For Dance Teachers: How To Use Online Videos To Get Jobs – Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I shared with you how you can create a preliminary online video interview to share with dance studio owners, or other potential employers, as a great way to stand out from other dance teacher candidates.

Another way that you can use online videos to get dance teaching jobs is by having a personalized dance teacher testimonial video. What better way to find out what your students think about you and your teaching, than to hear it directly from them. This is by no means an absolute necessity to get hired for dance teaching jobs, but it’s a surefire way to stand out from other dance teachers, and highlight what makes you a great dance teacher.

I recommend including the following elements in your personalized, dance teacher testimonial video:

1) An Introduction. Introduce yourself, where you’re located, what you teach, and what people will see in the video.

2) Your Choreography/In-Class Dance Video Clips. It’s a great idea to include some video clips of your students dancing your choreography, whether it’s in class, or at a dance performance or competition. This will make the video more interesting, and also showcase your choreography, while highlighting what your students have to say about you.

3) Student Testimonials. Your students should introduce themselves, state what classes they take with you, and share what they love about your classes, and having you as their dance teacher. To make sure they look natural on camera, ask them questions, and then record their answers to the questions. If you have a wireless mic, it’s great to mic them, for the highest sound quality possible.

4) Parent Testimonials. The same format applies for having parents do a testimonial video for you. Parents are the bread and butter of any dance studio. They’re the ones who pay the tuition bills, and decide what classes, and how many classes their child will take. So, to have some awesome testimonials from actual parents of your students, adds another layer of uniqueness and credibility to your video, and your brand as a dance teacher. I mean, what dance studio owner wouldn’t want to hire a teacher who has awesome success stories from students and parents?

5) Your Conclusion/Outro. Add a very short conclusion at the end of the video, thanking your viewer for watching, and finish with a call to action to contact you through e-mail or your website (share your e-mail address and web address, and show it as text in the video while you’re saying it.)

More Tips

Let’s say you don’t have the means, for whatever reason, to get the video testimonials from your dance students/parents. Get creative! Have them e-mail their testimonials to you, or post them on your Facebook wall. Then, to create a video, take pictures that you have of you and your students, add their testimonials to the video as text, throw in some music, and BAM, you have a testimonial video (really a slideshow video). This is another alternative to the actual video footage of your dance students/parents talking. Animoto is perfect for this type of video, or any type of online video creation, that looks professional, creative, and edgy.

I would recommend keeping your video between 3-5 minutes long. Short videos get more views, and you have a better chance of people watching the entire video, beginning to end.

When To Create Your Testimonial Video

Generally speaking, the end of the school year is usually a good time to film a video like this one.  Even at a tech rehearsal, when students and parents are there, and there’s a lot of down time, might be a good time to shoot your video. I filmed my video backstage, before the end-of-the-year recital. But, it’s really up to you. You should also get clearance from the studio owner, and make sure they’re okay with you doing this, at their studio, with the students/parents.

It’s also a good idea to schedule it ahead of time, and choose who you’d like to have in your video, so that they can be prepared to be on camera, and look their best.

Again, a personalized, dance teacher testimonial video is by no means a necessity for any dance teacher. However, if you’re the type of dance teacher who likes to stand out from the crowd, is interested in building your own personal brand as a dance teacher, and is always looking for a competitive edge, then this is a great tool for you! Not only will it be helpful in booking dance teaching jobs, but it’s also a great way to document the impact that you’ve had on your students throughout your teaching career.

Do you think a dance teacher testimonial video is a good idea? Do you think dance teachers should use online videos to promote their personal brands, and get the jobs they want? Please leave your comment below, and let me know what you think.

Please share this post on Facebook and Twitter.

CLICK HERE to view my personalized dance teacher testimonial video.

Post your comment here!

Add a Comment

Or

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *