The COVID-19 pandemic led to massive growth in online education and e-learning, with teachers, parents, and students adopting this new medium.
Whether or not things go back to normal, online and education will go hand in hand from now on. This makes it important for every teacher to run a small tuition class out of home or run an extra classes centre – to have an online presence.
A strong online presence helps make your classes more accessible to interested parents and students searching online to discover courses similar to the ones you offer.
Here’s what every teacher seeking an online presence should keep in mind:
Create an attractive website
Every business needs to create a website, and an educator needs to ensure that his or her website is attractive and informative. The website should be user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing, and must drive conversations and conversions.
Use simple English, create only as many pages as you need, and keep the layout straightforward.
Plan a social media strategy
There’s much more to online than just a website; you need a strong brand presence to improve your reputation. Multiple digital marketing channels and social media platforms can ensure you have a presence everywhere – especially on sites that matter to students.
Plan and strategise your posts, to boost your following and make an impact.
Open all channels of communication.
Communication is important in the online and offline classroom environment. Announcements and notices can be easy to miss, which is why you need to ensure that students and parents don’t miss vital information.
Make sure everyone knows the best methods and times to connect with you.
Put it out on your website, send emails and texts, and forward reminders in group chats. Sending your email and phone number with each message opens up further channels of communication.
Build an online community
These days, it is not enough to simply have a website and social media profiles. Create a community of your students so that they band together, offline and online. Running simple contests, quizzes, and competitions encourages participation.
You can also increase student involvement by extra classwork that is fun – discussions, debates, and symposiums.
Create a learning centre
You may host your classes offline, but you can slowly build a learning centre online by posting interesting articles, blogs, videos, and more.
All you need to make sure is that what you post is of significance to students and helps enhance their learning. A parent’s corner – either on the website – or on your social media profile can help resolve doubts and queries.
Demonstrate your expertise
Apart from articles and blogs by other teachers and education experts, you can use your website to showcase your knowledge and expertise over time.
Make time to write knowledgeable articles, host question-and-answer sessions for students/parents, and consider starting your own video segment on the website.
These can be simple explainer videos that are easy to watch and understand – and will enhance your reputation as an expert.
Keep motivating your students
Everyone learns differently and at a different pace, and it’s important to keep every student motivated. Some students are self-motivated, but most need that push to get more from your classes.
Think of ways to motivate all your students – this can be done online via points, rewards, and vouchers.
Involve learners in the learning
An online presence positions you perfectly to involve students and parents in the learning journey and reach new milestones.
With appointment scheduling easy online, you can schedule virtual one-on-ones with students and their parents to monitor their progress over time.
A simple template and a few minutes will give you data that you can follow up on over the year to see what areas a particular student needs improvement.
Set up analytics
A website needs to be connected with analytics to gain insight into what it’s really doing for your business and online reputation.
This powerful tool can show you many details – how they found you, what page they visited, how long they stayed on your site, what device they used, and which city/state/country they were from.
Having this data gives you clues on which potential clients to follow up with.
Ask for reviews and ratings
In today’s world, almost everyone checks you online before making an appointment. It is said that the average consumer reads up to 10 online reviews before deciding on a product or service.
It’s important to make a good first impression online, and the best way to do this is with positive reviews and ratings. Display reviews from happy students and happier students to expand your client list.
If you don’t plan to start online classes, create a simple, productive, and user-friendly website and social media strategies that can create a homegrown brand that appeals to prospective students.
