Summer Camp Social Media Case Study: Albuquerque Academy
A 90-day reach of 188 became a 30-day reach of 3,504. Here's what changed.
The Challenge
Think Summer, Albuquerque Academy's summer program, had a real story to tell and no consistent way to tell it. In the 90 days before this work began, the program's Instagram reached 188 accounts total. Posting happened occasionally, if at all. The account had 558 followers, mostly families who already knew the program.
The Approach
We started with someone dedicated to creating content on the ground, showing up to capture what the program actually looks like day to day. I built the strategy behind it: what to post, who it's for, and why someone who'd never heard of Think Summer would stop and pay attention.
Every week we asked the same questions. Who is this post for? What does someone on the outside need to understand? What actually needs to be shown to make that real, not just described?
The difference showed up fast, at the individual post level. Two posts from the same week:
"What keeps them coming back": 807 accounts reached, 52.6% from non-followers, 39 profile visits, 6 shares
"Where Curiosity Comes to Life": 151 accounts reached, 4.3% from non-followers, 4 profile visits, 0 shares
Same program, same week, same team. The difference was the hook. One opened a question a stranger would want answered. The other described the brand's positioning, and the numbers show positioning doesn't pull people in the way a real question does.
The Results
One post, a countdown to the program's opening day, reached 1,410 accounts on its own, nearly eight times the entire prior 90 days combined.
In the 30 days before this work began:
Accounts reached: 27
Interactions: 4
In the 30 days after:
Accounts reached: 3,504
Interactions: 1,011
Profile visits: 813 (+2,911%)
Link taps: 12 (+500%)
Follower growth went from net +5 in the prior 30 days to net +74 after. A profile visit or a link tap means someone chose to learn more, that's the specific action behind these numbers.
What’s Next
The first month was about reach: getting in front of people who didn't know the program yet. The next phase is conversion, moving those new eyes toward the newsletter and into registration for future sessions.
The Takeaway
Consistent posting mattered, but it wasn't what made the difference. What mattered was a strategic framework behind every post: what to make, who it's for, and why a stranger would pay attention.