Does your family spend downtime in any of these ways?
- You find a speaker who shares how to improve your productivity.
- Your daughter watches a tutorial on how to sew a cute pillowcase.
- Your mom enjoys the guilty pleasure of watching a cat ride a Roomba.
- You are moved by the stories of caring and compassion that come out of a tragedy thousands of miles away.
- You anticipate your marathon chat sessions with friends and family.
- You and your spouse binge watch a full season of Ted Lasso.
What do all these experiences have in common? Yup, you guessed it… video.
The video revolution is in full swing. YouTube and other video sharing websites are hugely popular (but mostly YouTube, let’s be honest), and it’s easier all the time to share video through social networking websites such as TikTok and Instagram.
Very well & good, but how does this apply to you and your dance studio?
Videos can help get your studio’s name out there and/or keep it ‘top of mind’. They can showcase your programs and funnel more people to your dance studio’s website (where they can get more information and register for class).
Let’s do a touch of mathematics lite to see how video can benefit your bottom line. According to Onmicore in 2022, there are 240 million active YouTube users in the U.S, and 62% of those users access YouTube daily (Hootsuite).
Obviously, you don’t need or want all of those people to see your studio’s videos (can you imagine?). But if .00001 percent of those people are in your target market and see your video(s) over the course of a year? That’s 1488 people.
And if only 10% of those viewers are moved to enroll their child in class? That’s 149 new students through your studio’s doors (or double+ that if they have interested siblings).
The possibilities are amazing. But in case you’re still unconvinced…
5 Main Benefits of Using Video to Market Your Dance Studio:
1. Videos Expand your Reach
Having a video marketing strategy opens your dance studio up to new audiences and, therefore, new potential dancers. According to a recent digital trends report by Hootsuite, YouTube is the world’s second-most visited website. By not putting out studio videos, you are cutting yourself off from a huge cache of prospects and are quickly getting behind the curve.
But by creating a rich platform of video content, your dance studio’s brand can reach an audience who might not otherwise think to visit your site or social media channels.
2. Videos can Increase your Studio’s Credibility
When trying to compete against more established dance studios (or maintain your placement against new upstart schools), building credibility is crucial to the success of a dance studio.
Showcasing your personal expertise and your studio’s amazing programs and dancers through video builds a credibility that can be difficult to obtain otherwise.
3. Videos are Engaging
Agreeable. Captivating. Appealing. “Tending to draw favorable attention or interest”.
Your videos can be all these things, and if you mix them up, your engaging videos will be anticipated and shared. For example, you can first create a video testimonial, then an informal studio tour, and then a “Dance Chat with the Studio Owner” video.
Having this sort of video strategy also results in viewers that are more likely to engage with you.
How? Include a ‘call to action’ in your video to encourage users to further engage with your studio after they’re done watching. You might direct them to your website or ask them to call during office hours with questions about your class schedule and registration. This extra engagement will help give viewers an opportunity to find out more about you, and in turn, you’ll get more video bang for your buck.
4. Videos Put You in Favor with Google
Google is the #1 search engine, hands down. No surprise there. You may be surprised to learn, though, that the #2 search engine in the world is YouTube. It’s not just your audience that will appreciate your video offerings, Google will too. Google rewards websites that display consistently fresh, quality content, particularly rich content such as video.
In fact, videos can be given preference over image and text results in Google search, especially when you properly optimize your YouTube videos with titles, descriptions, and tags. This means your videos could earn a high-ranking spot for your best search terms. And when your visually rich videos do get up high in the page rankings, they will be more likely to catch the eyes and attentions of users than the textual listings surrounding them.
5. Videos are Increasingly Being Used by your Competitors
We’ve been creating custom dance studio websites since ye olden days, and it’s been fascinating to watch the increase of studios using video. As videos become an increasing part of our daily routines and people get more comfortable sharing them with others, it makes sense that savvy studio owners would incorporate video into their websites and social media channels. And it’s true – more and more dance studios are using videos.
But what we’ve noticed is that other than the swanky studio promo videos featured on some websites, studio owners aren’t really sure where to go with video. Sometimes we’ll see short clips of a dance routine being rehearsed. Occasionally, excerpts from recital or a studio tour. And that… is about it.
As much as it’s nice to have them on a website for their own sake, people are missing the boat if their videos are not part of a larger marketing strategy. To be clear, I’m not talking about (shudder) ‘salesy’ videos. Your videos can still be fun, informative, and entertaining. It’s just that being a little more thoughtful and intentional about the videos you create and how you share them takes them from being a fun distraction to an integral part of a marketing strategy that will bring new dancers through your doors.
Video isn’t going anywhere. It’s getting bigger and Bigger and BIGGER every year. You can wait, wonder, and watch as nearby studios start implementing video strategies, or you can start integrating video yourself and leap ahead of your competitors.
The Long & Short of It
Used thoughtfully and well, you can use the power of video to introduce your studio to new audiences and enroll new dancers. You can also use it to engage and delight your existing dancers and parents, increasing their loyalty further still. Keep these things in mind as you create and implement your studio’s video marketing strategy.
It’s possible you’re wondering what types of videos to create and if so, I’ve got you covered. Here are at least a dozen fun and unique ways to use video to entertain your audience and promote your dance studio.
Best wishes to you & your studio!
Stacey
P.S. This post is a part of the Dance Studio Video Marketing Handbook. Check it out for lots more juicy content & actionable tips!