If you’re selling a digital product online, you’re definitely using Facebook in some way. But are you using Facebook to your advantage? The huge platform is powerful for things other than memes, political jargon, and useless chain messages. In this article, we’re highlighting six incredible ways you can use Facebook to sell more digital products, scale your business, and grow a community of followers who will become advocates for your business. Let’s get to it!

1. Facebook Pages

The most obvious way to get started on Facebook is with a professional page. As a personal trainer or fitness instructor, you might already have this setup. If you’re not using it, what are you waiting for?!

With a professional page, users can like and follow you, which means they’ll receive updates every time you post, go live, or change something on your profile.

Why is this powerful?

It matters because you want to stay at the forefront of their minds. When someone is thinking of doing business online, it usually takes a few tries before they buy from you. In fact, a potential client may need to see you seven times before they even consider doing business with you.

This strategy is so important; it’s even called “the rule of 7.”

Now, if you have a personal profile on Facebook, this is different from a page. Here’s why.

With a profile, you need to approve and accept all friend requests, and you can only have 5000 friends. When you use a page, you can have as many followers as you want, and they have the freedom to like and follow you without requiring your approval.

It’s important that you promote the “follow” button because this will help push your content to the top of their news feed. Also note that Facebook pages are indexed in Google, so your content will help discovery.

2. Facebook Groups

Even though groups have been around for a while, we see more and more people monetizing them and using them to generate highly-engaged communities. Algorithm changes have shifted the platform to prioritize groups over other types of content on Facebook, which means once people join your group, they’re very likely to see content in their newsfeed. If you’ve never heard of the popular marketer, Russel Brunson, we recommend checking him out because he breaks that concept down in an easy-to-understand way.

When you have a Facebook group, you can engage personally with your audience in a more private arena where it feels exclusive. Here is where you can offer special bonuses and perks to people who join your group. Facebook groups are private, which means their content isn’t indexed in Google. You’ll need to drive people to the group from other platforms and marketing initiatives because it’s less likely to be discovered through search and shares.

As you can see, Facebook pages and groups go hand-in-hand. You can promote your group on your page and explain to followers that they’ll get the “good stuff” inside the group, so they better join.

3. Facebook Ads

Ads on Facebook are compelling because you can target people based on many different variables. As Facebook Ads become more popular, the pricing has gone up and the effectiveness has gone down. It’s still a good option, but be sure to be strategic! Too many ads will cost you organic reach, so find a balance that makes sense for your business.

You can create a targeted advertisement for someone who is looking to lose weight, wanting to build muscle, or trying to recover from a sports injury.

From there, you can track your results through Facebook Ads Manager and tweak your copy and graphics as necessary.

We could write a 5000-word article explaining how to run successful Facebook Ads but for now, check out this useful guide by marketer Neil Patel.

4. Facebook Marketplace

The marketplace has grown in popularity as a place where people sell useless junk that no one else wants (kidding, but seriously). It’s a great platform to sell your digital products because it’s like setting up an e-commerce store without the overhead of having to set up a store.

From the marketplace, you can list products for sale, and based on individual search interests; your products will show to the people who want them the most. This is the power of tracking pixels used by Facebook to display relevant content. They do a lot of the work for you, so all you need to do is list your products, and Facebook will bring the people to you. Just be sure to use a search-optimized copy and make sure you fill in all the relevant fields and do not underestimate the power of a good photo.

5. Facebook Profiles

You can also use your personal profile to find success on Facebook! While you’ll want to utilize all the previous spaces, you still can use your standard profile to promote your brand and increase awareness of your products.

You should optimize your profile to describe what you do, how you do it, and how it benefits people. Make sure you’re using a cover photo that explains how your training or fitness business impacts lives. You want people to understand what you do when they stumble upon your profile! But don’t spam people—your friends didn’t sign up for marketing. Choose deliberate promotions and campaigns to share on your personal profile, and always drive people to your professional page or group for more information. If you switch your personal profile to a marketing machine, you might see your friends list start to decline.

The most important thing to remember with your profile is to stay consistent. We see people all the time posting one day about how they made a million dollars trading stocks, and the next day they’re a personal trainer. People will see right through you, and they won’t trust you from then on.

Keep it consistent and always engage with people when they comment or message you—and speaking of messages….

6. Facebook Messenger

This strategy is a bit more complicated and technical, but it works great if you know what you’re doing. Online business owners use Messenger bots to send valuable information about products or services to people who’ve recently shown interest in what they offer.

Bots are entirely different than using basic Messenger to grow your business. You can only send messages using a bot to people who have already engaged with you, whether it is on your website or profile. Try creating an auto-responder with some basic information, or use Messenger to send information to people you’ve engaged with.

The Keys to Online Marketing Success on Facebook
Now that you know the six most popular ways to promote your digital products, let’s talk about some expert tips to help maximize your potential.

Provide Value

The most important thing you need to remember is that it isn’t 1990 anymore. Marketing has changed, and you can’t push people to buy something on Facebook.

You need to provide value upfront and anticipate a sale on the back end. Let’s use the Facebook group example.

To get people to join your group, you need to give them a reason. Share inside info from the group on your personal and business page. Show people all the great work you’re doing inside the group. Maybe you’re offering free live training inside your group?

Be Consistent

We mentioned this before, but let’s reiterate. Consistent also means updating daily and posting regularly. If you expect to create an audience that wants to buy from you, you’ll need to keep pumping out content that interests them and makes them want more.

If you’re posting once every four months, that will never happen.

Engage, Engage, Engage

We cannot say this enough. You have tons of customers who are dying to buy what you have to offer, but you’ll never get them if you don’t communicate with them. If you’re posting on Facebook about your digital product but not responding to questions, you’re toast.

Make sure to engage with your audience, answer their questions, clarify things, and provide solutions to their problems. In the fitness industry, you are the solution, so make sure they know that.

Make Sure You Optimize

Your profile, group, page, and whatever else you’re using needs to look amazing. It needs to scream professionalism so people will look up to you for guidance. Once again, this factor is especially true in the fitness industry. You need people to see you as an expert because they might feel vulnerable and scared to reach out.

By having a profile that showcases your work and explains to people that you are the trusted source for what they need, you’re doing them a favor (and yourself too!).

Build Your Community

There’s never been a better time to build a following. Think of Tony Robbins as an example. Some people worship him and hang on his every word. If he told his loyal fans that they needed to drink a bottle of molasses every day to gain mental clarity, we can bet they would do it.
You have the power to create that type of fellowship on Facebook… but maybe a bit less syrupy! It starts with a post and response at a time.

Utilize Lookalike Audiences

Lookalike audiences are a bit advanced, but it’s not hard once you understand it. If you have an email list, you can have Facebook create an audience that you will then market to via Facebook Ads. This audience will mimic the people on your email list. They’ll have the same characteristics, interests, and buying tendencies.

Doing this ensures you get your content in front of the best people who will buy from you.

How Trainerize Can Help

Whether you’re a personal trainer, gym owner, or fitness club trainer, you can use Trainerize to generate new revenue streams and build your online presence through our custom branded fitness app.

When you use Facebook to create attention, you’ll want a professional, easy-to-use platform to send your followers to. Trainerize provides that with branded digital training programs and products that you can sell. You can even message clients and hold them accountable every day! Get started today.