Is your business on social media?
Social media has never been more important for business success. Maybe you’ve already invested in flyers, posters and personal trainer uniforms. These are all great for local marketing, but to maximise your chances of being seen, you need to crush the rule of seven, and that’s where social media really comes into play.
Here are our top tips to help you create a successful social media strategy for your personal training business.
1. Who’s your audience?
If you don’t know your audience, how are you going to reach them? Knowing your audience is crucial to any social media campaign so that you can accurately target them and produce content they’ll want to engage with.
2. What are your goals?
To measure what’s working and what isn’t you need to have a plan. Try to keep it specific i.e. ‘sign on 5 new clients this month’ and avoid being too general. Give yourself a goal and a timescale and review it regularly.
3. Choose your platforms carefully
Here’s a little-known truth – you don’t have to be EVERYWHERE at once to crush the rule of seven.
The choice that comes with using social media can be overwhelming – what platforms to advertise on (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit…the list goes on), how often to post (once, twice, three times a day? More?) and when to post (morning, evening, weekends – when will people see your content?)
To keep things simple and focused, you should choose only the platforms that are:
If you’re new to social media, choose just one or two platforms that really make sense for your business and go for it. Monitor the effects and see how well you’re achieving your goals and reaching your target audience.
4. Be consistent
So, you’ve outlined your goals, defined your ideal client and set up your social media pages. Now what?
Social media success is all about consistency. Just like personal training, it’s about showing up day in and day out and committing to your goals.
Set yourself a reminder to post at least once each day, or better yet, schedule your posts in advance (it’ll save you heaps of time!)
5. Experiment with timing
If you choose to use a social media scheduling tool, there’s often the option to schedule posts for the best times. And that’s it. All the hard work is done for you.
But, if you don’t have that option, there’s still plenty you can do to try and reach your audience when they’re online.
Facebook’s “Insights” tool provides a clear picture of when your audience is online so that you can schedule posts to go out when they’re most likely to be seen.
6. But, what do I post?
This is the part where most new business owners start off well but quickly flounder as content runs dry.
You need to make it a priority to collect new content that can be used each week. Here are some tips to get you started:
7. It’s all about engaging!
If someone comments on your post, reply. If someone sends a direct message to your page, reply. If someone shares a testimonial about your business, thank them. If you see interesting content from someone else, comment and reshare it to your followers.
Social media will only work if you show up and put the effort in, and it’s not an overnight miracle cure. Like any worthwhile goal, it takes time and dedication to make it work. So, just remember to choose your platforms carefully, decide what you want to get from your social media efforts and then show up and consistently create high-quality, engaging and educational content.
