Tips for SMEs Running Online Classes

Businesses of all kinds have had little choice but to make a move online. Even those that rely on face-to-face customer interactions have found themselves pivoting quickly to online options to continue earning. Yoga brands, martial arts studios, art or music teachers, Zumba classes, cookery lessons, and therapists offering wellness sessions have had to move online to keep up with social changes, consumer demand, and their competitors. Whatever kind of class you run, teaching online can be very different from teaching in-person. However, if managed right, it could be the key to business growth. Here are some tips that you might not have considered.

Set Up Your Space

The most basic setup will be your laptop, or a smartphone connected to your Wi-Fi. That’s great for personal video calls, but not when you’re running your business. Take the time to create a professional workplace setting. For physical classes like dance, yoga, or martial arts, clear as much room as you need and decorate in a way that reflects your activity. You should also invest in some technical gear like a tripod and some additional lighting to ensure that your picture looks as good as possible. It’s worth connecting your computer up to a larger screen so that you can see your students more clearly while ensuring that you stay in the frame at all times. Check for sound quality too. In some cases, a USB microphone may be worth a purchase.

Choosing Your Meeting Place

There are so many apps and platforms now that allow for video-meetings that you’re rather spoiled for choice. The goal here should be to ensure that you use a dedicated platform and have the option to use alternatives should clients request it. If you run yoga classes on Zoom, but you offer corporate yoga sessions to brands, those companies may prefer Google Meet or TeamViewer. You need to run through all of the potential ways that your clients may want to view your classes and ensure that your technical setup is going to work. There’s nothing quite so frustrating as getting ready for a class only to find that your students can’t see or hear you.

Hit Record

Too many class-based online businesses make one simple mistake: they don’t record their sessions. This is a missed opportunity to both generate more income and as a marketing resource. By recording your sessions, you can then offer them to people who couldn’t make the live sessions or who are uncomfortable doing so. Target a lower price point than your live classes, and let potential customers see some short clips to entice them to purchase the full video. Additionally, video content is one of the most high-value marketing resources available. If you make your videos as professional as possible and accessible to as many people as you can, then they could become a primary revenue generator. Use tools like audio description software so that potential clients with vision impairment issues can enjoy your classes as well. Never underestimate the value of creating high-quality, professional videos when it comes to growing your business.

Competition is high in the online business space. The more professional your branding, your setup, and the technical quality of your live streams and recorded classes, the more you will stand out. Whatever your online classes are about, they could be the key to brand growth and more profitability.