CHAPTER 2
Powerhouse Social Media
Strategies For Coaches
If you want to play to win on social, you need solid strategies that are proven to work again and again.
While there are lots of techniques and tactics that come and go, long-term success in social media marketing is about working with timeless strategies.
There are 3 key pillar social media strategies that work like gangbusters when it comes to audience growth and client attraction on online platforms.
The first is one of the most reliable methods you can use to create a successful social media marketing plan and it has to do with content.
Strategy #1
Create Powerful Content
Way too many coaches think posting on social media is just about "getting their name out there."
They think it's about getting more people to see their posts and videos.
Unfortunately, they've got this totally wrong.
Long-term success on social media has more to do with what you post over how many people see your posts.
Think about it...
Low value, boring or run-of-the-mill content - generic videos and posts that could have been created by anyone - won't help you stand out or inspire potential clients to follow you or reach out to you.
Take time to create thoughtful, engaging, unique content that solves a specific problem for your ideal audience.
Keep Learning
Find out more about the art of creating transformational content in The Ultimate Guide to Content Creation for Coaches
Strategy #2
Build Rapport with Your Audience
The next strategy you need to include in your social media game plan is around building real relationships with your audience.
Aim to connect, engage and interact from your heart and the #1 rule to follow is this one...
Be of service no matter what.
The most standout, successful and loved coaches on social media are those who are happy to serve and support others.
Be willing to give first before you get.
Go ahead and like, comment, share and connect with people without any expectations. Be generous and share solutions, ideas and insights without asking for anything in return.
When you do this, you'll start to see your posts and videos attract more views, more likes, comments, and shares.
Your audience will see you as the generous, loving, giving coach that you are and they'll be happy to connect with you and work with you.
Strategy #3
Be Consistent
The third powerhouse strategy you need to know about is consistency.
Social media is fast-moving and ever-changing and if you're not a consistent presence, if you stay away too long, people will move on and you will be forgotten.
This is a hard reality to face but it doesn't make it any less true.
Experiment with your schedule and try to find a balance between consistently creating and posting content and feeling like you're spending all day, every day on Facebook or Instagram or one of the other platforms.
Word of warning...
Whatever you do, never pick consistency over quality.
If you have to choose, it's always better to post high value content once or twice a week rather than post crappy content every single day.
Answer the following questions for more clarity on how to integrate the 3 key pillar social media strategies you learned in this chapter.
1. Quality content creation
What are some of the biggest challenges your clients face and what are some of the solutions you can provide to resolve these issues?
Note: Use each of the challenges and solutions you identify to write a post or create a livestream or to share on your social media feed.
2. Building relationships
Brainstorm ideas/guidelines you can use to build strong relationships with your audience.
Eg: Comment on other people's posts before you share your content; look for opportunities to be generous and offer your audience helpful insights and guidance whenever possible.
3. Creating Consistency
Make a commitment to post and share high value content at least 3 times a week. Experiment with automated scheduling tools so you don't have to post every single piece of content yourself.
Chapter 1
3 Big Mistakes Coaches Make On Social Media
Chapter 2
Powerhouse Social Media Strategies For Coaches
Chapter 3
The Right Social Media Platform For Your Coaching Business
Chapter 4
Attracting An Aligned Audience Of Ideal Clients On Social Media
Chapter 5
How To Grow Your Coaching Business
Chapter 6
Additional Resources
CHAPTER 3
The Right Social Media Platform For Your Coaching Business
You might have noticed that some coaches seem to be everywhere at once.
They're posting and commenting on Facebook and Instagram, they're sharing videos on YouTube, they're active on TikTok and Pinterest, and connecting with potential clients on LinkedIn....
You see them try all the social media strategies at the same time on every single platform out there and think, "OMG! I need to do the same!"
But the truth is, although it might seem to work on a short-term, it definitely does not work in the long run. And social media is a long-term game.
There are 2 key reasons why coaches try this strategy...
Reason #1: Poor Advice
These coaches are following marketing gurus and experts who insist that audience growth and client attraction is about being present on every single major social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
This might seem like great advice, but guess what? It's not!
If you try to be everywhere at once, if you focus on building a strong presence across multiple social platforms all at the same time, you'll quickly feel overstretched and overwhelmed.
Even worse, you might end up burning out yourself and your audience.
People quickly get bored -- and even annoyed -- when they feel they're seeing the same person posting 10x a day on different platforms.
Each platform has a purpose and you just can't expect to meet all of them!
Plus, most coaches who start out with lots of enthusiasm posting and sharing on 2 or 3 or 5 social media platforms find themselves running out of energy sooner rather than later...
And a lot of coaches who try the "be everywhere at once" end up quitting social media altogether.
So, don't do this. Also because it connects with the second reason...
Reason #2: Lack of Clarity
Another major reason some coaches choose to be on multiple platforms is because they're clueless about what's actually working for them.
They have no idea how to choose the right platform, where their clients "hang out," and what type of content they want to do.
Without the proper clarity, it's impossible to make a good decision on where to invest your time and energy to make the most of your social media strategy.
Which is why so many coaches end up going with all of them. Needless to say, this is a terrible idea.
If you want to see real results and success in your social media marketing, the smartest thing to do is to start with just ONE platform and go all in.
Aim to build relationships, grow your audience, and get known on your chosen platform before you move into any of the others.
This way, you get to build a strong foundational audience in a single, focused space.
Something to keep in mind...
There is no such thing as the "perfect" social media platform -- only the one that works for you and your coaching business.
Like all other marketing and sales channels, every social media platform has its strengths and weaknesses.
Keep Learning
Having said that, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn (especially if you're a business coach) work well for most coaches.
The following questions and suggestions will help you choose a social media platform to start growing your coaching business.
- What's your favorite social media platform at the moment? If you don't like any of them, go with your gut or intuition.
- Do some research and find out where your audience enjoys hanging out. For instance, Pinterest appeals mainly to women between the ages of 30-49 so if your ideal coaching clients are men, you're going to want to give it a miss.
- Do you enjoy sharing content as images, text or video? Facebook and LinkedIn are great for text posts, Instagram works beautifully for images while YouTube is the undisputed king of video.
