How to find new students by building a social media and online presence
Building your online media presence isn't just your best promotional tool. It's an absolutely essential part of growing yourself as a Popless tutor. When students need help, they turn to social media, university communities, and people they already know and trust. It goes without saying that they're not likely to be persuaded by overt sales pitches. So the best way to reach students is to find online communities that focus on your specialties and become a trusted, active participant. That way, when the topic of training comes up you'll be there as a natural part of the conversation.
There are two important goals that tutors need to keep in mind. First, you want to build a strong, engaging presence on online media, and generate content that attracts followers. Second, you need to turn those followers into students. With this guide, we'll dive into general tips that will apply to most social media platforms, and then we'll hone in on specific strategies for the sites where you're most likely to reach students - all through the lens of building followers and converting those followers to students.
General strategies for social media
Building your social media presence
If you want to establish yourself on any social media platform, it's critical to engage. You may be tempted to make accounts on multiple platforms, but claiming the name and walking away isn't enough. It can even be detrimental, as it can make you look unavailable, inactive, and unresponsive. Instead, choose sites where you stand the most success of reaching fans and potential students, and commit to being an active participant.
One of the reasons people follow you on social media is to have the chance to directly interact with you, so be absolutely fastidious about replying - or at least reacting - to people who respond to your content. Be generous with likes, replies, and shares.
Make it your goal to become as much of an authority on your subject matter. Information travels very quickly, and you should be aware not only of news and updates, but also trending discussion topics That means following hashtags and accounts that are prominent in your field, your college, or school district. Participate in conversations about your domain whenever possible, even if it's just to react or share.
Set up some Google alerts as well, so you'll get inbox notifications when news sites post articles about your subject and learning in general. News stories, reviews, and even opinion pieces are great fodder for sharing on social media, and for starting conversations and creating relationships with other students.
Cross-share your social media links. So if you're focusing on Facebook and YouTube, for example, add your Facebook account link to your YouTube profile and vice-versa. Encourage your followers on one site to follow you on the other. And make sure to add all of your social media links to your Popless profile.
Take the time to polish your profile page on your social media sites. That means using a consistent avatar and username from site to site, so people will quickly recognize you, and making your profile look complete and professional. It's not just the specific information on your profile that will attract followers, it's also the overall attention to detail. Remember that your endgame is to establish yourself as a trusted tutor, and the impression you make with your social profile will go a long way toward convincing people you're serious.
Growing your student base
Your social media profile (and even your username) is also a key tool in turning your followers into ongoing customers for your tutoring business. You'll gain followers based on your reputation as a trusted tutor, and by being entertaining, interesting, and authoritative about your areas of expertise. It's up to you to identify yourself as a tutor and make it easy for people to book a lesson with you.
A good first step is to create a brief write up that you can use in the About Me or Bio section of all your social media accounts. You can use your Popless profile as a starting point, but remember to keep it as short as possible. Not only do most sites have a character limit, social media users expect blocks of text to be brief and to the point.
You should specifically mention tutors, the name of your subjects you specialize in, and your Popless URL. Use the available space to mention your strongest qualifications / achievements and use motivating language like "is currently accepting new students." List the link to your Popless profile in the following format:
• Popless: popless.com/@YourUsername
It's critically important to include that link. Because social media profiles are so brief, you won't be able to incorporate much detail. Your Popless profile will. It serves as a standalone advertisement for your tutoring. It highlights your key achievements, contains your full-length pitch (in the Bio), and directs students to the packages you offer for tutoring.
Examples of social media bio text
"I'm a tutor with 10 years of experience helping students excel in math, science, and English. and Book time with me at popless.com/@Username. DMs open.!"
"PHD in Biochemistry, certified teacher and experienced tutor, I specialize in personalized instruction to help students reach their full potential. Popless: popless.com/@Username."
"Expert in test prep and academic coaching, helping students achieve their goals and excel in school. Accepting new students now."
Tired of falling behind throughout the semester? I can help. Popless: popless.com/@Username.
Once your profile is complete, introduce yourself. Many social media sites have an introductory thread or channel that's specifically tailored toward welcoming new participants. They're the perfect opportunity to tell people you're a tutor and are accepting new students. Even if there isn't a specific welcome protocol, there's a window of opportunity when you're new to a site when participants will be open to posts explaining who you are and why you're there. Be on the lookout for other opportunities to remind people about your tutoring services, as well. Whenever you reach a milestone on Popless or as a learner yourself, post about it.
