Attracting new students to your classes can be a challenge for baton twirling coaches and directors. We're going to share the methods that have helped us to attract thousands of new families to our classes.
#1 - Social Media - As I'm sure that you know, the influence of social media is HUGE! If you haven't already, create a public Facebook, Instagram or TikTok page for your group (private groups are great for your current customers) but the public page is how we're going to spread the word. Pages are free to create.
Once you have created the page, invite your current families to like your page and invite their friends to like your page. This is important because if you decide to advertise on Facebook then Facebook can create an advertising profile that matches your current students.
Now that you have a page established, post pictures of you, your students, where you practice, performances. Everything is content!
#2 - Public performances like school festivals, parades, farmers market performances and the options are endless. When you perform, be sure to have marketing materials like fliers or postcards available so that people can get in touch with you. Give away free plastic batons for kids (be sure to attach your contact information to the batons with a label so that potential customers can get in touch with you).
#3 - Email Marketing! Email marketing can be one of the best ways to advertise and have the highest return on investment. Mailchimp and Constant Contact are two popular services that have free subscriptions. As you begin to collect family names and email addresses, add them to your database and begin your email marketing plan,
#4 - Post in Your Neighborhood Facebook Groups. Many neighborhoods or communities have Facebook groups and be sure to spread the word in those groups. Even better if your families can comment about how much they love your classes.
#5 - Look for partnerships in your community! We partnered with a tutoring facility and in this partnership, we put their logo in each of our recital programs and they put our fliers in their lobby.
#6 - Offer free trial classes for families. A free 30 or 45 minute class can be a great way to meet new families and have kids see what an awesome class you offer.
#7 - Ask your current families for referrals! Your families probably know other families with kids the same age. Offer a bonus or gift for referring a friend to you!
#8 - For a small investment, you can purchase car magnets. I have used these for years and they do work! My car magnets are simple - BATON TWIRLING LESSONS, a twirler image and my phone number and they work! I get tons of calls from these!
There are so many opportunities for you to expand your reach. Remember, you don't need to tackle everything at once rather focus on one thing at a time. Be sure to measure your impact. Did you get any new information requests? Did they enroll? Keep track of your data so that you can see your progress and evaluate whether it is worth to continue that particular method.