage each other’s skills, insights, and resources. For parents, it’s an opportunity for their kids to make new friends. And for volunteer leaders, it’s a chance to watch youth learn new skills, try new things, and discover new paths. Regardless of your role, the outcome is the same: Scouting makes the most of the limited time we have to shape the lives of America’s youth.

Dynamic Recruiting

Printable Tools

Fillable Tools

Recruitment Flyers

Connect with Scouting

New Den Leader Resources

We have learned that virtual resources may be used to complete requirements such as virtual tours in place of den outings. The standard of Cub Scout advancement is for the Cub Scout to do their best.

Learn More

Troop Recruitment Resources

A steady flow of youth into a troop is essential to maintaining the troop’s health. New Scouts bring energy and enthusiasm to the troop program.

To avoid the pitfall of shrinking membership, a troop should add at least 10 new Scouts every year. Having a year-round growth plan in place will help attract new Scouts.

The first step for any recruitment effort is to appoint a troop committee member to serve as the troop membership chair. This person will develop and implement a year-round growth plan that incorporates all methods of recruitment, working closely with Cub Scout packs in the community, the district membership committee, and the unit commissioner.

Have you scheduled your Normal Friend Activity Yet?
AOL Scout Transition
Troop Recruitment Tools
Dynamic Recruiting
Printable
Troop Recruitment Flyers

Unit Marketing Resources

To ensure families get the message that it’s time to sign up, use various methods of communication and be sure to have a plan. You should start to build the buzz at least six weeks out from your sign-up event(s). The council and district will help get the word out, but most of your success will come from unit marketing.

How much access you must promote Scouting in your schools will help you decide the best ways to market your sign-up event. Here are some suggestions – but these are just thought-starters. Don’t limit yourself. The more ways you reach parents, the more success you’ll have.

Brand New Unit Marketing Guide

Check out this brand new Marketing Guide for your Pack, Troop, Crew, Post or Ship.

Campaign Kit for Recruitment Marketing

Scout talks can make a huge difference when signing up new Cub Scouts! Schools that provide access for Scout talks are the way to go. A youth talk is simply visiting each classroom and getting the youth excited about Scouting.

Check out videos that the BSA Brand Center has to offer and we can customize them with your unit information. just fill out the request below.

Out-of-School Promotion

Here are several ideas for promoting the event outside of the schools. These tactics can be done either in tandem with your in-school promotions or on their own if you are not able to get full access to the schools.

Promotion Ideas Expand
  • Ask current members to use social media to let their friends and family know about sign-up event nights
  • Personalized invitations, emails, and personal phone calls to prospective parents
  • Door hangers and door-to-door invitations
  • Recruit-a-friend and other peer-to-peer recruiting initiatives
  • Fliers and youth/Scout talks at after-school programs or churches in the community
  • Church and community websites, calendars, and bulletins
  • Press releases
  • Billboards, posters, and yard signs in the community (businesses, churches, etc.)
  • Community fairs, parades, and other events
  • Peer-to-Peer cards (business cards). Ask Scouts to hand these to friends. Ask parents to pass them out with Halloween candy.
  • Plan a second event to invite prospective Cub Scouts (e.g., pack meeting invite)-use the second chance fly
Recruitment Rocks Expand

An out of the box idea for Recruitment!!

(idea provided by Twin Rivers Council Website)

Get Families attention by having recruitment rocks!!

  •  Use a waterproof modge podge to glue the Cub Scout logo to the Rocks
  • Put a QR code with a scout talk video or a link to your units Facebook page or website
  • Put them in a local park or Hiking trail

  • See examples below!

 

Social Media

Your district or unit can leverage social technologies to improve recruiting. Social technologies are changing the way we collaborate and communicate with each other. Many traditional forms of marketing and advertising have been replaced by online word-of-mouth as consumers share their experiences online. In fact, according to Forrester, a premier technology research company, 75 percent of people in the U.S. use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.). That means for many families, the decision to join Scouting is going to start with online engagement.

Photo Frames: Help promote Scouting on social media by adding a photo frame around your profile picture on Facebook/Instagram

 

 

BSA Marketing and Membership Hub
Brand Guide
BSA Short Videos for Social Media
BSA Photos

 

 

Photo Frames Expand

Sample Headlines Expand

• Adventure is waiting.

• Cub Scouts – Start Your Adventure

• Build Your Adventure!

• Adventure is Waiting. Join Cub Scouts.

• Find Cub Scout Adventures Near You

• Cub Scouting is Learning Through Adventure

• Find Cub Scout Adventures

• Rocket into Scouting!

•  Rocket into Scouting. Join Cub Scouts Today!

