Using Facebook Ads for Your Studio.

I recently launched an online piano lesson course for kids, and have been taking marketing course after marketing course to figure out how to get my brand out there!

In doing so, I’ve learned a lot of very valuable information about using Facebook as a marketing tool for businesses. If you find your target audience, your advertising can be incredibly affordable AND valuable. Here are some tips for ways to utilize Facebook to get your studio name to your target customers:

1. Create beautiful images.  A striking image is going to prevent your target customer from scrolling write past your ad when it pops up into her feed. I highly recommend using a tool called Canva to create your ads. They have sizes optimized for various social media, and you can purchase images for just $1 to use in your ads (be sure to download the PNG version so that the resolution is crystal clear).
2. Get specific about who you are targeting.  You can use geographical region, age, gender, likes and demographics to create a specific audience. I teach piano lessons to mostly children, so I narrow my audience first using my geographical region. Then I select women ages 28-48 who have preschool and grade school aged children. When you set up a specific audience, this ensures that your ads are only going to be seen by people who meet this criteria, and you’ll pay less per click.
3. Be active on your studio Facebook page. When you are paying for ads, many people will often get curious about your studio’s Facebook page and scroll through the posts on your wall. Be sure that you are sharing lots of relevant information there, so that your potential customers and followers will see that you are an active and relevant expert in your field.
4. Use imagery over text. Facebook has rules about how much text is allowed in your images for advertising, so pick a striking image and use minimal text in order to get it approved. Use the copy (the description above the image) to convey the necessary information, rather than trying to put it within the image.
5. Offer promotional freebies. Sometimes the way to get someone to click on you ad is to offer them an “opt-in” freebie. If your studio has newsletters, you could offer them this freebie in exchange for your e-mail. For example, you might offer a free PDF of practicing tips or a 15% off the first month discount code if they opt-in to your newsletter list. You can create professional looking opt-in forms using services like MailMunch, Convert Kit or Lead Pages. This is a great way to build a relationship with potential customers, as then they will be on your e-mail list and you will have ongoing communication with them.

While it takes a bit of experimenting to find your right audience and become familiar with editing tools on Facebook, it really is a valuable and effective way to get your studio’s name out there. Be patient with yourself and enjoy the growth you see!