Halloween-Spiration For Your Studio

The countdown is on – less than 2 weeks until Halloween hits your dance studio, along with all the excitement, costumes, and candy that go along with it.

So, if you are feeling stuck for ideas on what to do (or wondering if you should bother doing anything at all) for this year’s spookiest holiday, then this article is just for you!

Make sure to check out the checklist below where we are sharing our top 10 hot tips to help you make the coming weeks extra special for your students – while simultaneously attracting those who haven’t yet discovered you.

1. Branded trick-or-treat bags for all!

This is super simple, while making a very big impact on your younger students.

All you need to do is source some small, inexpensive treat bags and fill them with a few pieces of candy each. Be sure to include a referral card (for example – ‘Bring A Friend To Receive $25 Off Your Tuition’) in each bag, or a coupon for a discounted product or event to reward your loyal customers.

To level-up on the fun-ometer, you could give out a secret code word (“Boo”, “Thriller Time” or “Halloween”) on various social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, where dancers need to say the secret code in order to claim a bonus prize with their goody bag.

2. Create themed bundles.

Regardless of what you sell, you can cash in on the spirit of October by bundling some of your products together and giving them fun names. For example, if you have a canteen or food station at your studio, bundle some snacks and drinks together and market them as your “Ghouly Goodies” or your “Scary Snack Pack”

If you sell accessories, put a few of your bestsellers together and call it the “Frightfully Fashionable” bundle. Discount your packs, and voila! You’ve got a brand-new way to sell old products.

3. Hold flash Halloween promotions.

This will work great if you already have an established email database or a strong social media presence on Facebook, Twitter Instagram and more! Send out information on your flash sale, which would be for a very limited amount of time that same day.

For example: “Quick, before the Zombies clear us out! Today only between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m, get 25% off our selected merchandise range – Use code HALLOW33N.

4. Partner up!

Set up a partnership offer with a local business so that every time your customers leave you a review on Facebook, they’ll receive an amazing offer from someone who can give than a great value offer!(Perhaps a local Halloween event, a meal offer, movie discount etc. )
Advertise this Halloween special everywhere you can and make sure the incentive is valuable enough that you will see an increase in your community engagement and satisfaction.

5. Create Halloween-themed social media posts.

While staying relevant to what your studio offers, try to mix in some fun, Halloween-themed posts.

Make it fun and interactive to encourage more of the community to engage with you. While social media marketing is a year-round tactic you can (and should) use, putting a Halloween spin on it is how you can get in on the excitement of the season – for example, perhaps some Halloween costume ideas from your recital archives, or a list of your studio’s favorite spooky soundtracks!

Followers get bored — don’t let them, by capitalizing on seasons, holidays, trends, and special occasions.

6. Decorate your studio.

If you’re lucky enough to have one, your storefront window is the perfect place for a holiday display and a great opportunity to showcase any special events, promotions or studio notices.

The interior of your studio is also an epic playground for decorating and engaging students!

Whether it’s cobwebs and spiders, black cats and pumpkins, or a haunted house, getting into the spirit of Halloween can give your studio a fun and festive feel that your students are going to go crazy for.

7. Hold a “dress up for a dollars” promotion.

Whether you do this during the day, week or even month of Halloween, offer students a chance to win a cash prize or discount offer simply for dressing up for halloween!

Take a picture of the student, with their permission, and post it on your social accounts.

If your hashtags are on fleek, you’re in for a winning awareness campaign!

This is a get your studio name out there as a fun and quality place to dance, but also a great incentive for your customers to come in and get involved in your studio culture and events.

8. Hold a studio “costume competition”.

You can do this within the studio, or think outside the box and use Facebook to hold a virtual Halloween costume contest where dancers post pictures of themselves dressed up. (Or their family, friends, pets even!)

The photo with the most ‘likes’ at the end of the time frame you specify wins a special prize or discount from your studio.

The best Halloween marketing ideas are ones that take a two-fold approach — so be sure to offer a consolation prize to your followers, which could be anything from a discount code or a $5 gift card to your store.

This will help entice not only the winners of your Halloween costume contest to endorse your studio, but everyone else too!

9. Send out Halloween-themed email newsletters.

Email newsletters are a great way to reach your students, and by giving yours a theme, you’ll recapture your dancers’ interest (and say goodbye to those ‘oh, I didn’t read that’ moments!).

Your can try corny tactics like an email subject that says, “Classes So Exclusive They Are SCARY”, or changing up the names of some of your products (like the themed bundles we talked about earlier) and use a discount to entice your dancers.

These are simple but effective and cost nothing, so dive right on in and make sure to include any other specials you’ll be having throughout the month of October or promo codes.

Halloween marketing is a month-long chance to re-market old studio products in a new way, so don’t miss this chance to promote your merchandise and capture the attention of your consumers in a whole new way.

10. Bring IT to your classes.

Now all of this is amazing for your studio atmosphere and bringing in some additional revenue, but what about IN CLASS?

Don’t let your student’s miss the magic of the Halloween theme, by teaching them some of the classics!

Your dancers (and their families) will love a one-off class where they get to learn classic choreography like:

• The Time Warp (Rocky Horror Show)
• Everybody – Backstreet’s Back (The Backstreet Boys)
• Thriller (Michael Jackson)
• The Monster Mash (Bobby Pickett)Or check out some top Halloween tunes here for inspiration!

For more resources, training, tips and insight into running your studio, join us in the Dance Studio Owners Association where there is always someone on your team.