We’ve blogged before about how piano teachers wear many different hats… at times it can feel like we do more of the “other stuff” than actually teaching piano! But we’re here with one more task to add to your weekly work.. and it could be the one thing that makes all the difference to your piano teaching studio.
… advertising… with a twist!
If there’s one thing Piano Teachers spend time thinking about, it’s how to get new piano students. But in the quest to advertise and market for new piano students, we forget that advertising the piano is just as important as is advertising our piano lessons.
Make This One Small Change… For Big Results!
Can you imagine if every parent in the world was regularly informed of the benefits of piano lessons? If the documented and proven cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of piano lessons were something everyone came across regularly in their day-to-day activities? If every piano teacher in the world spent just a few minutes of their week advertising the piano, not just lessons? I have a feeling the benefits would be felt by every piano teacher around the world.
I was reminded of this very thought this morning as I chatted with some moms at my toddler’s playgroup. One of them, not knowing that I was a piano teacher, went into great depth explaining to me her surprise in hearing from a friend that early childhood piano lessons can benefit mathematical abilities. This was clearly the first time she had heard this information – and as a young mom of a 4 year old, she probably hadn’t needed to pay attention to these facts ever before. Not only was she totally stoked about her new-found knowledge, but she was sharing it with all of the moms in the playgroup with enthusiasm… many of whom also looked surprised at this news. It was super for me that my WunderKeys Piano for Preschoolers poster also happened to be located in that same room (and that I could then introduce myself as the piano studio owner in the area!) but it really got me thinking about how I had seemingly somehow dropped the ball in informing my community about this well-known fact.
Make The Commitment… It Won’t Take Long
We live in an age where the single click of a computer mouse can literally reach hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of hours. And while you may not have an extensive social network, all of us do have a word-of-mouth network… and sometimes this is even more powerful than anything on-screen.
And so we’re challenging you to choose to do one of these three action items every single week, and we’re betting you’ll start to see the pay-offs; more committed piano students, more interest in piano lessons and better retention rates. Because anyone who was completely and regularly informed about what a wonderful thing piano education can be would feel very strongly about having their children involved. What could be better?!
Choose One Of These Action Items
1. Commit to sharing one “fact” every single week – This can be as simple as a post on your studio (or your personal) Facebook page, Twitter Feed or Google+ account. Make graphics to share on your timeline… tweet out articles… change your cover photo to an amazing stat… the possibilities are endless. You can also send it as an email to your studio, blog about it on your website or hand it out as a part of a newsletter to your studio families.
2. Stay current and up to date with recent research – the benefits of music are well-documented and the results of the most current research are regularly released to the news. Spend a portion of one day a week searching Google for the latest and greatest to be able to continue to share this information with your community. Be careful what facts you choose to share by ensuring that you are getting your information from reliable and well-trusted sources.
3. Live it! Being relevant, unique and involved makes you more of a trusted authority on the subject of the benefits of music education. If your clients and your community can see that you yourself are on the cutting edge of music education, they’re more likely to take what you tell them to heart. (Pssst… you’re off to a great start by reading this blog!) Consider being involved in our international music events like Return to Music Day (coming up!!), search out the latest and greatest in resources and devote yourself to being a true expert in the field of teaching piano to kids.
And We Wouldn’t Be “Us” If We Didn’t Get You Started!
1. Here’s a sample Facebook newsfeed image and cover photo that could be used to get started on the fun that is advertising the piano.
Sample Newsfeed Share-able:
Sample Facebook Cover Photo (sized to 851 x 315)
2. Below are four examples of great articles with information on how music lessons benefit kids…just to get you started. There are literally hundreds out there just like these…
Music Lessons Improve Kids’ Brain Development…
Making Music Makes Children Nicer
Sorry, Kids, Piano Lessons Make You Smarter
Music Education Can Help Children Improve Reading Skills
Go for it! Are you with me?!
If we all take this to heart and truly spend some effort en masse promoting not only our own piano lessons, but the piano in general, the world will be a better place (and not just for piano teachers!) So…are you with me?
