Essential Social Media For Piano Teachers
As a piano teacher, social media can be a great way to attract new piano students! But talk to any business owner who has attempted to grow an audience on a social media platform and they will tell you: it is hard work!
So, which platforms are worth your valuable time? And which ones can you skip?
In this post, I’ll outline which platforms I’ve seen real results from and which ones I abandoned because of a lack of return on investment.
I’ll also walk you through the essential steps to set up my top three recommended social media platforms for piano teachers.
My Top Three Platforms: Social Media For Piano Teachers
The three platforms I’ve seen the biggest return on (time) investment are:
I know you’re probably thinking, “But what about ___________?” Yes, I know these three social media platforms are just the tip of the social media iceberg. Hang in there! We’ll talk about some of the other platforms out there as well. It doesn’t mean they’re not viable! I’m just focusing on the big three (in my experience).
Local Marketing on Social Media For Piano Teachers
Quick disclaimer that this post focuses on local marketing for piano teachers who are looking to start or grow their in-person lesson studio.
Although some of the platforms and principles in this post will also apply to online teachers and worldwide marketing, the tips here are intended for in-person piano teachers seeking local students.
Why Facebook is My Still Number One Social Media Platform
Yes, I know–Facebook is for old people. It’s the has-been social media platform our grandparents are into. Insert Gen Z eyeroll here.
And, personally, I am not a Facebook fan. I am no longer active on the platform with my personal account.
But I cannot ignore the fact that I have gained more new students from Facebook than any other online platform!
Although I expect this will shift in the next decade, at the writing of this article, Facebook is still the number one place to find my potential customers: local families with kids in elementary and middle school.
In addition to the demographic hanging out on Facebook, it is the best social media platform to create a page for your business! It’s almost like a second website with pictures, contact info, posts, even chat with one click.
How to Get Started on Facebook
In order to create a business page on Facebook, you’ll first need a personal account. Create a personal account to get started by going to facebook.com and clicking Create new account.
Create a Business Page For Your Piano Studio on Facebook
- From your personal account, go to Pages in the left-hand menu. (If you’ve never created a new Page before, you may need to click See More to find Pages.)
- Click Create new page in the upper left corner.
- From here, follow Facebook’s prompts to enter all the details of your business!
If you need more detailed guidance on continuing the setup process, check out this article which includes a more step-by-step tutorial.
Populating Your New Facebook Business Page
Here’s a list of things to get up on your sparkling new Facebook business page as soon as you can:
- Profile picture. This can be your square logo that we created in the Design Your Piano Studio Logo tutorial.
- Banner picture. I also go over how to create this graphic in the Design Your Logo post.
- Link your website URL so viewers can click to be redirected to your main website. (Don’t have a website yet? Check out this blog post where I’ll walk you through a website setup and design.)
- Studio pictures (if you have any)
- A first post. Your first post should include a picture of you or a video of you. It should include how to contact you and highlight your current openings for piano lessons.
Maintaining Your Facebook Business Page
Plan to post new content at least once a week on your business Facebook account.
If you are currently actively seeking new students, check out this post where I walk through my complete Facebook marketing strategy using Facebook Groups to find students.
Why Instagram?
After Facebook, Instagram is the second most popular place for my ideal customers to hang out in the social media world.
Unlike Facebook, you can’t create a “second website” for your business on Instagram. But you can get discovered by customers in your area and if they are interested enough, they may click your link in bio to be directed to your website.
Or they may message you directly on Instagram! Many people these days feel more comfortable sending a quick direct message rather than filling out a form or calling.
How to Get Started on Instagram
Like Facebook, you’ll need a personal account on Instagram before you can create a business profile.
Download the Instagram app on your phone and set up your account.
Create a Business Profile For Your Piano Studio on Instagram
Once you’ve created your personal account, you can click on your profile picture, then your account name to Create a new account.
For more detailed instructions, check out Instagram’s official instructions on setting up a business profile on their website.
Populating Your New Instagram Business Profile
Here’s a couple of things to get up on your Instagram business profile as soon as you can:
- Profile picture. This can be your square logo that we created in the Design Your Piano Studio Logo tutorial.
- Link your website in your bio. (Don’t have a website yet? Check out this blog post where I’ll walk you through a website setup and design.)
