The rise of social media has changed marketing and advertising in all businesses, including private country clubs. Social media has become a venue for Member retention and real estate sales.

When a country club posts regularly on social media, its followers grow, creating a direct connection with the community and prospective residents. Prospective members seek a club experience as exciting and engaging as the amenities the club offers. And let's remember the present Members, social media gives them a sense of belonging, a way to share where they live, which is the best way to advertise your private country club.

The Polo Club of Boca Raton has seen a consistent increase in followers in the last year. In addition, the consistency of our postings has led to higher engagement. Here is how The Polo Club has used social media to reach the right audience:

A real lifestyle: People like following the lifestyle and daily living of a club instead of a page that seems staged. Of course, it is essential to show special events, but our audience wants to see people living, not just a marketing platform. Members also enjoy seeing themselves dancing, golfing, playing tennis, and pickleball, allowing them to engage while not on the club grounds. It is great for the club to see a post from a member describing their experience, the event, or simply their day with friends; this is how we show the real value of The Polo Club Membership.

A Variety of Social Media Platforms: We have a wide range of members across varying age demographics, so we must be present on multiple social media channels. This will allow communication with everyone. Some think social media is a lot of work, but if you have content, it will simply flow. Multiple channels is also a promoting tool. Our club has a big catering department and we invite outside events. For this reason, we have created The Polo Club Catering Instagram and Facebook pages. On these, we feature weddings, proms, lunches, and all outside events. By doing so we have a top Boca Raton wedding venue.

Use of Hashtags: Hashtags (#) are the key to reaching people that don't know your club. Hashtags are what make a post searchable. We want viewers to click on them, so we use approximately 10 per post. Categorize your departments and use the basic ones like #golf #tennis #pickleball #foodandbeverage #catering, and then add descriptive hashtags or think of the audience you are reaching. For example, we use #dining #bocaraton #bocaratonvenue to make us stand out amongst restaurants in Boca Raton.

Location Tagging: One of our goals is always selling real estate in our clubs. So when a prospective member searches for a location, our posts must appear. This viewer will want to see more and visit our website or social media accounts. South Florida has become a hot place to live and social media has been a great selling avenue for realtors, specifically Boca Raton realtors when we think of The Polo Club. By tagging out location, prospective buyers looking for home sales in Boca Raton can see us.

Branding: We cannot buy trust or new Members on social media, but we can earn it. Social media is our story. It is a place where our club comes to life. We want current and prospective Members to think, "I want to be there today." For a family game of golf, a pickleball match, a pro tennis tournament, a party at the pool, our state-of-the-art fitness center, or happy hour at one of our restaurants, our goal is to be inviting on social media.