There is a fine line between Bragging and Branding on Social Media, and depending on which route you take, it can either make or break your business.
Bragging is when it’s always about YOU – your achievements, your talents, your strengths, your awesome dancing. Every word you say, every post you make, it’s all about ME ME ME ME ME (*yawns). Instead of trying to impress your potential students, you will actually end up pushing them away. Why? Because nobody likes a show-off. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about ourselves on Social Media. We of course still need to talk about ourselves, otherwise people won’t even realise we exist! But we need to do it the RIGHT way.
Both Bragging and Branding focus on YOU, but the difference between the two is in the INTENTION. With Bragging, your intent is of selfishness – you want to tell people how amazing you are, how much better you are than everybody else. You do it to feed your ego and it validates your self-worth. (this could even lead you to belittling other instructors, which is worse). With Branding, on the other hand, your intent is of helpfulness.
- You talk about yourself so that your audience can connect with your personal values and with what you stand for. The more they feel they can relate to you, the more likely that they want to work with you.
- You talk about yourself so that your potential students can tell what sets you apart from your competition, to help them choose you rather than other dance schools.
- You talk about yourself so that your students can visualise what it’s like to learn from you and how they can benefit from joining your dance school. This is where you share testimonials from current students, or share stories about how you help a student with something they’re struggling with (eg. timing), or share a success story of a student who’s only been with you for a while but already showing a massive improvement.
Branding is still about YOU, but seen from the lens of your students. Your students will appreciate it when you assure them that they have the highest chance of success if they choose to go to your dance school.
So remember, next time you post something on your website or on social media, ask yourself this question: “Will sharing this post help your potential students?” If the answer is yes, then by all means post it!
If you’re serious about building your dance school’s brand on social media – to increase its visibility, and you want a step by step approach on how you can do this, then we have just the right plan of action for you. Our 10 Day Visibility Challenge will help you build the groundwork that will enable you to then accelerate your dance school growth. Find out more on our online school here: https://socialdancecollective.teachable.com/p/10-day-visibility-challenge.