- A first post. Your first post should include a picture of you with a short introduction on who you are and what you teach. You can lead people to a link in your bio to find more information on lessons.
Maintaining Your Facebook Business Page
Plan to post new content at least once a week on your business Instagram feed or reels.
I also recommend searching for local schools, groups, other teachers or other relevant accounts. Follow and comment on other posts where it seems appropriate.
Why LinkedIn?
Unless you are looking to actively hire or collaborate with other teachers, LinkedIn isn’t a great social media platform for piano teachers. But, that’s not what we’re going to use it for!
In our case, we’re going to use LinkedIn as a professional landing page that showcases your experience and talents. Think of it as an online resume.
How to Get Started on LinkedIn
- Start by creating a new account on LinkedIn. To do this, click New to LinkedIn? Join now.
Already have a personal LinkedIn account? If you already have an account that features your musical experience, education and background, go ahead and use it!
- Enter your email and create a password.
- Enter your name and location.
- Enter your most recent job title. (Favor any music-related jobs you can claim!)
- Confirm your email address.
- Enter your job seeking intent (or lack thereof, in this case).
- LinkedIn will ask if you’d like to connect with people right away. I recommend skipping this step and coming back to it once your profile is set up.
- Upload a nice profile picture of yourself.
- LinkedIn will then invite you to download their app. You can skip this step.
- And then, they’ll invite you to follow relevant accounts. It’s up to you. You can skip this step as well.
- You’ll then be directed to the homepage.
- Click on your little picture (“Me”) at the top to View Profile.
- From here, you can add in your relevant job history, education, business info, etc.
Populating Your New LinkedIn Business Profile
Here are the main items you’ll want to include on your new LinkedIn Profile:
- Professional-looking profile picture or you
- A logo banner (LinkedIn banners are 1584×396 pixels)
- Fill out your Profile Section completely with all relevant skills, education, job history, etc.
- A link to your website
- Contact info if you’re open to being contacted by phone
Maintaining Your LinkedIn Business Profile
Not a lot of maintenance is required for your LinkedIn profile since we are mainly using it as an online resume.
- Update your profile picture about once a year.
- Update any additional education or skills you acquire.
- Check your LinkedIn messages periodically.
And that’s it for now!
If you decide to expand and hire more teachers in the future, this profile and platform will be an invaluable resource for connecting with the right people. So if you think this type of growth may be in your future, consider building connections now by following other people in your area.
Other Social Media Platforms For Piano Teachers
But what about…
There are so many other social media platforms out there. So let’s briefly touch on some other popular platforms, their potential, and why they may not be worth your time.
YouTube
YouTube is a great platform for musicians to get their face out there on the interwebs. However, YouTube may not be the easiest place to find local in-person students.
The problem is that it takes so much time and effort to grow an audience on YouTube. And if you do put in the time and effort to gain a following, that following will be spread out across the globe.
Although I do think having a YouTube channel for your piano studio is a great idea for sharing recitals (unlisted) or an intro video for your website, I don’t think it’s worth investing a ton of time from a local marketing standpoint.
Pinterest is a visual search engine that draws in internet searchers and leads them to a relevant website off of the platform.
An exclusively online piano teacher might gain some traction with Pinterest, but, much like YouTube, it takes months (or years) of daily posting to gain traction on Pinterest and your audience is on a global scale.
For a local small business, I just don’t think Pinterest is worth the effort.
When I started my independent piano lesson studio, I did start a Twitter account along with my Facebook and Instagram pages.
Personally, I did end up abandoning my Twitter account as I didn’t gain followers or find engagement like I did on the other platforms.
If you have had a different experience with Twitter, please comment below!
TikTok
Of these alternative social media for piano teachers ideas I’ve mentioned in this section, TikTok shows the most promise for the future!
The great thing about TikTok is that their algorithm makes it easier to grow as a new account than, say, Instagram, which takes months of dedicated engagement. So TikTok shows promise for gaining an audience of potential students!
What I can’t say for certain is whether it truly works as a local marketing tool. If you have any insight into this, please comment below!
There’s One MORE Social Media Platform For Piano Teachers
Confession time! I left out a very important social media platform.
Why? Well, I’m not sure it’s 100% technically a social media platform.
But, this platform is great for finding local students! READ this post next to find out what this local platform is and how to use it as a FREE marketing tool!