I have used photo props for a long time in my studio to recognize student achievement, decorate brag boards, and communicate with parents. And, no doubt, you are going to want to use our Printable Photo Props (see below) for these tasks as well.
But where photo props are truly golden is on a Facebook page…
Do you ever feel as though you’re posting the same old things to your studio Facebook page? Do you wish there was an easy way to add engaging posts without a lot of extra time?
Having a studio Facebook page is one thing… having an active and regularly updated page is another! But finding exciting things to post all the time can seem like a bit of a chore.
Well put your hands in the air and shout “Wahoo!” because today we’re sharing a set of printables that will make your studio Facebook page look lively, engaging, current, hip, and professional! And if you don’t have a Facebook page, these photos can instead be displayed in your studio or emailed to parents with a congratulatory message.
Student Recognition Meets Social Media Gold
Note: Before you post anything on your Facebook page that contains a picture of a student, you MUST obtain written parental consent and abide by any other related laws and regulations in your jurisdiction.
A wonderful way to put a “face” on your Facebook page is to include photos of your piano students. Our printables today will help you put a professional touch on these student photos PLUS give you the opportunity to recognize your students’ achievements in a meaningful way!
Today’s printable is a set of 6 “Photo Prop Signs” that recognize your students for various accomplishments. All you need to do is choose the appropriate sign, stick it to the front of a photo frame with double-sided tape (no need to place it behind the glass), have your student hold the frame proudly, snap a great photo, and upload it to your Facebook page!…
Voila! You have congratulated your student, shared her achievements and encouraged engagement on your Facebook page… all while looking beautifully professional in the process. The best part? What looks like it took you several hours to prep is actually just the click of a “print” button.
Be sure to tag your students’ parents in the photo post. They’ll be so proud that they’re likely share it to their own wall… which expands your word-of-mouth net just that little bit further!
Pssst! We’d absolutely LOVE to see these pop up on your Facebook pages, so be sure to tag TeachPianoToday too! 🙂
Bonus Printable For PianoGameClub Members
My students love to gloat when they win a piano game… and so in the set we also included a photo prop printable for your students to declare victory over their piano teacher 😉 PianoGameClub members can use this download to quickly share their students’ victories plus, highlight the fact that you use a unique approach to teaching piano theory that kids love!
Amy Comparetto says
I love these! It’s sooo hard to keep up with my studio Facebook page. I use Buffer so I can do it all at once, but people don’t engage when the posts are boring — they ALWAYS engage when there are pictures of students. I will totally use these. Thanks for the great idea, and for inspiring me to get back on top of my Facebook page!
Andrea says
Hi Amy – I’ve found the same thing… student photos and videos get the most engagement! Hope this is a time saving way of getting more of those on your wall 🙂
Gwenn says
Just a note of caution: Make sure you have parents sign a photo release. It’s sad that we have to think of/do these things, but it’s unfortunately necessary in today’s world.
Rachel says
I’ve been trying to figure out how to feature more students on my page (goal is one per week!), but coming up short. This is exactly what I need!
Andrea says
Wonderful Rachel! I know exactly what you mean… it can be hard to think of new ideas all the time. I plan on keeping these right beside me at the piano… whenever the opportunity arises I’ll snap a photo and then I’ll always have something to share! 🙂 Hope they work for you.
Jan says
These are fantastic! I love it!
Andrea says
Great Jan! 🙂 Would love to see them on your Facebook wall – be sure to tag us!
Susan says
Genius !! Ty Andrea for another awesome idea.
Evelyn Michaels says
Love the idea of this but was wondering about printing them from my own printer. I don’t have FB page. The background is black and would use up so much printer ink.
Andrea says
Hi Evelyn – we really recommend sending them to your local print shop (like Staples). It’s the same price for a full page of ink vs. a little ink and it makes a big difference in terms of visual appeal in a photograph to have a dark background. You just need to print the set of 6 once on cardstock (at about 60 cents per page) and then you can use them over and over for years. The photos you take of the students can simply be emailed to parents (no need to print them unless you want to) or you can send them to a photo shop for about 10 cents to display in your studio. We promise the small investment in printing the one set of 6 will be worth it in terms of parental engagement 🙂
Beth says
What a great idea! Facebook constantly reminds me that I haven’t posted in awhile. This is such an easy way to feature students and get parents engaged!
Andrea says
Oh I know that nagging Facebook… LOL 🙂 Now you can gleefully post something fabulous in response to that bothersome nudge 🙂
Andrea says
Look at how fast this teacher started using these! Way to go Joyce! 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/joyfulsoundspianostudio/posts/1041437595920174:0“>
Susan says
These are wonderful! Thanks for sharing! I know that my students and their families are going to love getting these photos sent to them each week/month. 🙂
Andrea says
Hi Susan – so happy to hear you can put them to use!
Elizabeth says
I’m a mobile teacher…everything I need for the day has to fit into my bag. I just saved these to my iPad as a PDF in iBooks….no printing costs, no paper to get lost or crumpled, and happy kids, starting tomorrow. I have four student moving on to new books this week, so the timing is perfect. Thank you!
Andrea says
Fabulous idea Elizabeth – using the iPad as the “frame” is super creative! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Vicki Carr says
Elizabeth, can you walk me through that process of saving to iBooks?
Marie says
How cute are these! Do you and Trevor ever sleep with all of these creative ideas running through your heads? What a fun way to boost self-esteem in our students!
Amy O says
What a great idea! I love that they’re reusable, too 🙂
Beth T says
Such a great idea! I was trying to “second” a request for a “First Piano Lesson!” one, but now I don’t see that post. It would be an awesome way to engage with parents immediately! These are great
Beth T says
Such a great idea! Pictures are so necessary to engage on FB & Pinterest so I’ll be sending them to Staples right away. I had wanted to “second” someone’s comment about how great it would be to have a “My First Lesson” one too, but now I can’t see that comment. A “My First Lesson” would help to engage the parents within hours of their child’s first lesson. Thanks so much!
Janet says
Fantastic, immediate response!! This week, my new student of 3 weeks has consistently met her practice goal since her first lesson. We marked the moment with a quick pic and emailed it to her parent right away. What a great surprise it was to discover that, only hours later, the pic was already posted on the parent’s facebook page and had received rave reviews! What a great way to reward my student for her excellent efforts, make the parent proud, and advertise FREE with very little effort, all done in an instant!! THANK YOU!!
Andrea says
Yippee Janet! This is EXACTLY our goal for this blog post – and we’re so happy to hear it worked so quickly for you 🙂
Evelyn says
Thanks for IPad idea, Elizabeth.
Andrea printing at staples is another good one for hard copies!!
Thanks for all the great comments everyone.
Sandra says
Thank you SOOOOO much for these awesome printables! I used a bunch of them today in lessons, then shared them on my studio Facebook page (with permission) and honestly I haven’t had so many likes or page views EVER!
Andrea says
That’s wonderful to hear Sandra! Yay for lots of engagement on your Facebook page – this has GREAT word of mouth potential! 🙂
Becky says
Genius! Thank you so much. 😀
Gabriella Burdette says
Hi! I was wondering if I could get these images as pictures instead of PDF? It would be cheaper for me since I get shutterfly coupons a lot.
Thank you
Andrea says
Hi Gabriella – google “PDF to PNG converter” and you can change the file over 🙂
Dana says
Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic idea! I’m definitely going to use it with my students!
Robin Maples says
I would like to see this in a white background so it would less expensive to print but it is a great resource.