By: Jennifer Randall
Social Media… you either love it or hate it. I get it! It can be a huge time sucker for most owners. You know you need to have it but no one opened a studio to sit behind a computer or on their phone posting to social media all day.
So here are my “Tutu Do’s” and “Tutu Don’ts” when it comes to posting…
One of the reasons owners don’t see any engagement on their social media is because their posts are talking to the wrong people. Are your followers; current students? Previous students? Friends and family? Prospects?
For example: Let’s say you posted about a new toddlers class starting and the wording is something like “Now Enrolling Little Ones!”.
If your followers are mostly older current students they are going to scroll right past this because it is not relevant to them. You want to remember who you are talking to and say something more along the lines of:
“Hey Students, Do you babysit any little ballerinas? We opened a class just for them! Share the love of XYZ Studio with them”.
Now you have created a post that speaks to who is following your page and you have given them an action item, to share this with someone they know.
TIP: If you don’t tell your followers what to do in a post (like, comment, share, click on the link, etc) they will do nothing. Remember to always include a call to action.
Not sure how to find out who is following your pageclick here for a quick video tutorial.
I teach studio owners to use categories when they are posting. It makes it super easy to know what to post each day and makes it more fun for your followers too.
Here are my 7 categories for posting for dance studios:
Social media can be a powerful tool when creating word of mouth marketing online but you have to let people in by showing them the REAL you (or your studio ;)) When creating your posts, make sure it fits into one of these categories before you hit the “post” button.
I have an entire Facebook Live that you canfind here if you want to see how I breakdown each category and give examples.
If you have owned a studio for years or are just starting out you know that you need to be consistent. You show up every day/week to teach class. You interact with parents daily. You may even do community things on a weekly or monthly basis. All of that creates consistency that helps you build relationships with your prospects.
The same goes for social media. Showing up and being consistent means you are already ahead of 50% of your competition. I’m not saying that you need to post everyday (although that would be awesome!). Just sit down and decide what you can REALISTICALLY commit to. If right now that is once a week, awesome! The goal is to just come up with a plan for how many posts you are going to create weekly and stick to it.
TIP: If you are not sure what to post have your posts mirror the in-house marketing you are doing. Take that flyer you handed out in class and break it up into multiple posts! One post can be about getting excited for XYZ event. The next post can be about what it entails. The next post can be about where/when and how to get tickets!
Showcasing your studio by using photos of your actual space, classes, behind the scenes and events gives people and especially prospects an inside look at what your studio is all about. But most of all it allows them to visualize their child in that class, or event, or making friends with the other student in class. We all know that the hardest part of getting new enrollments is just getting them through the door.
TIP: Video, video, and more video! Doesn’t matter if it is not perfect and bonus points if you actually go Live!!! Having quick 15-20 second video from classes, events or even a quick HELLO from the owner is going to outperform any photo you could post.
Bottom line...do what you are comfortable doing, be consistent and have FUN with it!
Jennifer Randall grew up dancing and started teaching in her teens. She's been around dance studios her entire life. She started a dance studio with 60 students and grew that studio to just over 550 and a staff of 12 over 15 years.
She quickly learned that she enjoyed the marketing side of the studio. She has always enjoyed learning new marketing skills and seeing how they can be used for dance studios. After 15 years, she sold the studio to focus on raising her 3 children.
She realized that she has a passion for helping other studio owners with their marketing and getting the most for their money so she moved into social media marketing for dance studios.
She now currently works as a Social Media Marketing Strategist who is passionate about helping studio owners increase enrollment, engagement and communication through proven social media marketing strategies.
She spent 15-years building a dance studio of her own, and now with her knowledge and love for the “social media stuff" she can help studio owners get parents and students off of the "social media scroll" and through the doors.
To learn more about Jennifer or to get some of her freebiesclick here to check out her website!