• Find Cub Scouts Near You

• Your Child will Thank You!

• Build confidence with Cub Scouts.

• Scouting families are supportive families. •

Direction for Your Child. Peace of Mind for You

• Leadership, Character, Confidence.

• Learn More About Cub Scouts

• Interested in Cub Scouts?

•  Considering Cub Scouts?

• Enjoy the great outdoors with the Cub Scouts.

Cub Scout Social Media Copy Expand
  • When Youth Learn Through Adventure, They Learn For Life. Help Your Child Build Strength & Character Through Cub Scout Adventures. Learn More Today!
  • Cub Scout Adventures Build Memories For the Whole Family. Click to Find New Adventures near you.
  • In the outdoors, your family has opportunities to acquire skills and have fun together. You can have new experiences and complete challenges that you may have first thought were beyond your ability. We want to help you start that journey today. Join us now by signing up at http://www.beascout.org.
  • Your time is valuable. More than ever, today’s families strive to find quality time to spend together. Cub Scouting helps to support your family by providing ready-made opportunities for you and your family to do things together. Join us now by signing up at http://www.beascout.org.
  • In Scouting, boys and girls start with their best right now selves and grow into their very best future selves. It’s fun, hands-on learning and achievement that puts kids in the middle of the action and prepares them for today – and for life. It’s not too late to join; sign up now at http://www.beascout.org.
  • Benefits of Cub Scouts; 1. Outdoor Activities 2. Try New Things 3. Important Skills 4. How to Set and Achieve Goals 5. Character Development It’s not too late to join; sign up at http://www.beascout.org.
Scouts BSA Social Media Copy Expand
  • Scouts BSA/Venturing/Sea Scouting is a year-round program for boys and girls that provides fun, adventure, learning, and challenge, while helping them become the best version of themselves. Join now at http://www.beascout.org.
  • Scouting offers outstanding local and regional camps, including incredible high adventure bases in the mountains of New Mexico, lakes of Minnesota/Canada, hills of West Virginia, and waters of the Florida Keys. But you can’t experience any of them unless you join! Sign up for Scouts BSA/Venturing/Sea Scouts today at http://www.beascout.org.
  • The Boy Scouts of America is one of America’s most proven values-based youth development organizations, providing programs for young people that build character. Join Scouts BSA/Venturing/Sea Scouts now at http://www.beascout.org.
  • Whether on the trail or on the water, Scouting’s outdoor adventure is second to none. Young men and women can join Scouts BSA/Venturing/Sea Scouts today at http://www.beascout.org.
Link Descriptions Expand

• Adventure is Waiting. Learn More!

• Build Your Adventure Today!

• Adventure Awaits. Join Today.

• Explore Cub Scout Adventures.

• Family. Fun.

• Adventure.

• Your Next Adventure Starts Now

• Find a Local Cub Scout Program.

• Join the Cub Scout Ranks.

• Find Cub Scouts Near You.

• Click to Join Cub Scouts.

• Explore Cub Scout Programs

• Learn More About Cub Scouts.

• Explore Cub Scout Requirements

• Learn About Cub Scout Ranks

Email/Social Media Blurbs Expand
  1. Join Cub Scouts! We’re looking for kids in grades 1-5 who like fun, adventure, games, hikes, bow and arrows, camping, making new friends and so much more. It all awaits in Cub Scouts. Come visit us on [DATE, TIME] at [LOCATION] and find out more. Or call us at [CONTACT INFO HERE]. It’s time to Get Out and Cub Scout.
  2. Think Cub Scouts is just fun and games, hikes, bow and arrows, BB guns, camping, fishing and making life-long friends?  You’re right!   But it’s so much more.  We’re building tomorrow’s leaders today by teaching responsibility, achievement, and team work.   Join us on [DATE, TIME, LOCATION] or contact us at [CONTACT INFO HERE] to learn how your child can get involved.   It’s time to GET OUT AND CUB SCOUT.
Welcome Back Cub Scouts Expand

Brand New!

Want to reach out to Cub Scouts that enjoyed the program but stepped away for a little but? Here are some great resources to invite them and their families to your next meeting!

Social Media Images/Frames

Put Your Unit on the MAP!

 

 

Updating your BeAScout Pin

Make sure your unit’s information is correct on BeAScout.org. BeAScout.org is a tool prospective family use to find units to join.

Is your unit information up to date?

When updating your Unit Pin make sure it is the most updated information on your unit. Here are some things that will help families when looking at your Unit Pin.

Be-A-Scout-Pin-Set-up

Images for your efforts…..

Questions on Recruitments? Need Flyers and other Materials?

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