How To Get More Reviews For Your Dance Studio

Increasing the volume and quality of online reviews for your dance studio is not only to manage your digital presence, but to foster a community that actively supports and promotes your business.

In this article, we’ll discuss actionable strategies for dance schools that can transform your approach to collecting online reviews and turn them into powerful tools for growth and engagement.

• Integrate Review Requests into Customer Journeys
• Create a Seamless Review Process
• Empower Your Team to Drive Reviews
• Managing and Responding to Reviews
• Leverage Positive Reviews in Marketing
• Engage the Community for Broader Impact

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Author’s note: I’m Olivier and I’m going to share with you tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the last ten years as the owner of a children’s sports program. Today, as the co-founder of Activity Messenger, I help hundreds of dance studios across North America streamline their operations and increase their revenue.

If you’re looking for a new modern dance studio software for your dance lessons, here are the 7 best modern dance studio software.

Integrate Review Requests into Customer Journeys

You can significantly increase reviews for your dance school by creating moments in the customer experience where asking for reviews feels natural.

• Automate Post-Class Emails: Use your dance management software to send automated emails after a student completes a dance class or a milestone, inviting them to share their experience.
• In-Class Announcements: At the end of particularly positive dance lessons, take a moment to express how much you’d appreciate reviews. Explain how their feedback not only helps your dance school grow, but also helps create a community that others want to join.
• Social Media: Create campaigns that encourage students to share their dance lesson stories. For example, select a month where dance students are encouraged to post about their dancing progress and tag your studio will naturally lead to more reviews.

Create a Seamless Review Process

By making it as easy as possible to leave a testimonial, you can encourage more dancers and parents to share their experiences.

• QR Codes in the Studio: Place QR codes around your dance academy, especially in high-traffic areas like the lobby or water cooler. Add a friendly call to action like, “Did you love your class today? Tell us with a quick scan!”
• Direct Links in Communications: Include direct links to your Google My Business, Yelp, or Facebook reviews in all digital communications like newsletters to make it easy for parents and students to leave reviews.
• Create a review hub on your website: Designate a testimonial and review section on your studio’s website and provide easy access for satisfied clients to add their voices.

Empower Your Team to Drive Reviews

Your employees play a critical role in encouraging reviews. Empowering them can lead to a significant increase in positive feedback.

• Staff Training: Train your team regularly on the importance of reviews and how to ask for them effectively, using role-playing to build comfort.
• Incentive Programs: Encourage a proactive approach to review collection by rewarding employees who excel at collecting reviews.
• Goals and Reminders: Set clear, achievable goals for review collection and regularly remind your team of these targets in staff meetings or through internal communications.

Managing and Responding to Reviews

A proactive approach to online review management can turn even negative feedback into an opportunity to showcase your dance academy’s commitment to excellence.

• Dedicated Review Manager: Have a dedicated person or team responsible for monitoring and responding to reviews in a timely manner so that no feedback, good or bad, goes unnoticed.
• Negative Feedback: Train employees to respond constructively to negative reviews and turn potential negatives into opportunities to demonstrate your commitment to continuous improvement at your dance school.
• Celebrate Positive Reviews: Share glowing reviews, thank the reviewer, and reinforce the positive behavior in public areas of your studio and on social media.

Leveraging Positive Reviews in Marketing

Leveraging positive reviews in your dance studio marketing strategies will enhance your credibility, make your dance academy relatable and showcase the vibrant community surrounding your dance studio.

• Reviews in promotional materials: Use standout reviews in your promotional materials, from flyers to digital ads, to provide prospects with authentic testimonials.
• Feature reviews in email campaigns: Include a section in your email campaigns that showcases recent positive reviews to reinforce the positive experiences of your community members.
• Include reviews on social media: As part of your social proof strategy, regularly post positive reviews on your social media platforms and encourage others to join the chorus of satisfied voices.

📌 Pro tip: Most people do two things before choosing a dance studio: Ask for recommendations and check online/offline reviews. To increase revenue, you need both a local dance community that’s talking about how great your studio is and an online presence on review sites so people can find you without having to interact directly with any of your students.

