With COVID-19 unfolding in India followed by extended lockdowns, many coaching institutes, independent tutors and children’s activity providers have moved online to offer their classes and activities through free mobile apps. If you are one of such service providers, you must also learn to market your classes and activities actively on social media for three reasons:
- The next few weeks are still uncertain and you will need to continue to offer online services.
- Social media marketing will boost the visibility of your business and reach out to more parents in current times. It will also go a long way in building your brand reputation and credibility even after the lockdown/corona outbreak ends.
- Most importantly, e-learning will evolve as a secondary business channel to traditional learning to earn more revenues. This is a new normal of the future for you.
So, you should make the most of this period as a learning curve to promote your classes and activities on social media. Here are some simple, useful and zero-expense social media marketing tips to build a thriving online business:
- Connect with Your Audience on Different Social Media Platforms
Your business should have an online presence on both Facebook and Instagram because these two are the most popular social media platforms among students and parents. Post at least one update every day about your brand, upcoming events/classes/activities or useful links from external resources to stay on the top of the mind of your target audience.
- Harness the Power of ‘Story’
Those little circles called ‘story’ on the top of your Facebook and Instagram pages are massively trending on social media. You can post several stories a day to highlight your services, share little nuggets of your business or send a snapshot of what’s latest on your latest news feed. Stories will take your engagement levels with students and parents on a deeper level.
- Make the Content Visually Attractive
Did you know that
- People retain 65% of the information even three days later if it is paired with a relevant image?
- 92% of social media marketers consider video content integral to their marketing strategy.
So, for every post you make on social media, it should be supported by an image or a video. It will also prompt students and parents to share your photos and videos in their social circle to spread a word about you.
- Conduct Video Sessions
Students and parents want to know the face behind your business to form their trust. The best way to do is to conduct live sessions on Facebook or Instagram once a week around a theme relevant to your service. For instance, you can share study tips for board exams/ competition coaching or why summer camps are important for children. You can even host live tutorials on art and craft, storytelling, yoga, etc.
Make sure to save these live sessions so that the recorded versions are available for people who missed the live.
You can also pre-record your activities, upload videos on YouTube and share the link on your social media page.
- Promote Your Business on Parenting Platforms and Groups
You can also list your business and showcase your services for free, as well as reach and engage with the community of parents, on www.kidwise.in Another good option is to share your social media posts on parenting and children’s activity groups on Facebook to gain more traction.
- Host Contests and Giveaways
Nothing attracts the attention of your target audience more than an opportunity to win something! You can run some contest or plan a giveaway every week or month, depending on your budget. For example, you can post a quiz question and ask people to give the right answer. You can offer a 10% discount or a free demo/trial class on your fee to the selected winner.
- Be Prompt in Your Responses
The golden rule of engagement with your social media followers is to respond to their comments promptly, ideally within a few hours. A lack of response is also a response and sends an indication that you are not serious about your business. On the contrary, if you respond quickly, you can establish integrity with the students or parents and engage them deeper in conversation. Quick responses bring higher sales conversions.
Social media marketing can reap great advantages for your online classes and activities if you do it diligently and innovatively. You just need to invest 1-3 hours of time and efforts every day to achieve desired results!
My sister is planning to launch her art and craft classes online. These tips will be very helpful. Thank you.