How to Successfully Optimize your Language School’s Facebook Page

Soon language courses will be starting here in Italy so NOW it’s the perfect time to optimize your language school’s Facebook page. Making sure that you optimize your school’s Facebook Business page will increase your chances to be discoverable online just when everyone is looking for a language course.

Is it still worth having a Facebook Page?

Facebook is by far the most popular social media network in Italy and in the world and more recently users have been using it as a search engine! This means that potential students and parents who are now looking for a local language school or freelancer they are probably doing so on the Facebook search field.

Facebook is used by over 30 million people in Italy meaning that roughly one in two use Facebook today. What’s more, according to research by Websiterating 44% of Facebook users have admitted that their buying decisions have been influenced by Facebook. For this reason, it is paramount that your page set-up is optimized and branded the best way possible and your content responds to your students’ needs. ( Find ideas to plan content for your Facebook page here and download the worksheet to get started)

Optimize your Facebook Page for Success

Setting up a Facebook Business Page for your language school is pretty straightforward and you probably have it already. However, you should think about how to optimize your school’s Facebook page as it isn’t banal and requires being strategic. There are important tweaks that can make you more discoverable when people are searching for language services on the platform. Let’s check them out here:

1. Keywords

Considering that Mr Zuckerberg’s platform is used as a search engine to look for services having keywords in your page information box will help you rank higher.

Please note that your school’s Facebook page becomes more discoverable as long as the words typed by the potential student (keywords) match the ones used in your Facebook page set-up. In other words, you will rank higher if you optimize your school’s Facebook page wording. Therefore, make sure that you are using keywords in the information sections of your language school’s Facebook page. Keywords you may want are: “Corso Inglese adulti”, “Scuola di lingua + town’s name ”,  “Preparazione certificazione” and so on.

2. Make it easy for potential students to reach you

88% of Facebook users access the platform from a mobile phone (source Websiterating )so having your WhatsApp Business number on the contact information is an excellent strategy. In this way, potential students can immediately start a direct conversation with you from their mobile devices. They may also check your WhatsApp catalogue if you are using WhatsApp Business.

Wondering why you should use WhatsApp Business for your school instead of WhatsApp? Read this article and begin to enjoy the benefits of including WhatsApp Business in your language school marketing strategy.

 As well as having your WhatsApp button on your language school’s Facebook page, another must is having your website URL and the links to other social media channels that you may have where they can follow you.

Deciding whether to have WhatsApp Business, your email or your website here depends on your objectives and strategy.

3. Reinforce your brand awareness

The stronger the brand awareness of your language school the more familiar people will be with your school and what you do. Making sure you “brand” your language school’s Facebook Business page is strategic and you will do so through the profile and cover photos.

1. Profile photo: Choose your Facebook page profile photo carefully. The best option is to use your school’s logo. This is the photo that will be seen when your posts are shared. Therefore, you should consider it like your business card and you need your logo on it! Remember that the profile photo of your Facebook Business page comes out in a circle so make sure that your logo is central and that no words are cut out. If you are a freelancer, use a professional-looking photo of yourself.

2. Cover photo: This image has a different role from your profile photo. You may consider it as a billboard! Katie Redmond from Marketo says “ it’s like the window display of your storefront”.

The cover photo can be a quote or a photo that conveys your values, a photo of your team or a photo of the building. It can also be designed to compel visitors of the page to enrol on a course, visit your website, or do any other action you may want. Check this article y Katie Redmond (click here) where you will find a nice selection of creative ideas for cover photos.

If your cover photo has text make sure it doesn’t interfere with your profile picture. Your most important information should be towards the right-hand side of the photo to keep a nice balance with your profile image. Please bear this in mind when you are planning how to optimize your school’s Facebook page so that it makes a good impact.

When sharing the cover photo add a description to it and use this space to add your contact information and a call to action e.g Email address or WhatsApp number followed by “Book a free lesson now”. (Another secret revealed!) Check this example from International House London.

Alternatively, the cover photo space can be a “slide show” i.e. a selection of photos. This is a great opportunity to add photos to appeal to different types of students. Needless to say, do take advantage of the description to add the relevant links and call to action to each image of the slide show.

4. Craft the Information Section to stand out!

Normally I see the school’s opening hours here but I think that this space could be better used if the school’s story and purpose are shared. As educators we know the power of storytelling in class and believe me, storytelling is really powerful in school marketing as well. Sharing your story will help you trigger interest in the reader, make connections and differentiate. Think: How did you start your language school? What’s the story behind it? What’s your purpose? Who’s the person behind the scenes? What’s your biggest success story?

Another type of information worth outlining is everything you offer (not just courses) and how you help students achieve their goals. This is particularly important if you don’t have a website for your school.

If you’ve already set up your Facebook page thoroughly you’re on the right track but that alone is not enough. Let’s bear in mind that when someone finds you on Facebook they will want to understand if you are the right school for them. This is the moment when the content you post plays an engaging role. Check this article to plan content that adds value to your account.

Benefits of an optimized Facebook page?

In conclusion, optimizing the Facebook Business Page for your language school main aim is to help your followers understand what you do, how you can help them and make it easy for them to contact you. A good optimized Facebook page will help rank better, increase traffic to your website and generate prospects. However, you need to work on the set-up before you start investing time in content and paid ads. Start to optimize your school’s Facebook page today to have a better chance to be found by all those searching for English language courses to start in October.