Well folks, it happened. Just as we are getting comfortable deciding what type of posts to put on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat to help promote our online training businesses, Instagram shocks us all with the introduction of Instagram stories!
Sometimes this can be confusing as a business owner; each social media outlet allows you to connect with current or potential customers in a certain way. For example: Snapchat is great for giving people an insight into your world as a trainer and as a person (your workouts, what you eat, what you do on weekends, etc.), which allows people to relate to you more. Snapchat makes it easy to post in real-time without having to take the time to upload anything, or write a long caption to go with it. Facebook and Instagram are great for motivational posts, nutrition information, workout ideas, before and after pictures, and workout ideas. Lastly, Twitter is great for just sharing quick thoughts, links to your website blog posts or pages, or connecting with other like-minded individuals.
Question: Do we use Snapchat or Instagram Stories?
Answer: BOTH! I’ll tell you why.
As trainers, the best way to use social media for marketing is to be yourself. Both Snapchat and Instagram stories allows us to connect with our audience in a whole new way, and hopefully attract new clients. Many people are on social media looking for people to follow who will motivate them, provide them with valuable information, and also provide a little entertainment. As fitness professionals, we live a lifestyle that people with weight-loss goals want to live, therefore they want to see what you do each day and how you eat.
Here is how you can make both channels work for you:
Snapchat
If you already have a following on Snapchat, you can’t leave all your loyal followers high and dry! They are following you for a reason, so keep posting as you were because you never know which of these Snapchat fans could one day turn into a new online training client.
SnapChat has great filters! Time stamps, slow motion, and fun filters all make Snapchat more fun and allow your personality to shine through to your audience.
Advertise your Instagram posts to your Snapchat followers. Boom – double whammy! Quick little posts to remind your followers to check out workout videos or recipes on your Instagram that you don’t post on Snapchat. This will bring more followers to your Instagram and bring more followers to both channels.
Instagram Stories
Instagram posts are great, but Instagram Stories are awesome! Why? Most likely you have more followers on Instagram than you do on Snapchat, therefore you have access to a larger audience through your posts.
Instagram Stories are great for more “business-like” posts. For example, I use my Instagram Stories for both my personal and fitness studio accounts to post videos of training clients, showing how my online training system works, my own workouts, cooking healthy recipes, and talking directly to the camera about client progress and little bits of helpful information.
One morning while working on my Trainerize client updates and creating new programs, I used Instagram Stories to show the whole process and how it worked. Then later that day, I had emails from two new potential clients interested in training!
Where do you have the most clients?
In the end, it is up to you to decide how you use each social media channel, but the best piece of advice I could give you is to create a social media plan. Decide what type of posts you want to share on each channel. This will make it easier when you have something you really want to post, but don’t know which channel to choose. Lastly, remember it is okay to post the same things on Snapchat and Instagram Stories, although this could get tedious after a while and be detrimental to your cell phone battery (I learned the hard way!).
Think about where you have the most potential clients. How are you going to interact with these clients and entice them to start training with you? Put the majority of your effort into these channels and be yourself! People hate being “sold” consistently, so find a way to advertise your services one both Snapchat and Instagram Stories without coming across as a thirsty marketing professional, as apposed to a fitness professional.