Instagram can be an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to growing your fitness business. As a solopreneur with an online business, it’s key to make sure I have an online presence and that I stay active on social platforms in order to engage with clients, and attract more followers and potential customers.

Over the years, Instagram has made many changes to help businesses and brands grow. Here are some of the ways that I utilize Instagram to help generate leads for my business.

1. Create a business account.

Creating a business account is step one when it comes to generating leads on Instagram—simply switching to a business account will unlock a series of features that personal accounts can’t access. With a business account, you’re able to generate analytics about every post you make and every story you create, as well as see a holistic picture of your overall account activity and engagement.

This is important because it gives you a better understanding of your target audience, the performance of your posts and the ability to act on these insights to create better content. Having a business account also lets your audience know that you are in the business of selling a product or service, and allows for multiple points of contact (e.g. email, phone or a physical location address) without any friction.

2. Consider running paid ads.

Having an Instagram account (specifically a business or creator account) will allow you to run paid advertising campaigns geared toward the specific target markets for your business. This is essential, because it allows you to provide specific offers to a very niche audience, and maximizes your ROI.

It can be tricky to ensure you’re getting the most from your paid ad campaigns, so I suggest you do your research and consider hiring an expert if you’re ready to take the leap. With careful decision making and some expert advice, Instagram ads can be a very effective way to generate new leads.

3. Offer real value and be consistent.

In order for people to buy from you, they need to trust you—something that’s especially true for fitness professionals, who are entrusted with the physical (and sometimes mental) well-being of our clients. Delivering true and free value to your followers on a regular basis will prove that you know what you’re talking about, and encourage people who are serious about making a change in their lives to contact you to help them do it. I personally like to post a mix of videos of sample workouts, images of typical meal prep, and inspirational images and quotes. I feel that this mix of content helps me position myself as an industry expert, and also provides an opportunity to build connections with potential clients.

Anyone who reaches out with a question or feedback about your offerings is a potential client who needs to be given value to build a stronger bond that will make them feel like you’re the right choice when making the decision about a purchase. Remember that fitness accounts are a dime a dozen on Instagram, so use your platform to showcase what makes you unique, and what you can offer your clients.

4. Use all of Instagram’s features.

Instagram offers a wide range of features to promote content to the masses rather than just your immediate followers. Whether it’s IGTV, posts, stories or their newest feature Reels, it’s important to use all of these tools and test what works best for your audience.

Within these features, there are many ways to get discovered, including adding relevant hashtags, locations, tags and stickers. These can be the deciding factor when it comes to Instagram’s algorithm promoting your account to new audiences rather than simply your followers’ feeds.

Pro tip: lean into any new feature Instagram rolls out. For example, if Instagram releases something like Reels, using that as they roll it out will increase your chances of exposure and reach. Be an early adopter!

5. Teach people about your business and prompt them to take action.

Attention and engagement is key to ensuring a successful Instagram account of any kind. It’s imperative that you keep teaching people about what you do as a business, what you stand for, what you offer and what sets you apart from the competition.

New followers need to be able to easily identify your product and service to ensure they feel compelled to connect. Asking your followers questions, and soliciting feedback and opinions about your business not only teaches your audience about you and your business, but it gets them engaged. Including a call to action in your posts and actively replying to comments and messages increases your chances of finding new leads through Instagram.

All of these tactics have helped me gain followers, create interest and ultimately generate more leads through Instagram. All it takes is some time, patience and dedication to discover (and harness) the power that Instagram can offer to you and your business.

Don’t forget about the influence that you can have on your followers and the people who visit your page. At the end of the day, people want to purchase from businesses that do the right thing, have integrity and create a relationship of trust. Keep those things in mind while designing your strategy on Instagram and the leads will follow.