10 New Year’s Resolutions for Social Media Marketing in ELT

The start of a new year is almost here so now is the perfect time to set goals and resolutions for your social media marketing in ELT. To help you grow your online visibility on social media in the upcoming year you need to make some effective resolutions now! 

When it comes to growing your language school’s online presence with social media marketing, it is important to have a plan in place to ensure that your efforts will be effective and successful. In this article, I will share 10 social media resolutions to consider for your social media marketing strategy in the New Year: 

10 Social Media Resolutions for ELT Marketing

Take Better Photos for your Language School Social Media

You don’t need photos taken by a professional photographer for your social media. Of course, if you can afford one, give it a go. However, most language schools will ask teachers and staff to take photos for social media. Although everyone nowadays takes tons of photos with a mobile camera, lots of those are useless for social media. Why?

They have bad lighting, the wrong position, the wrong angle or simply are not conveying any message.

Taking good photos for social media is important because it helps to create a strong, professional image for your ELT marketing. Well-composed and well-lit photos can help draw attention to your posts and make them more eye-catching. Besides, sharing great photos on social media makes posts more engaging and can encourage more interaction from followers or even stop the scroll! Good photos can also help show the story behind your language services and create a connection with your students. It is really important to remember to use high-quality images that are relevant to the message you are trying to convey in the post copy.

But I’m not a photographer! Well, taking amazing photos even if you are not a photographer is possible just by paying attention to some details. In “Take Amazing School Photos for Social Media” article, I explain how to take amazing photos with your mobile phone for language school social media. Read it here and share it with your staff! You can’t afford another year with bad-looking photos on your feed! 

Shoot more Social Media Videos for your ELT Marketing!

Maybe I should simply say, shoot videos! (Language schools are not using enough videos on social media yet!) Shooting videos for social media is an important part of creating engaging content. Videos capture attention quickly, and they can be used to tell students’ stories, promote courses, and share information in a visually appealing way. Videos can help you reach more potential students since viewers are more likely to watch something visually stimulating. What’s more, videos are a great way to showcase your school as a brand and build relationships with your students and parents, since they provide a unique opportunity to showcase your personality and values. Give videos a chance to liven up your social media marketing in the New Year! Make Reels your new best friend in the New Year!

Do a Social Media Health Check!

Achieving success with social media requires careful organization of your accounts and content. Take some time to health-check your existing accounts and make sure that your profiles are up-to-date, on-brand, optimized and cohesive across all platforms.

If you download my FREE Social Media Health Check for Language Schools you will be guided to analyze your social media and it will help you set relevant goals for ELT Marketing in the New Year.

Once you have set your goals, it is important to track your performance and analyze the data to determine what is working and what needs to be improved. Tracking your performance will help you create a more effective social media marketing strategy. Also, it will help you determine what types of content are working, and what needs to be improved. If you need help with creating a social media strategy for your ELT services, contact me for a discovery call.

Analyze your Competitors on Social Media

Analyzing your competitors is key because it helps you understand the competitive landscape and develop strategies to differentiate your language courses. By understanding what your competitors are doing, you can better identify opportunities to stand out, capitalize on weaknesses in the competitive market, and develop strategies to appeal to potential students. Also, understanding what your competitors are doing can help you track trends and tweak your ELT marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve. If you analyze your competitors you’ll be surprised by the findings and also a step ahead in the New Year!

Add automation to drive sales from Facebook leads and DMs

Automation can be a great way to save time and ensure that your social media content is being posted consistently. For example, you should use automation tools to help you schedule posts. Another power of automation is to help you drive sales from leads by setting automized emails to follow up on inquiries through DMs or FB leads.

Start using WhatsApp Business as part of your Marketing Strategy

WhatsApp Business is a free app and it has many tools that can help you work in a more organized way such as labels, automatic replies, away messages and a catalogue. It’s part of the Meta family and very soon the WhatsApp chat will be integrated into the Meta platform so you can see everything from one place. What’s more, you can also add your landline to WAB helping reach also those who don’t have your mobile number saved. The status is an extra space for free visibility like stories on Instagram and Facebook. So what are you waiting for? Read “WhatsApp Business: 5 reasons to use it for your School Marketing”.

