Unless you live under a rock, you probably know about the
immense promotional power of Instagram. Why not learn to harness it to promote
your martial arts school?
One of the main reasons why Instagram is so popular among
marketing strategists is its global outreach. The social media platform has
over 1 billion users worldwide, only second to Facebook, the world's largest
social media platform. Another reason Instagram is an effective marketing tool
(in some cases, even more effective than Facebook) is that it's visually driven
and dynamic. Instagram is a dynamic platform that relies on catchy visuals.
However, promoting your martial arts school on Instagram is no walk in the park. It requires persistence, grit, hard work, and experimentation. But with the right tricks up your sleeve, you can expand your customer outreach and, eventually, your customer base. We've picked out some tried and tested Instagram marketing strategies that work.
Understand how Instagram works
Once you have set up an Instagram channel, it's time to
start thinking about how to drive more users to it. The best way to do that on
Instagram is by using catchy visuals and embedding your promotional material
inside it. The bottom line is everything you do on Instagram should make the
viewer stop scrolling for a moment and read what you're all about.
For instance, let's say you're running a 30% off on your admissions until the next month; how do you convey that information to your audience? By writing it down in plain old words? No, that's boring. Instead, you must design a flashy poster with bright fonts, contrasting colors, and dynamic visuals to entice your audience. You can use these gym social media post templates and an online graphic design tool like PosterMyWall to craft your posters in a few simple clicks.
Engagement is everything
Posters and banners can only take you so far. You need
regular content so that people have the incentive to visit your Instagram
channel time and time again. This is the only way to build a brand identity for
your martial arts school. There are no shortcuts to doing this ” the only way
possible is to increase engagement on your channel. How do you do that? By
posting valuable content regularly.
Valuable content means content that adds value to your potential customers. We recommend having an up-and-running website blog where you post articles about your martial arts school. For instance, you could write an article about what to look for in a martial arts school. Or how to gauge the expertise of the martial arts faculty in a school? ” all these topics help potential customers make the best decision.
Next, post your article URLs on your Instagram posts and accompany them with a catchy banner and caption. Remember, don't write long, boring walls of text on your Instagram posts! It'll just push people away. You can use these Instagram post templates to make your posts as eye-grabbing as possible.
Harness the power of hashtags
Hashtags are perhaps the most essential tool that filters
out your posts and content above your competitors. They help potential
customers find your posts. The trick is to use the right and popular hashtags
so that people can find you easily when they search for a hashtag.
How and where can you find the right hashtags, though? Use a
social listening tool, such as Hootsuite, to learn which hashtags related to
your industry are popular now. Once you have a list of hashtags, use them in
your Instagram posts at the end of your post. For example, you can use #jujitsu
or #martialarts.
Be mindful of not flooding your post with too many hashtags. Although you're allowed to use 30 hashtags per post, we recommend using 5 to 8, depending on whether the hashtags are relevant. Avoid them altogether if they're irrelevant.
Instagram stories are the way to go
Instagram has this cool feature where you can record
snippets and upload them to your channel's story. Each snippet is about 30
seconds long and appears for no more than 24 hours. Stories are a great way to
enhance traction on your channel. They let your audience know the latest
updates about your martial arts school.
For example, you could share a story of a student who just graduated from your martial arts school. They'll tell about their experience at your school and inform others about the skills they learned to help others have a glimpse of what your school is all about. Alternatively, you could do a quick fast-forward tour of your school, showcasing your equipment, facilities, and faculty.
Promote your Instagram channel on your other social media platforms
Instagram isn't the only platform on which you should be
marketing your martial arts school. You must have a YouTube channel and a
Facebook page. On YouTube, you should focus on creating videos about various
martial arts techniques and styles. For instance, you could give a glimpse of
your training program and what you teach in it. Or, you could post something
about martial arts self-defense techniques ” that's more evergreen content.
Social media marketing is all about sustaining your traction with content. On Facebook, you can post links to articles on your website blog or videos on your YouTube channel. Whatever you post, make sure you create a posting schedule and stick with it. Many businesses make the mistake of not being consistent with their posts. That only drives people away because your audience needs valuable content to consume consistently. At some point, you will need a content creation team to be able to keep up with the quality and quantity of your videos.
A final piece of advice
Instagram marketing can be tricky to implement, but with the right tactics mentioned above, you'll be well on your way to making your martial arts school a grand success. The key is traction ” the more traction you'll get, the more customers you'll get through the door. Once you've built the necessary traction, you can accelerate your results by running paid targeted ads to your specific audience.
