Do you have a studio Facebook page, but don’t have many “likes”? Do you have lots of “likes” but no idea what to post? Do you not have a Facebook page at all? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this post is for you!
Piano Studios Need a Facebook Page
That’s a pretty simple statement… and it’s true. Facebook is free and it has the potential to be one of the biggest referrals to your studio. If you think you’re too small for a Facebook page, or if you have any doubts about whether a Facebook page will actually make a difference to your studio, then consider the fact that 500 million people now use Facebook. It’s likely that the majority of your clients (both current and future) are on Facebook at least once a day, if not more.
If you’re wary about starting a studio Facebook page, then take heart. It’s easier than it may seem and it has the ability to not only refer clients, but to build community within your studio if you’re not actively looking for new students. So if you don’t already have a page started, then click here to follow the instructions for setting up a Facebook business page. Once you’ve done that, then follow us to learn how to make it work for you!
Facebook for Piano Teachers
The content you share on Facebook should be relevant, engaging and varied. Follow the plan below for creating a impressive Piano Studio Facebook page fast.
1. Invite all of your friends and family to “like” your page. A studio Facebook page with just 12 likes doesn’t make a great first impression on a newbie stopping by. Boost your numbers with a solid core of people who already know you. Facebook makes this easy with an “invite your friends to like this page” feature.
2. Choose a cover photo and a profile picture that are eye-catching and piano-related. Make sure to fill in your “about” information with relevant details.
3. Ask your piano families for permission to post photos of their children. As you create relevant content you may be using photos of your students. Having this permission granted in advance makes this much easier.
4. Follow our 5 step-plan for Great Facebook Content below and be sure to update your page at least every other day. A “stale” Facebook page works against you!
5 Steps to Piano Studio Facebook Fame
Rotate these 5 different kinds of content and watch your page come alive with engagement. As people interact with your posts, your studio page will show up in the news feeds of others, and your digital word-of-mouth will spread.
1) Student-specific posts: Highlight students in your studio who have finished book levels, won awards, created compositions, reached a goal, won a theory game… you name it. These posts are a great chance to share photos of your students.
2) Information-based posts: Share links to good-quality articles related to music, the piano, and music education. If you’d prefer not to spend hours looking for these, then be sure to follow our articles board on Pinterest (we’ve done the looking for you!)
3) Music-related images: Find quotes, photographs and other images that are related to piano. We have these waiting for you on Pinterest too! This is a great way to include humor on your wall which typically results in engagement with your fans.
4) Studio news: People will look to your Facebook page for information on recital dates, days you are closed, special events, practice incentives, reminders your students need, snow day closures, group lesson dates etc.
5) Video: Share videos of your students playing, of your recitals, of you talking about practice-tips, of group lessons, of famous pianists… you name it!
From a consumer’s point of view, a business with an active, attractive and engaging Facebook page will make a great first impression. Whether or not you choose to have a personal Facebook page, having a business Facebook page for your studio will be a huge asset to your advertising. If there’s one change you decide to make to your studio advertising, make it this one! The cost is nil but the payoffs are huge!
Looking for newsworthy content? How about a post announcing the awesome new supplementary material your piano students will be learning each and every month? With a membership to PianoBookClub.com you’ll always have something to talk about as you receive a brand new piano book every month for just $8. Those supplementary books you’ve had for years are getting old (for both you and your students!) Shake things up with new music and get ready for fun!
Kathy G says
Thank you SO MUCH for this detailed information. I’ve known I needed/wanted to put up a Facebook page but haven’t had the time or energy (or brain power) to figure it all out. Sounds lame, but it’s just ‘one more thing’ that seems too daunting to tackle for some of us out here. Plus, after an exhausting, mixed up week of teaching, I was feeling ready to throw in the towel this morning. By the time I was halfway through this post I was feeling better, and by the end, I was thinking, ‘oh yeah, I could do this, it would be fun, it would be cool’. Lifesavers! That’s what you guys are!
Andrea says
You can do it Kathy! I also find that posting to Facebook gives me incentives to try new things at my studio…. I need something to post about… so I then have to do something interesting! It keeps you on your toes in that way. It’s easier to set up than it seems – you can model yourself after other great Facebook pages too and just copy what they’re doing until you get the hang of it. Here are just 3 great examples of people who are “on the ball” with a studio Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/krystismusicstudio
https://www.facebook.com/thewrightkeys
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fionas-Music-Studio/112583422090663?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser
Pinterest is helpful as a place to keep your online finds. Create boards for things like “Piano Teaching Games” or “Piano Studio Facebook Shareables” and then as you find them online you just use the “pin it” button and save it. Then it’s there when you need it. I have the Dropbox photo problem too… and I probably have more like 10 million photos 🙂
Kathy G says
Oh thanks, Andrea! I have a crazy next couple of days but will reread this carefully this weekend. You are so generous with your knowledge and ideas!
Kathy G says
Now if I could only figure out what Pinterest is and why I should care.
Heather says
Whoa……seriously? Be sure to check out not only Pinterest, but new artists like Lorde http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorde , and older but still cool Lady Gaga (she’s a pianist too). Listen to the Top 40 station……that’s where the kids are, and TV has gone the way of the Dodo…………apps and internet are everything to the kids. I’m pushing 50 and have Grandkids……….gotta keep up with the times. Have fun learning 🙂
Kathy G says
Facebook keeps changing the rules, and I am uncertain about being able to keep my personal Facebook page separate from my (future) studio Facebook page. ???
I’ve been having a spate of what feel like ‘rogue technology’ events lately and I am wary of adding anything else to the mix. My emails have suddenly started showing a photo of me — undoubtedly something I accidentally clicked on — but I don’t know how or why. Yesterday my computer suddenly started downloading my 8 million photos into my Dropbox account — yikes — again, I thought I clicked ‘no’ but there it goes. It hogs all my bandwidth and I can’t seem to stop or cancel it.