Offer advice, whenever you see a conversation about your subjects. You're an authority on your subject, and giving advice will help cement that in potential students' minds. You might be hesitant to give your expertise away for free, but consider this: A sentence or two on a social media site likely won't be all the help a person needs, but it will open the door to inviting them to go into more depth with a hands-on lesson.
Be easy to reach and interact with, and that includes making sure your messages are open to all senders.
Privacy settings vary from site to site, but tend to default to preventing strangers from contacting you. Not only should your direct messages be open, but you should let people know that they are, whenever possible.
Site-specific social media strategies
Some sites have a higher concentration of students, and you can take steps on each platform to improve your chances of reaching them. Each one has its own norms and expectations - and so will fan groups on the same site - so it's always wise to pay attention to others' interaction to find out what each community's rules are. But here are some best practices.
Facebook is an absolute juggernaut and remains the most popular social media site on the planet. Odds are you've already got an account there for keeping up with relatives, and there are a few steps you can take to update it to identify yourself as a tutor. On your profile, you can edit your 101-character intro with the About field, add your Popless to your Website and Social Links, and add your work as a tutor to your Work and Education list. You can also seek out groups and pages where players are discussing your subjects, areas of expertise, and participate in the conversations.
Twitter is probably your best bet for building a following and reaching potential students. Because it gives average users direct, easy access to brands and celebrities, fans frequent the platform specifically to interact with students. They're also more likely to retweet posts on Twitter than they are to share content on any other platform.
Building your social media presence
Follow @Popless_hq and your fellow Popless tutors. They'll be a good resource for retweets, and give you ideas for ways to grow your following. In addition, be sure to follow hashtags and keywords that are relevant to your subject and tutoring in general. Here's how:
Search for a hashtag or phrase, and while it's in the search bar, use the ... menu to Save Search. Going forward, that query will show up at the top of your search menu.
Search for a hashtag or phrase, then bookmark the results of that search. Each time you load that bookmark, it'll repopulate with the current results.
Use a Twitter interface tool, such as TweetDeck, that offers the ability to follow hashtags and topics.
You should also keep an eye on Trending Topics. You never know when one of your posts will go viral, but it stands a better chance if it relates to a popular discussion on Twitter. Along the same lines, keep an eye on Topics to Follow for suggestions relevant to your brand. These are similar to hashtags, and can be modified in your Twitter settings. For specifics on how they work, check out this article.
Post images whenever you can, whether they're screenshots, gifs, or even memes. Twitter users are much more likely to engage with a post when there's a picture. Use hashtags, but use them sparingly. Post with hashtags are more likely to be seen and retweeted, but posts with multiple hashtags will have less engagement than those with just one.
Make it a goal to check Twitter at least once a day, and to post one to three times per day. Because of the rolling nature of Twitter it's hard to tweet too much, but tweeting more than three times a day won't really help you to build your brand. Tweet about your subject and about the tutoring experience, but avoid tweeting direct sales pitches. Your tweets should focus more on accomplishments, funny observations/stories, tips, and such. Remember to share screencaps and video clips, to give your feed visual punch. If you can make memes, now's your time to shine.
Be aware of how your tweets and follower count are doing. Twitter offers detailed analytics on its site that are easy to access by clicking More and selecting Analytics. You can check your tweet count, how many impressions your tweets are getting, how many people have looked at your profile, how often you're being mentioned, and your follower count - and whether each of those numbers is rising or falling. Analytics also shows you your top tweets, follower, and mentions for each month, and you can dive into deep post-by post traffic data by clicking View All Tweet Activity.
Growing your student base
As soon as possible, tweet about your Popless account, and include your profile link. Consider including a screenshot of your Popless page to make it more eye catching. Tag @popless_hq, and we'll retweet it.
Make sure you have a pinned tweet (the one that stays at the top of your Twitter page) about tutoring. You can draft a specific description of your tutoring experience/availability/activities, or you can just pin the tweet where you announce your Popless affiliation.
