Marketing Your Group Piano Classes - 4 DOs, 3 DON'Ts

Teachers so often wonder how to market their group piano classes, concerned that they are having to persuade parents who are already convinced by the 1-1 tradition.

First and foremost, if you are offering groups where students are learning and making music together, your case for the benefit for children will be easily made and parents will be easily convinced.

I have spoken to countless parents for whom the concept of group piano makes perfect sense. It is US who have needed the convincing because, so often, this is not the way we learnt, and actually we were mainly ok with the way we learnt… (e.g. I HATE exams and the way that it structures learning for my kids and won’t do it, but as a kid myself I LOVED them!).

That’s why we carried on and became musicians.

But only a small handful of students are going to be like us, and suited to being taught the way we were. And I sometimes think parents know that better than we do (don’t get me wrong, not ALL parents know this, but I sometimes wonder if those that are adamant about 1-1 are in it for different reasons other than music – big example in the UK here, passing instrumental exams from Grade 6 and up gets you extra points for University entrance, and parents fully admit that that is why they want their child to learn an instrument – so sad).

There are definitely things that parents DO want to hear about our group classes, and this all needs to be communicated in our marketing and messaging. We have also listed a few practical tips for how to actually go about getting interest from students.

Here are my dos and don’ts when it comes to marketing your group piano classes:

4 DOs

DO make sure you are clear on your group aims and approach so that you are clear on the benefits of students learning in your groups. Do your students sing? Are they playing ensembles? Do you play games? You can see our benefits that we use for our KeyNotes program in the image below.

DO decide your age groups, stage groups and learning aims for each. We tend to recommend separating 4-5 year olds from older students as their needs and attention spans are very different to older children. Once you have decided these things, you will be able to have a rough idea on your timetable, and then advertise those times, and ages. A marketing campaign that is too generic won’t speak to anyone – make it specific and it will speak to those we need it to. It is much more impactful to say, we have a class starting for 4-5 year olds on Wednesdays at 10.00am where we will focus on foundational piano skills and concepts through singing, movement, games, listening and playing, will get more response than simply saying, we are launching group piano classes.

DO join community and parent Facebook groups for your area. These groups are where many of us have found many of our students (and then once your lessons are loved, word of mouth kicks in!). Again, be engaging in what you post, rather than just saying, I teach piano!

DO have a Facebook/Instagram business page that represents your general vibe, whether that be creative, exam-orientated, student-led etc. This means more than just pics of people finishing books (sorry!). Posts should focus on the content of the learning, the activities, the student engagement etc. Also, share local news and events too! Show you are a part of the community. 

3 DON’Ts

DON'T make it about cost. If anyone thinks they are making a decision based on something costing less, they will not truly value the classes and will see them as second best to 1-1. My group classes do cost less than the average 1-1 lesson in my area, but parents will know that to be the case without needing to be told. The join because of the things that my groups cannot offer in 1-1 (learning and playing with others in the main). Instead talk about accessibility (which can refer to more than just cost, see above).

DON’T announce that you are going to launch group classes without specific details (see above) and hope to be able to put groups/times together based on who wants classes. I have seen this so many times and it is not the way around to do it; it can make for a disparate class where the individuals in it have learning needs that are too diverse, and therefore you are not able to give them the best experience.

DON’T be tempted to offer free trials. Attendance is patchy and those that are after free are the ones that are attracted by the offer (and hence will disappear once they have to pay!). Instead, offer three-week trials that are paid for; that way parents and children can get to know you and your studio before signing up longer term.

Consistency is key when it comes to marketing, don't be put off by lack of engagement (you may be like me and less than keen on the idea of reels and tiktok, which is where the engagement is really happening!). BUT I don't know about you, but when I am looking at a business as a potential customer, I will look at their website, and I will look at their socials. The latter gives a much better indication of the vibe and the focus of the business.

Good luck in this busy time of marketing your groups!