Promoting an informational parent meeting
Up first, we’ll give you your own custom RSVP site, which girls and parents can use to tell you if they’re interested in your meeting, as well as whether or not they’re able to attend. Once you have your RSVP site, it’s time to start spreading the word about your meeting!
Cast a wide net
Many leaders of girl-led organizations decide to open their tour beyond their immediate group of girls to bring the opportunity of travel to as many girls as possible—and the more people who know about your upcoming trip, the more buzz will be generated around your community. But how do you go about spreading the word to as many people as possible? We’re so glad you asked.
Many Group Leaders find success building a team of leaders and parents who can help promote their meeting. When choosing who to reach out to, ask yourself these questions:
- Are there other girl-focused organizations in my community that would be interested in this opportunity?
- Are there other community members, groups, or friends that would be interested in this opportunity for their girls?
- Who would be a great potential chaperone for my tour?
For Girl Scout Troops: Ask your Tour Consultant if your council already has a travel program or a working relationship with EF. We may be able to help you get in touch with council staff.
- Ask your council to display flyers in their lobby.
- Some councils will help you plan a council-wide travel meeting by inviting all of the parents. We are happy to help with materials and invitations!
- Ask your council to post information about your trip to their travel page on the council website, calendar of events, email newsletter, and social media channels.
- Ask your council for a list of scheduled older girl events. These events are great opportunities to interact with girls who might be thinking about international travel. They may also provide money-earning opportunities for the girls who have already enrolled on your trip.
- Collect names, email addresses and phone numbers of girls and parents who are interested so that you can reach out to them later.
Additionally, you should make sure to invite as many girls as you can. Limiting your invitations to a small group could leave you with a much smaller meeting than you expected. Plus, girls could end up feeling left out. Here are a few ways you could let girls know about your meeting:
- Send personalized invitations to girls that you think would really benefit from your tour.
- Reach out to someone who is especially excited about your tour, and see if they can help get the word out to other girls.
Finally, make sure to take a look through all of the tools and resources EF provides to Group Leaders as they go through the tour planning process. And of course, reach out to your Tour Consultant with any questions—they’ll be there to help you every step of the way.
Get your girls excited
You already know your tour is going to be incredible—so make sure your girls know it, too. Besides, if your girls are genuinely excited about your tour, they’ll be much more inclined to get their parents or guardians to go to your meeting. Feel free to get creative with how you generate excitement, or use some of our tips:
- Update group meeting plans to incorporate activities relating to your tour: play a destination trivia game, cook a traditional dish, learn the local language, and more.
- Update your group meeting plans to add details about your tour itinerary.
- See what EF-provided tools and resources we’ve found especially helpful in getting girls excited for travel.
Connect with parents directly
When promoting your tour, think about the existing ways your organization communicates with girls and parents. For starters, think about how you connect with parents about important updates. Do you use an app, send emails, or create take-home flyers? Is there a texting service? A phone tree? An email chain? All of these can work just as well for your informational meeting.
As always, reach out to your Tour Consultant with any questions.