Make sure your DMs are open. You never know when a prospective student will want to get in touch with you, and if you're not following them, they can't send you a direct message. You can do this by going to your Twitter Settings, selecting Privacy and Safety, then Direct Messages, and make sure that Allow message requests from everyone is checked.
YouTube
Maintaining a channel on YouTube will absolutely establish you as a resource for students. As with any platform, you should decide what your lane is before you launch into the work of video production. Will you provide lessons? Post walkthroughs for exam questions? Breakdown complex topics? If you're already active on Instagram or TikTok, your clips should give you plenty of material for your YouTube channel.
When you craft your videos, it can be helpful to add a brief intro to some of your videos where you mention your Popless and that viewers can book some time with you by clicking the Popless link in your description.
Consider using motivating language like, "I'm currently accepting new students," or " have a few openings," to remind potential students that: 1. you're in demand, and 2. they should commit to ongoing lessons.
To help people find your videos, make sure to choose keywords that will drive viewers, and keep your video titles brief and specific. With your description, find that balance between hitting your keywords and incorporating helpful information and links. Once you've gained a viewer, you can keep them watching your channel by offering a series of videos on a related theme. You can also build playlists, not just of your own videos but of other videos that fit in with your work. Sharing videos from other influencers or partners establishes you as authoritative and connected, and may encourage those users to mix your videos into their playlists.
Discord
Discord has a lot to offer. It has text, audio, and video support for both one-on-one and group chats. It also supports streaming to users in a Discord. This has made it the preferred platform for many students to communicate in real time. Universities, school districts leagues, and student groups all build Discord communities to focus specifically on their communities. It's also your main tool for interacting with the Popless team.
It's a good idea to add your students as friends on Discord just in case you are unable to reach them via Popless chat. Even if they don't accept the request, they'll be easy to find through the Pending list. Make sure your settings (and those of your students) aren't preventing you from receiving friend requests or messages. For help with Discord's privacy settings, go here.
To promote yourself as a tutor when you're on non-Popless Discord servers, consider using your status to display your Popless link.
Click on your Discord profile picture and select Set a Custom Status.
Type in your Popless link (Popless.com/@YourUsername) and pick an emoji.
Select Don't Clear in the Clear After dropdown.
Reddit is another high-traffic site for students, and because of its long-form format is the home of deep, detailed conversations. Because of its staying power and engaged participants, you'll want to take the time to learn each Subreddit's community rules and culture before jumping in.
Many tutoring and subject specific Subreddits have a pinned megathread where you are permitted to advertise yourself as a tutor, so make sure to comment there. Reddit offers formatting options such as links and bulleted lists, so there are ways to make your post stand out. Something else to keep in mind is that your recent posts will show in your user profile, so if you refrain from making additional posts and instead participate by upvoting, your promotional post will be the first thing that visitors see when they view your profile.
College and school communities
By actively participating in university community forums, you can build your online presence and connect with more students who are in need of tutoring services.
Monitor forums for opportunities to help students: Many university forums have a section where students can ask questions or seek help with their studies. By regularly monitoring these forums, you can spot opportunities to offer your assistance and help students who are struggling.
Participate in discussions: Participating in discussions on university community forums can help you build your online presence and establish yourself as an expert in your field. You can answer questions and offer helpful advice to students who are seeking help with their studies.
Create a tutor profile: Many university forums have a feature that allows you to create a profile where you can share information about your qualifications, experience, and areas of expertise. You can use this profile to advertise your Popless account and connect with potential students.
Offer your services: Many university community forums have a section where students can post requests for tutoring services. You can respond to these requests and offer your services to students who are in need of help.
Advertise your services: You can also use university community forums to advertise your tutoring services to a targeted audience of students. You can create a post explaining your qualifications, experience, and areas of expertise, and include a link to your website or contact information.
Connect with other tutors: University community forums can also be a great place to connect with other tutors and share resources and ideas. You can collaborate on projects and refer students to each other to grow your network and find new opportunities.
Popless social links
The bottom line
Social media provides multiple natural opportunities to build your Popless account. Because social media is interactive by definition, your presence on sites like Facebook and Discord builds relationships with potential students. Becoming a familiar, comfortable, expert presence in your followers' lives will lay the groundwork for a tutor/student relationship. So if you take the two-pronged approach of building your social media presence and helping fans to see you as a tutor, the lessons will follow.