To help you set up WhatsApp Business for your ELT Marketing Services I have created a checklist. Download the “Optimizing WhatsApp Business Checklist” .

Save time with Reels by using Templates

There’s no doubt that for bigger organic reach you must integrate Reels into your ELT Marketing strategy. There’s also no doubt that Reels can be time-consuming to create. However, there’s a solution to save time with Reels.

One of the most useful and time-saving features of Reels is using templates. Templates are pre-made recordings that you can use as the basis for your Reel. This way, you don’t have to spend time creating your recordings from scratch.

Once you’ve found a template that you like, you can start customizing it to fit your plans. You can change the music and visuals, and even add your own text and voiceover if you wish. This allows you to create a Reel unique to you and your language services. 

Using templates on Reels is an excellent way to save time when creating content. It’s a time-effective way to create Reels and reach way more social media users without spending too much time on it. Will you try it?

Stop using native-speakerism as a selling point!

Unfortunately, native-speakerism is often used by language schools as a selling point in their marketing, which can be harmful to both students and language teachers. 

To stop using native-speakerism as a selling point, language schools should instead focus on the qualifications, skills and experience of their EFL teachers.

By using “mother-tongue” teachers or “native-speaker” teachers in your ELT marketing you are not differentiating from your competitors who happen to have the same “unique selling point”. Funnily enough, very often it isn’t true that teachers are native speakers. Not to mention, that by highlighting the nationality language schools are neglecting what really matters to teach and to showcase: an EFL teaching qualification!

Move away from this discriminatory practice which is clichè and dive into inclusive ELT marketing in the New Year!. 

Emphasize the communication skills, the specialization or the diverse cultural background of your team of teachers instead.

Start using LinkedIn to Build your Personal Brand in ELT

LinkedIn is a powerful platform to build your personal brand in ELT, as it allows you to reach a wide range of potential stakeholders, industry experts, and students. It is the best platform to showcase your professional achievements, knowledge and expertise. You can create a profile that is informative and interesting, and you can use it to connect with people in the ELT industry, share your ideas and opinions, and even join groups and discussions related to the ELT field. LinkedIn is the right place to build a strong network of contacts providing you with valuable opportunities to grow and expand your ELT services.

And NO, Linkedin isn’t a CV online… and NO, Linkedin isn’t for corporates only! Make LinkedIn your best alley in the New Year!

Train your admin staff to use Social Media for your Language School Marketing

Employability skills are usually transferable and can be used across a wide range of employment settings. One of them is social media management, yet most admin staff from language schools lack this 21st-century employability skill. This is for the language school a huge drawback and can lead to extra costs for the school. 

It is often thought that because the staff is young they will know how to do the language school social media. However social media management skills are a completely different beast from social media posting, which you do for fun but not for supporting the school’s marketing.

Investing in Social Media Training specific to the ELT sector will help increase brand awareness, create positive student and parent experiences, and provide valuable insights. What’s more, having a well-trained staff managing your social media accounts can ensure that your language school’s messaging is consistent and professional.

If you decide to train your language school’s admin in social media management, I can help with a tailored training session. Contact me through this form to arrange a discovery call.

New Year, Better ELT Marketing on Social Media!

By setting these 10 resolutions for your language school’s social media marketing strategy in 2023, you can ensure that your efforts are effective and successful and that you are not wasting your precious time and hard-earned budget.

If doing everything on your own sounds daunting, why not get the support of an ELT Marketing & Educational Consultant like me to help you smash your social media in 2023? Tempted?

Don’t overthink it and contact me for a discovery call.

In the meantime, why don’t you subscribe to the GR School Marketing Newsletter? Receive social media post ideas for language schools and industry news.