Engaging the Community for Broader Impact

Using end-of-session surveys to prompt testimonials

End-of-session surveys are the perfect stepping stone to enhancing your dance academy’s online reputation. You can capture valuable feedback, ensuring that positive experiences make their way to public review platforms. Here are 2 recommendations to effectively use end-of-session surveys:

1. Automating Surveys

Gain immediate and authentic responses from parents and students by automating the distribution of end-of-session or class surveys.

• Set Up Automated Emails/SMS: Use your Dance Management Software or email marketing platforms to automatically send surveys immediately after a session ends. This ensures feedback is gathered while the experience is still fresh in the participants’ minds.
• Personalize: To make the request for feedback more personal and relevant to the recipient, tailor the survey invitation to the specific class or session.
• Optimize Timing: Experiment with sending times to find the “sweet spot” that will maximize your response rates and ensure that you are collecting a wide range of feedback.

2. Keep responses internal

By keeping survey responses for internal use only, you encourage honest and constructive criticism.

• Highlight that answers won’t be share: Make it clear in your survey communication that responses are to be kept internally for your dance teachers. This assurance can encourage more open and honest feedback.
• Ease of Response: Design your surveys to be quick and easy to complete, respecting the respondent’s time and increasing the likelihood of participation.
• Act on Feedback: Use the responses to address issues and improve the experience at your dance school.

3. Filter Positive Experiences for Public Testimonials

Use survey insights to identify exceptionally positive feedback that can be turned into public testimonials with participants’ permission.

• Identify Positive Feedback: Analyze survey responses to pinpoint positive experiences.
• Follow Up Personally: Reach out personally to those who have provided positive feedback, thanking them for helping you and inviting them to share their experiences on public review sites.
• Guide your client: For those who are willing to go public with their feedback, provide simple instructions on how to post their reviews online to reduce any potential barriers to sharing their positive experiences.

How Activity Messenger Replaces Multiple Tools

Activity Messenger  was built with the unique needs of dance studios in mind.

It combines a variety of important tools, from email marketing and staff management to registration and digital exemptions, into a single, unified platform.
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Activity Messenger is designed to simplify operations, improve communication, and enrich the studio experience for all involved. It is an essential tool for dance studios looking to compete in their local market by streamlining administrative tasks, allowing studio owners to focus more on their passion for dance.

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Frequently asked questions

1. Why are online reviews important for dance schools? They enhance your dance academy’s credibility and online presence, making it more attractive to potential dancers by showcasing your unique offerings and successes.
2. Which platforms should I prioritize for my dance studio reviews? Broaden your visibility by focusing on Google, Facebook, and Yelp, and also consider niche platforms like DanceAdvisor for targeted industry reach.
3. How can I encourage my students and their parents to leave reviews without seeming pushy? Use follow-up emails or take advantage of positive moments, such as after a successful performance, to ask for reviews. Add a QR code at your front desk and automate end-of-session surveys to collect feedback.
4. What’s the best time to ask for a review from my dance students? Ideal times include after a student’s successful performance or noticeable improvement to capitalize on their positive experience. Following a dance progress report with a request for a testimonial is also a good time.
5. How should I respond to online negative reviews about my dance school? Approach negative feedback with empathy and professionalism, offering to resolve issues offline, which can help turn critics into advocates and better understand their experience and how you can resolve it.
6. Can incentives be used to encourage reviews, and if so, how? While incentives can motivate reviews, be sure they are ethical and in line with platform policies; consider offering discounts or public recognition as incentives.
7. What kind of impact do reviews have on local SEO for my dance studio? Reviews contribute to local SEO by providing fresh, relevant content and increasing your studio’s visibility in local search results. They also help with click-through rates, as people tend to gravitate toward experiences that have positive online reviews.
8. How can I make posting online reviews easy as possible for my dance students? To encourage participation, provide direct links and clear instructions on how to leave a review in follow-up communications or on your website.
9. How can I leverage positive reviews in my marketing efforts for my dance school? Display positive reviews on your website, newsletters, and social media platforms to build trust and attract new students with authentic testimonials.