Running your own martial arts school can be a challenging task. Not only do you have to worry about running a successful business, but you are also tasked with the training and development of your students. Because of this, marketing your dojo can often get pushed aside in the ever-growing list of things to do. So to help make the process a bit easier to approach, here are some quick tips and ideas to successfully market your martial arts school by using social media.

Set Up Accounts on Facebook and Instagram

Perhaps the easiest step to take is just setting up social media accounts to represent your school. Facebook and Instagram are the best channels to do this on, and by having them you are giving people an opportunity to find you and quickly learn about your school. We recommend you post on a consistent basis (at least once a week) and include photos, videos, and announcements of any events you have going on.

Facebook

  • Facebook is slightly different from Instagram in that it allows you to include relevant information about your business directly on your profile. This can include your school’s address, hours of operation, phone number, and website, all of which you should have. We also recommend you take the time to write a short description of your school to give people just finding you an idea of what style(s) of martial arts you teach. 

  • Having this information available will help people decide if your studio is right for them. Not only will it allow them to know exactly where you are located, how to find you, and how to contact you, but making it easy for them to find you can drastically help increase the number of students you bring in.

Instagram

  • Instagram is another great way for you to showcase your school and everything your students are learning. Make sure you have a profile picture – your school logo is a great image to use for this – as well as a brief description about your school that includes a link to your website (if you have one).

  •  Hashtags

    • When posting to Instagram you are allowed to ‘tag’ each photo. This is essentially a way to describe your picture and make it easy for people to find it in search. For example, Macho recently posted this to Instagram: (see below) and used the hashtags: #martialarts #weaponstraining #karate because those are common words or categories that describe the photo. Then, if someone is searching for things related to martial arts, my photo will pop up.

    • Instagram also gives you the option of setting a location for each post, which we also recommend. Similar to hashtags, if someone searches for your gym on Instagram any photos you put with your location will appear.

Rules for Content

Make sure your images are the right size and have been properly edited before posting. No one likes blurry images, and poor quality photos can make your school seem unprofessional when compared to ones with better quality photos. To prevent this from happening, try and focus your phone or camera as much as possible on the action, person, location etc. you are trying to capture. Then, use the following guidelines when posting photos to different social media channels:

  • Facebook:
    • Cover Photo – 720 x 312 pixels
    • Profile Photo – 320 x 320 pixels
    • Newsfeed – 1,200 x 628 pixels
  •  Instagram:
    • Square size recommended – 1080 x 1080 pixels

Content Types

The best type of content for school owners to post is images and videos. These types of visual content will help potential students and their families know what your school is like before they even visit it. Showing them how you run your school, who you are as their instructor, and the types of students who go there is a great way to introduce yourself to them so that they already have a general impression of what to expect when they go visit.

Think of it this way. Would you go to a school that you know nothing about? Or would you first try the place that has videos of the studio and students in action? The more information you can share about yourself and your school, the better, so make sure that any content you create shares your message so that you can connect with new students and audiences.