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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Dance Studio Marketing: Staying Competitive Through the Internet





Dance studio marketing is a topic of interest to many studio owners and managers today. Operating a dance studio, just like any other business, requires a lot of hard work and determination. Internet marketing has been taking on an increased role in many of the studios' marketing programs in recent years due to its lower cost and higher levels of reach as compared to direct mail.

Studio managers have a wide array of dance advertising to choose from in the quest to stay competitive and reach more customers . These include operating a website incorporating SEO, utilizing social media marketing, sending out email promotions, writing articles about the dance studio, and running banner ads on websites relevant to dancing.

Another approach to entertainment marketing is to hire an SEO firm. SEO stands for search engine optimization. This is a tactic whereby a website, through the use of rich keywords and phrases, achieves a higher ranking in the results sections of the major search engines. Higher rankings will equate to more site hits , which hopefully will translate to more conversions. Dance studio managers can consult with an SEO firm to help out with this difficult and technical task. It should be noted that SEO must be joined with website content that is of the highest caliber and constantly updated. Without fresh and updated content, SEO service alone will not be effective.

In addition to operating a website incorporating SEO, a dance studio manager can use the various social media networks to promote his or her dance studio. Social networking websites contain millions of fresh leads for marketers, and it is possible to target extremely specific demographics through such media. For instance, dancers within a certain age group who are interested in ballet could be targeted. In addition to the many fresh and targeted leads that social media sites are capable of providing, it is also cost efficient to promote dance studio activities on them. Social networking websites continue to experience rapid growth and are a relatively new phenomenon, which makes them an attractive vehicle from which to promote dance-related activities.

Next, owners of dance studios can send out emails as part of their marketing plans. Emails can also be sent to current studio customers and prospects. On top of making sure that the emails are sent out to the appropriate lists, care has to be taken to ensure that effective email subject lines, text, and images are used. There are so many emails already flooding' peoples inboxes, and it is critical that emails stand out from the competition. Furthermore, there are rules to follow to ensure that emails do not end up in their recipients' spam folders. Some tips to avoid spam folders include not using exclamation points in the subject line and not utilizing the word free anywhere in the promotional text.

Studio managers can also write articles about their dance studio that contain hyperlinks to their companies website within the articles. These articles can be distributed to various article websites throughout the Internet. Such article sites are accessed by thousands of people. Well-written articles furthermore have staying power and can be passed on to a constant source of new leads. When people read the articles, they can click on the hyperlinks and visit the studios website.

Last but not least, studio owners can place banner ads hyperlinking to the studio's website on targeted sites. The intent of course would be for people to click on the banner ads and then hopefully sign up for dance lessons. A dance magazine, for example, would be a good place to purchase banner ads promoting the studio.

In conclusion, dance studio owners have increasingly relied on Internet marketing to promote their businesses and increase registration. Some of the advertising activities that they have been engaging in include operating a website incorporating SEO, utilizing social media marketing, sending out email promotions, writing articles about the dance studio, and running banner ads on websites relevant to dancing.

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