Southampton Orienteering Club

Has the club considered using social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to promote club activities? Twitter has a few orienteering related posts each day - Graham Gristwood posts the occasional snippet. Facebook has an orienteering page but not so much activity.

I have started posting items about club activities - first one today promoting Summer Series One on Saturday. I doubt if it will have much impact but by taking a consistent approach we could reach a wider audience.

Create a simple flyer (often done for website/SOCK publicity) and circulate to all members to display

in workplaces, gyms, running clubs, other sporting clubs, schools, public notices, free website publicity etc...

(There was a great article in the most recent CompassSport about increasing awareness of events within the local community.

For me the key to increasing numbers is more locally available events, decent marketing/publicity, competition/accomplishment (at whatever level). 

As seen at the Wednesday events (and in North Carolina!) - advertise on the flyer for all events a time at which newbies can turn up and receive an introduction to the sport. This serves two purposes: a) they find out what they are supposed to be doing and b) they are more likely to come because they know they're going to be ca(te)red for.

As discussed at the meeting BOK (and apparently WIM) have some natty little flourescent yellow tabbards with 'Ask me' or 'Here to help' or some other such words on them. Just the thing to be worn when loitering in the vicinity of the registration/start so the beginners can find you.

Sitting in a tea shop in Lyndhurst today and watching the hoardes swarm past, I really think we should try and find a venue for a permanent course in the New Forest. It doesn't matter if there is nowhere to sell maps in the vicinity - sell them at the visitors centre in Lyndhurst. That must have an absolutely massive footfall of people looking for something to do in the area. (And of course we'll be selling the maps online and in shops as well anyway!!)

Judging by the turnout at the Millyford Bridge event today, what we really need to increase participation is more sunshine! Or perhaps it's having more love in the air?!

This idea is based on something they have in Norway. We would create packs (A4 envelope) consisting of one of each of our permanent orienteering course maps, a leaflet introducing orienteering and some information on the club. These would then be sold via the website (something like Google Checkout makes this very easy to do at minimal cost) and posted out and also via specialist sports shops (e.g. Just Run, Wild Sports etc). The latter would be offered a small display stand to (hopefully) sit on the counter.