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This week, I have welcomed 8 new dancers into the studio. I always ask the adults what brought them to Irish dance at this stage of their lives. One of my new adults shared about some injuries and that due to her risks with osteoporosis, her doctors said no to cycling but yes to Irish dance. She chose my studio because of a few things on social media: she saw a variety of footwear, so she knew the space was relaxed; she saw evidence of adapted dance (seated) so she knew that if her injuries made standing to dance difficult, she would have an alternative; she saw a wide range of ages in the adult dancers so she wouldn't be "the old lady" in the room; and short-term sessions (5-weeks this round) to get a taste of how it actually feels. She had been following my socials for over a year before deciding to enroll and she had scrolled back into my historical content to boot. Sometimes I forget how much time it takes for people to be ready and how much "evidence" they might need for that decision.

If you’re wondering why your reach feels like it's shrinking, this is why. For years, social media worked on what's called a "social graph" - you follow people, they follow you, and content moves through those connections. Your posts showed up for your followers. Simple right? 👌 That model is largely gone now 😱 Both Instagram and Facebook have shifted to an interest graph - meaning their algorithms now prioritise showing people content based on what they behave like they're interested in, not just who they follow. Instagram's own head, Adam Mosseri, confirmed that watch time, shares, and engagement are now the top ranking signals. And Meta's AI is actively predicting what each user wants to see next - before they even know themselves. Your content is now competing for the attention of anyone who might be interested in what you do. This is actually good news for dance studios… ➡️ Interesting content gets amplified, boring content gets buried. The algorithm reads every signal - how long someone watched, whether they sent it to a friend, whether they saved it. Content that sparks genuine interest gets pushed to more people who share similar interests. Content that doesn't? It quietly disappears. ➡️ You're not just posting for your followers. Instagram's Reels feed and Facebook's recommended content sections are now showing your posts to people who have never heard of your dance school - if the algorithm decides they'd be interested. That's free reach. But only for content that earns it. ➡️ Your content needs to speak to what dance parents actually care about. Not what you care about as a studio owner. Think about what a local parent of a 4-year-old is interested in – confidence & independence in their kids, fun activities, finding their child's passion, community & connection. Content that taps into those interests gets shared, saved, and sent to a friend. That's the stuff the algorithm rewards. ➡️ Niche and consistency matter more than ever. Instagram is now allowing users to actively select and remove topics they're interested in. The clearer your content is about what your dance classes offer and who it's for, the easier it is for the algorithm to put you in front of the right people.

5pm Friday and I just want to share some big wins from the last week 😀 1. Conversion event for preschool classes on Tuesday - 20 booked in, 16 attended, and 9 enrolments from it 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 2. Switched to paid trials and 6 booked already 💵💵💵💵 3. Assessments student numbers up from last year with 1 week left to register 4. Found out my social media scheduling software can do more channels than I knew about (HELLO re-purposed content!!) 5. Actually ticked off EVERYTHING for my to-do list for the week. What the....?!?!?!? That never happens! My team and I have worked soooooo hard this past 12 months to get good systems in place and work on our marketing plan. And they deserve credit too. I'm not putting this here just to brag (ok, maybe a tiny, tiny bit cause I'm excited!) - I want to celebrate and encourage you too. A couple of years ago I was that studio owner drowning in 'stuff to do', and no idea how to really market my business. I used to read about those 'other' studio owners who were killing it and think that would never be me. It's been a hard slog, but the work is paying off. You can be awesome too. 💛🧡💚 Go get it!!! (And now it's wine o'clock 🍷😆)