Our customer service is second to none and we always go the extra mile to help our customers. A few weeks ago, our customer Michele Rubino was in distress because of an issue with not receiving one of the backdrops she expected. We first learned about the incident the evening before her event which made everything a bit more of a challenge for us. After reviewing all our options, we decided to jump on a plane and hand-deliver the backdrop. Michele was shocked to learn that we would do something so out of the box to help her have a successful show.
At Backdrops Beautiful we value our customers and we will do everything we can to deliver on our product. We will go up and beyond to earn your continued business to ensure a long-term successful partnership.
Here’s a testimonial from our valued customer Michele Rubino:
Dear Backdrop Beautiful,
I just wanted to write and let you know how pleased I am with not only your product but your amazing customer service as well! When there was a major snafu with one of our drops (no fault of your company), Backdrops Beautiful FLEW a backdrop to us on a commercial airline so we would have it for our production of “Cinderella”. Your backdrops were indeed beautiful and so was the service! Everyone there was friendly and helpful! We will be returning for our next big production for sure! Thank you for making “Cinderella” a truly enchanted experience!
Michele Rubino – Executive Director | Ahwatukee Children’s Theatre
I wrote a similar post almost two years ago called The Power of the Net , It’s amazing how things change. We had just started our journey incorporating social media within our studio. I am happy to say I have learned a lot in these two years. For example; what works and what doesn’t, what to keep your eyes open for (the good, bad, and the ugly), and social media etiquette. I will speak a bit more about those later, but for now lets talk about the benefits of social media for dance. I will list a few examples, but as most of you already know the opportunities with social media are endless.
A Professional Dancer:
With a few simple tools such as Facebook and Twitter, you can promote yourself as a dancer and connect with several other people in your industry. You can post your performances to get a bigger fan base and connect with those who may have information on the latest auditions in your area.
Dance Teachers:
Similar to the above, teachers can promote themselves and connect with people in their industry. They can share ideas, thoughts, and concerns with teachers from around the world. Teachers can also stay connected with their students, but make sure you check with your studios policy on contact with students online. My suggestion is create a separate Fan page or Twitter account, keep your personal life personal and your contact with your students professional.
Studio Owners:
Can do all of the above plus created networks, blogs and of course websites for their business. Please see my networking list in my previous post for examples. What I have done, and what you will do over time, is narrow down the sites you use for networking. If you have experience with social media you know that it can become a bit overwhelming and time consuming, a great example of less is more and quality not quantity.
Find Out What Works Best For You and What Doesn’t.
For me it’s convenience, that’s why I love and stick to my Facebook Fan page, YouTube and Twitter accounts for networking. What’s great about these three is you can sync your accounts, which saves time. Then of course we have the Blog and Ning Network. What I recommend doing is keeping things clean and simple all on one site. I did this on my personal site and plan on doing it for the studio soon. You will notice that I have a blog and network all in one place on one site, that way it eliminates your customers and fans from having to navigate away from your main site and eliminates you having to post in several places. With my dance studio I would no longer have to have a Ning network or a blogger account, it would be all in one place as I said before.
Narrow Down Your Network
For help and support I’ve narrowed down my list to Dancestudioowner.com and Danceadvantage.net. Now especially, there are tons of sites and blogs to lend a helping hand and give advice to the dance industry. Again, find what suites you and makes your experience convenient.
What to Keep Your Eyes Open For
It’s ironic because at the same time I was asked to be a guest blogger, my circle of online dance buds did a Social Smarts Live Chat . This very informative event was hosted by Nichelle of Dance Advantage, Suzanne of Dance Studio Owner, and Marc of Tendu TV. By visiting the Social Smarts link you can get the opinions of some great people who have experience with Social Media and Dance. Social media is open for anyone, and we are all here for different reasons. My advice would be to surround yourself with people of similar interest and common goals… not to far off from how you would conduct yourself in “real life.”
Social Media Etiquette
This is something I would like to give my opinion on for those of you just starting out. I know you are excited and see many benefits and opportunities. Just remember that you will build a reputation online just as you do out in the real world. Be polite and courteous of other peoples time and what you ask of them. A few examples…
Do not tweet to often and flood peoples stream with tweets
Do respond to relevant questions or posts
Do not beg for followers or people to participate in what you are doing
Do remain professional at all times
For those of you still hesitant to jump on the social media ban wagon, think of these questions for yourself and ask the opinions of others…
What do you hear of more often, a person reading the yellow pages or a person googling the information they need?
What do you see more often, a person reading the newspaper or someone with and ipad, personal reader, or iphone?
How are the younger generation communicating, through telephone or real life conversations or by Tweeting and Facebooking each other?
How has our lines of communication changed, do we talk on the phone at all anymore or do we just text?
How has our society evolved as far as communication and advertising?
Is Social Media right for you and your business?
I hope this information is useful for those of you just getting started and even those of you who have been here for some time. It never hurts to share ideas, it’s yet one of the other benefits of social media, right? I would also like to say that by creating this post I am by no means categorizing myself as a “social media expert”. I just think it’s nice to hear from others in your field about what works for them.
As I explained before, we will all use Social Media for different reasons. Some are trying to sell a particular product, some simply want to socialize, and some are here just to get themselves out there and known. I happen to like keeping it fun, I’m not pushing my studio or myself in anyway, I just hope people become more aware of my presence and if I happen to get a new student or client this way, then great! Social Media for me is just an addition to the advertising we do already and a fun way to share ideas and meet other great dance industry people.
I shall leave you with two perfect examples of what I’m talking about.
“Thank you for your support in my effort to create a positive, motivating, non competitive place for us to interact and share our love for dance. My goal is to be well known as a encouraging support system to our Dance community, and best of all, its Free! Help me in my effort and ask others who love dance in NJ to join too. Get yourself a badge or send them and invite. Questions, comments, suggestions are always welcome. I look forward to hearing from you all. Peace, Love, Dance!”
Second example, Why Dance Matters … a virtual event that rallies the dance community online created by my friend Nichelle of Dance Advantange. This was an amazing event to participate in and witness…the love and appreciation for dance was overwhelming! Below are my contributions to the event…
I hope you find this post and information useful. For me this was just another effort to spread my love and passion for dance. I thank you all for reading and as always…
Peace, Love, Dance!
~ Leslea
(image by Blethery via Flickr Creative Commons License)
Have you ever hit a stalemate in your business? Maybe you’re in slow season, or maybe things aren’t bad, but they’re not growing either, they’re stale. Well, years ago you might have considered printing and handing out flyers to promote your business, maybe advertising in a newspaper or trade magazine, doing a mass mailing, or, if you had the budget, doing some radio or television advertising. These are all very traditional forms of marketing your business which are effective, however, they will also affect your budget in a significant way. Times have changed, and the world is getting and sharing information in brand new ways, and it’s called, Social Media.
Social Media did not just come onto the scene, it’s been around for many years now. However, there has been a significant growth spurt and demographic transition and expansion for those using social media, and it’s one that you need to pay attention to. Remember, change is good!
Here are the top 3 reasons why some people don’t participate in social media:
1) I don’t understand it.
2) I don’t have the time.
3) I don’t see the point/benefit for my personal brand/business.
And my response:
1) I don’t understand it. – Well, let’s simplify it. All you need to do is 3 things: a) Determine who your target audience is b) Share useful information that is of interest to that audience c) Engage in conversation and offer support to your audience.
2) I don’t have the time. – You don’t necessarily have to spend 10 hrs a day on your social media accounts. And furthermore, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and Linked in accounts can all be connected to one another. You can schedule your updates ahead of time on a website like http://socialoomph.com. Or you can start off by simply dedicating 30 min. or 1 hour a day to social networking, and take it from there.
3) I don’t see the point/benefit for my personal brand/business. – First and foremost, when anything hits the masses and is acknowledged by television, radio, and global businesses, that should tell you that it is definitely beneficial for your brand.
I know this from experience. One example of this is, the “America’s Best Dance Studio Contest” that my company, Kiner Enterprises Inc. created. It’s all about showcasing excellence in dance studios across America, in celebration of National Dance Week. All of our contest sponsors were acquired through social media, and the success of the contest is solely based on social media, as we have done no other type of promotion or print advertising for this contest.
When done right, social media can help grow your business, enhance your brand awareness, and ultimately increase your bottom line. The best part, however, is all of the wonderful relationships that you will build with great, passionate, and hard-working people just like yourself. You’ll gain motivation, inspiration, and learn A LOT.
What are you using to attract more customers for the fall of 2010? You have your email list, you have your website, your photos for the fall ad campaign are in place, so what’s next? Have you ever considered the power of Facebook to attract new customers to your facility? Facebook is growing every day, it isn’t just for the high school or college student anymore. Companies like Pepsi and Toyota send out daily updates to fans on their pages. Dance Vendors, Dance Teacher Magazine and Dance Distributors offer daily articles or discounts to their fans on both Facebook and Twitter. So how can you expand your student base and attract more customers in your doors for the summer and fall?
Join Facebook and set up your own studio fan page, if you haven’t already. Then decide how you would attract a new customer into your facility. In a newspaper ad you might offer a coupon, you can do that on Facebook, or you might announce your summer program through your email customer base, you can do that too, and you can do it quicker and more efficiently. Everyday dance studios post class cancellations due to weather conditions, upcoming workshops or community events, kudos to their students in weekend dance competitions, just about anything they are currently offering in their studio. You don’t have to wait for ad design or approval from your local newspaper or until the next edition comes out to get feedback from customers. Facebook seamlessly integrates events (which you can request your fans to post on their walls to friends who are potential sales leads for you), information about your studio which you can edit without waiting for your website manager to do, or ask customers to review your studio in the review tab. You can upload latest videos of your dance events including competitions or mid-year performances; create a photo album of your latest fund raising effort, or post notes about recital picture days and rehearsals. How you use it to advertise is as creative as you want to make it.
I am not suggesting that you abandon the traditional methods you currently use. I am suggesting that you research the new concept of social media marketing for your facility. Recent articles suggest that a fan base created on Facebook increased a return of sales for most companies by 36%. In these economic times that is an investment worth researching.
