How To Use Social Media To Get More Online English Students

Social media influences every part of our lives – how we shop, vote, and even think about ourselves. It’s almost inescapable. Using social media is no different for TEFL, no matter if you are working for a company or for yourself.

Companies use social media to attract business and students, and TEFL teachers can do the same.

We use social media to get our name out there to promote ourselves so that people associate us with learning English. 

Social media is a marketing tool. You can use it to show WHY you are the perfect teacher. 

We use Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to market ourselves and attract new students. 

One of my Turkish students asked if she could record parts of our lesson to share on her social media, and because of that, I received many lesson requests from other Turkish students — this is the power of social media. 

Think of it as your own free marketing tool. You can create a name for yourself and get it out there. Social media is not just a place to share your lifestyle photos –  use it to your advantage. 

Social media lets you:

• Boost credibility through your own or your students’ accounts. 
• Share testimonials and reviews. Having a student share your information and why they chose you is the most personable way to enhance your reputation. It introduces you to prospective students through someone they already know.

Read more: The Business Of Online Teaching

There are many platforms available you can use, depending on your target audience’s age, nationality or income bracket. You can use Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, or other platforms. 

Consider the audiences you reach using your personal accounts across these platforms, then view it in terms of business. For example, who usually appears on your Facebook feed vs Instagram? 

For us, Facebook is generally a space for older people like parents, grandparents and their friends. Instagram is typically geared toward younger people. So if you’re looking for adult students, then Facebook would be the better platform to advertise your services on.

Now, if you are looking to appeal to students from a specific country, then you could expand to other platforms. It might be easier to find Russian students on Telegram or VK, or Chinese students on Rednote. 

As a private online English teacher running your own business, you need to find your demographic and market yourself to them. 

Read more: 7 Easy Steps To Being A Successful  Independent Online English Teacher

Once you’ve identified your demographic, think about what content would be most appealing to them. Kids, teenagers or university students might respond better to funny TikTok or Insta trends than adults, leading to higher conversion rates. 

You need to be flexible and diversify your marketing, especially if you’re trying to attract as many new students as possible. If you rely on Facebook, it may be harder to find younger students. 

Diversification across many social media platforms means a wider audience reach and increased resilience against algorithm changes.

Read more: 6 Differences Between Teaching Adults And Young Learners

There are many types of content you can use across different social media platforms to attract potential students if you stay flexible and creative in how you use them.

• Live sessions:  Demonstrate your teaching style live (with your students’ permission, of course) and show what a typical class with you looks like. 
• Reels and stories: Show live teaching sessions in a short-form way.
• Reviews and testimonials:
• Establish a reputation and maintain credibility using student feedback. (Think of it like an Airbnb listing. Students are more likely to book if others have left reviews.)
• Ask students to write reviews you can share on your social media or, even better, that they can share on theirs. 
• Use hashtags: Students have found us using hashtags like #TEFLTeacher and #LearnEnglishOnline. Look at current trends and hashtags to align yourself with the ever-changing algorithm. We use a combination of ChatGPT and social media analytics to find the best hashtags to reach a wider audience. 

Read more: How To Find Private English Students

What separates an English teacher from another? Teaching style and branding. 

Are you a teacher who likes to use games and visual materials? Or do you use more reading materials? Highlight this in your personal teaching brand to find students who match your teaching style. 

Market yourself authentically. Your brand should show who you are, not who you’re trying to be.

This is where social media comes into play because it allows prospective students to connect with you without having met you

If a student doesn’t pursue you after seeing your style and brand, that’s okay. Working with students who appreciate your style supports a better learning environment for everyone.

As far as teaching handles go, it’s up to you whether you use your real name or not. Choose whatever feels right. 

Read more: How To Market Yourself As An Online English Teacher

Matt and Perlie’s Instagram handle is @mattandperlie 

If you’re happy with your current teaching schedule, you don’t really need to worry about content creation and social media marketing. But if you want to expand your student base, it’s crucial to spend some time on content creation and marketing. 

If you don’t market yourself, you’re relying on luck for growth. You’ll only get out as much as you put in.

We like to take matters into our own hands, so we’ve created a weekly schedule to delegate our time to build our brand: for example, X amount of hours teaching, planning and content creation. 

Read more: How To Start Teaching Online To Earn Money: Why Word Of Mouth Matters In ESL Teaching

Specific tools and apps for content creation

We’re committed to Canva and CapCut.

Canva allows us to make clean and appealing graphics to share on an interface that is extremely user-friendly. We’re not graphic designers, yet Canva allows us to make it seem like we are! 

CapCut is a great resource for creating videos and highlighting particular trends. Its search engine allows users to find a variety of templates. 

Both applications are free with paid features that allow you to work effectively in a creative space. 

The scheduling tools within many social media apps let us schedule posts when our intended demographic is most active. 

It’s been extremely helpful as we’re often bouncing from one time zone to the next. It gives us peace of mind and lets us work smarter, not harder! 

Read more: 15 Genius Teaching Tips And Travel Hacks For TEFL Teachers

Social media connects us with other teachers and companies within the industry quickly and effectively. This means that we can monetise beyond teaching. 

Say there’s an educational resource you’re committed to using. You could reach out and pitch yourself to share it on your socials. This could be a way to earn money through sponsored posts. If you attach affiliate links, you’re opening the door to passive income!

The opportunities are endless as to how to expand within the field without having to solely rely on student bookings. 

Read more: From Classroom To Business: Exploring The Teacherpreneur Movement

If you have great content centred around your life as an online TEFL teacher, find a way to pitch it. You could: 

• write a blog, 
• create a reel, or 
• do a takeover of a company’s account. 

Be creative and get yourself out there using social media.

While social media is your key to marketing yourself in 2025, you also need to be cognizant of common branding mistakes. Avoid:

• Filming a student or using video content from a class without consent. Your students have signed up to learn another language, not to be your personal marketing tool. Always ask before using their name or image online to avoid backlash if word about what you’ve done gets out. It’s a question of ethics. 
• Hard-sells and copy-and-paste messaging lack personalisation. I know I wouldn’t bother reading DMs starting with “Hey, I can offer you X at a rate of Y”. 

Read more: To Be Or Not To Be A Freelance Online English Teacher?

❌ It feels robotic and is VERY unlikely to arouse my interest. 

❌ It could be viewed as potential spam.

Instead, you need to:

✅ Personalise your messages. 

✅ Show genuine interest in potential students’ goals, needs and expectations.

We recommend that you have a conversation outlining what your classes look like BEFORE talking about payment. Leave this until the end. Your student should feel wanted, not just a dollar sign. 

Now that you understand the importance of social media in regards to marketing and building your personal brand, get out there and find your next student! Social media isn’t just a space to share your personal photos…it’s the perfect apparatus to spread the word that you are an online English teacher eager to teach anyone and everyone!

If you want to follow our journey or want to reach out with any questions or concerns, we’re more than happy to help. You can follow us on: https://www.instagram.com/mattandperlie/ 

Read more: How To Overcome Online Teaching Challenges While Travelling

What are you waiting for? Discover your voice teaching English online and let your social media do the talking. Your next student could be just one post away.