Owning your own dance studio allows you to do the thing that brings you so much passion, day-in-day out. To dance. And to have the chance to ignite the spark in the next generation of dancers. Your studio is however not only a passion but a business. And with it will come the up’s and downs that a small business brings.
One of the key challenges you will come across is how to generate new enrolments so your business can grow.
This is particularly difficult if you are in an area with a high density of dance studios.
And as if healthy competition from other dance schools was not enough – you are also competing with other kids activities.
Mums and dads alike are putting time aside to research what activity their child could try next. If you are going to win the enrolments – you are going to need to inspire them. The dance websites that convert have been carefully designed to do just that.
Dance websites that work for your studio
Your dance website is your opportunity to convert a prospect into an enrolment. The parent of your potential student is going to spend some time here before making their decision. They may even come back a couple of times. They will gather information and compare it to other sites they have found. If there is one thing you should invest in, this is it.
The following post looks at some key tips we believe make dance websites stand out in the crowd.
Be found
If you have been successful in your marketing efforts, your web visitors are coming to your site because they have received a flyer, they have seen your students perform at a community event, they have heard others talking about your studio or they have seen your ad in some local advertising. There are however those that start their search online. If they have not yet heard about your studio – it is likely that their search will be something like “dance studio near me”, or “dance classes in suburb, or “ballet school in region”. You need to ensure that when this happens, you have set-up your site to be found. This essentially forms the foundation of your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
SEO focuses on tactics to help you be found by search engines because this is not something that happens simply because you launched a site.
Where your site ranks in search engines (like Google for example) is based on many factors including site load time, keywords in your content, how engaging your content is, the authority of your domain, how many sites are linking to your page and just to ensure we are not finding this simple – about 50 more. You can spend time learning to do SEO yourself – or it can be outsourced. It is however important your SEO is set-up properly when your site is being built and that it is monitored and optimised on an ongoing basis.
Perception
All dance is fun which is a common message to communicate however the type of studio can range quite dramatically. For example – you may be a dance school offering fun and creative movement for littlies. Or your school could be more structured offering dance career development through exams, eisteddfod work and the like. This is where your web-design and content will play an important role. Your target market should get an immediate sense of the type of school you run when they land on your site so you can ensure the enrolments you are successful in generating are less likely to drop off after one or two terms.
Messaging
As mentioned earlier – not only do you need to stand out against competing dance schools, but you also need to steal the attention away from other kids sporting activities. How do you ensure the parent chooses ballet over gymnastics for their child? The parents of your students are likely to be looking for:
- Benefits for the kids – what will dance provide them? Co-ordination? Confidence? Shout loud about how your service is going to make their child a happier being.
- Community – parents want an environment where their child can gain a sense of belonging. Display through images, testimonials, and video the happy and welcoming environment you have created.
- Qualifications Particularly important if you are working to develop the next generation of “dancers”. Who are the teachers? What experience do they have? What do they specialise in?
- Class descriptions and timetable Help parents quickly identify where this new “activity” will fit into their tight schedule.
- Video – Provide a sneak peak into you choreography style, or simply amplify your community message by showing your students having a blast.
- Details Is there a dress code? What are the tuition fees? Create a list of FAQ’s to free up your time answering the same question over and over.
- Enrolment – make it simple! Keep in mind – the parents of your students most likely have jobs, they are running a household, they have more than one kid they are looking after. Keep it simple. Make it quick. Make sure it works. And in one of the first steps toward your retention – make sure there is acknowledgement. Given you are busy doing all the other work required to run a dance studio – it is best to automate as many of your repeat processes as possible.
- Social integration – We can’t deny the benefit of social media so use it! Encourage sharing, link blog posts, create promotions. The mother of one child in your class knows at least 2 other mothers who may be in your target market.
- Make an offer – Trial lessons are common but effective. Ensure your offer stands out.
- Concert details – If you are going to put on an annual concert – talk about it on your webpage. Parents love the idea of being able to see what their kids have been learning. It is a huge excitement for kids and parents alike.
If you, like many small business owners are simply swamped in the day-to-day – touch base with us at BluePixie. We are passionate about creating dance websites that convert! Let’s discuss how we can boost your enrolment numbers at a realistic rate for your business.
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