I realize many people WANT all their devices to synch all the time, instantly and continuously, but I don’t. That’s the reason I’m wary of trying something like Pinterest — just another potential alien takeover!
I’m mostly tongue in cheek here, but it really is also a matter of not wanting to spend any more time in front of any kind of screen. I’m curious about the potential for the kinds of promotion and learning Andrea and Trevor (and many other awesome bloggers) share — but I don’t have anyone in my real life (3-D) who can explain the ramifications and reasoning behind a lot of this stuff. So I tend to be cautious and do one thing at a time.
Heather, I certainly keep up via my students, but sorry, no radio (or modern facsimile) for me. I crave silence! in my ‘golden’ years (60s) ;)-
Jamila Sahar says
Great Post! I do have a fb page but have neglected it lately, so I will get back to posting kool relevant articles and videos again! Including from your website which has tons ! ☺️
Sarah Ehlers says
I was under the impression that Facebook is now charging you to boost your posts, though, so other people can see them? I have a Facebook page for my studio and quite a few “likes,” but if more than half the people on my studio Facebook page can’t see what I have posted, doesn’t it negate the purpose? Not that I disagree…I totally don’t! 🙂 But I don’t think Facebook is “free” anymore. 🙁
Andrea says
Hi Sarah – yes, you’re right to a degree. Facebook does offer the option to pay to “boost” your posts to be seen by more people. However, your posts will still show up in news feeds of those who interact regularly with your page. It’s certainly not mandatory to pay to post – and it just forces you to be more unique with what you post to get engagement and therefore more views. In a situation like a studio where people know you personally, you can also ask your clients to “get notifications” from you – this means that all of your posts will show up for them.
To do so you can use this wording: “Want to see everything that’s happening in my studio? Then follow these steps so you don’t miss a thing!” Click on your “likes” category on the left hand side of your home page. Find our studio and hover over the profile picture until you see a “liked” button appear. Hover over this button and select “get notifications”. Thank you!”
Hope that helps! Facebook changes so frequently – this works for now, but it’s a good idea to keep your eye on social media trends to see what’s happening next!
Sarah Ehlers says
Thanks so much for the tips! I’m constantly seeing on certain Facebook pages that I follow that even those who “like” the page will not see all the posts in their news feed…But I had forgotten about the “get notifications” button! 🙂
Casey says
Thank you for your helpful tips! I recently opened a music studio in my home and have had some great activity so far from my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/mrscaseysmusicstudio – please feel free to check it out!
Shelley says
Thank you so much for all of your info! I’m wondering how one posts your Pinterest posts on my Facebook page. Thank you in advance for your response.
Andrea says
Hi Shelley! You will need to click on the photo on Pinterest. Then (if you’re on a PC) right click and select “Save as” – choose a spot on your computer where you can easily find it. If you’re on a mac you can just drag the photo to your desktop.
Next, choose “photo” on your wall, find the file you just saved and upload it. Make a witty comment and post it!
Lisa Emmick says
Thank you – I have a facebook page but not many likes. Hadn’t pursued adding others who aren’t students on it. Love your ideas for content for posts! Thanks for doing the legwork for us!!!
Andrea says
Hi Lisa – you’re welcome! It’s always a good idea to build up a core of people anyway. Even if they’re just your family and friends who don’t intend on taking lessons – they still may have connections on their own facebook pages who may be interested! Not only does it make you seem more popular, but it also spreads that word-of-mouth web.
Ann says
Hi Andrea
Thanks for another great post. The only problem I have when going on to Pinterest is that I think I’ll just look for a few minutes but one good thing leads to another and I’m still there an hour later. 😉
Trevor says
Ugh me too! One minute I’m looking for piano teaching ideas and the next I’m salivating over some chocolate dessert recipe and planning a DIY reclaimed wood shelving unit LOL 🙂
Kristen Smith says
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for the suggestions for facebook pages. I recently started a studio facebook pg and was running out of ideas and your post was timely. I seem to have run into a strange issue. Apparently someone else can post on the page-it says recent posts by others. I have no idea who this person is. Is this a new feature where they allow posts in addition to comments from others? Or do I have a setting wrong. Here is the link for the page if you have ideas.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kristens-Piano-Studio/388260267943628
Thanks for any ones help.
Please forgive my lack of knowledge on how facebook works I am new to the business pages.
Trevor says
Hi Kristen – this is a setting you can change by following the progression below. If you don’t know the person you can click the small x beside their post and choose to delete this post and ban this user as well so they don’t have access to your page.
To avoid having anyone else be able to post to your wall (although you may want to leave this option open if you want interaction from your students at some point such as “Are there lessons on Wednesday?” type posts)
Click “Edit page” at the top beside the blue “create post” button -> edit settings -> posting ability “edit” -> uncheck the boxes you choose here to limit posting abilities by someone else
It’s always a good idea to turn on notifications so you are alerted whenever someone posts to your Facebook page. This allows you to be on top of any spam that may happen immediately. You can turn on these notifications by email in the same “edit settings” part under the notifications category.
Kristen says
Thanks Trevor!
Teresa Tullar says
RE: “3. Ask your piano families for permission to post photos of their children. As you create relevant content you may be using photos of your students. Having this permission granted in advance makes this much easier.”
Do you suggest having a hard copy of the permission vs an email? Also, do you have a sample Letter you’d send out to the parents? Thank you, in advance! (Love your articles!)
Jennifer says
I have a FB business page, and try to upload 1-2 times a week, but I get discouraged because a lot of my posts only get viewed by a handful of people, unless it’s a video. How do I get more people to view the posts?