You’ve probably heard a lot of people claim that “Facebook is dead,” but using Facebook for a fitness business remains a key marketing channel. As the popularity of Instagram continues to rise and organic reach continues to drop, it’s easy to see why they’d say that. But is that really the truth?

Sure, it may not be as simple as posting a new promotion on your page and having dozens of people raise their hands to work with you, and the majority of millennials are spending more of their time on Instagram (and now TikTok). But depending on your target demographic, your ideal clients may still be on the platform—it’s incredibly popular among older populations. And while organic reach may be down, there are a number of ways to be strategic with Facebook so you can build solid relationships with your online community and use the power of Facebook Ads to build your business off the platform too (hint: it involves building your email list).

So if you’re ready to see how you can make the platform work for you, keep reading for five ways to use Facebook to promote your fitness business.

Tip #1: Post valuable, shareable content on your Facebook page

The simplest way to use your Facebook page is to share content you’ve already created. If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or YouTuber, Facebook can be another way to push your pre-existing content out to people who may have otherwise missed it. You can also repurpose Instagram posts to share them on your page. Pro tip: rather than using the Share to Facebook function from Instagram, upload the image directly to Facebook and reformat the caption to make it suitable for Facebook by removing hashtags and any paragraph separators.

You can also share other people’s content on your Facebook page. By leveraging other people’s content, you not only save time, but you can also choose pieces of content that are more likely to be shared by your audience. Infographics, quotes, and articles with a bold perspective often do well. If you decide to share content that’s not your own, consider adding a small caption that allows you to communicate your thoughts about the content or why you decided to share it.

Tip #2: Use Facebook Groups

There’s a right way and a not-so-right way to use Facebook groups to grow your fitness business. Some social media gurus suggest joining other people’s groups and establishing yourself as an expert amongst the pre-existing members by answering questions, sharing insights, and offering support.

This can be an effective way to promote your business; however, it’s important that this is done in a genuine way. We’ve likely all been in a group where we’ve received a private message from another member inviting us to hop on a call with them or download a freebie. This is not the right way to use Facebook groups; it just comes off as slimy! It’s also important to familiarize yourself with the rules of the group; many groups don’t allow self-promotion or the solicitation of members in order to maintain integrity.

An even more effective way to use Facebook groups to grow your fitness business is to start your own! You can create a group around your area of expertise and use places like your Facebook page, Instagram, or your existing and former clients to build the member base. When done correctly, creating your own Facebook group can be an amazing way to build a community around your brand and a group of people who love and trust you. You can run free challenges that lead to a paid offer within your group, host livestreams (more on that below), or build your email list. You’re only limited by your creativity.

Tip #3: Use Facebook Live

The Facebook algorithm loves Facebook Live; so much so, that it will let your audience know when you go live in an attempt to draw them to your page. But rather than simply going live and talking about the food you ate or sharing a tip you could have easily written, consider creating a theme around a weekly or daily show that people can begin to look forward to.

Let’s say you want to host a morning movement session three times each week. Pick your days and times and stick to them! Stay consistent so your audience knows when they can expect you. Use your Facebook page, your Instagram, your email list, and any other channels you use to let your online community know when you’ll be live and why they should join you.

At the end of your broadcast, be sure to include a call-to-action. You could invite viewers to join your Facebook group, download a freebie to sign up for your email list, or book a call to learn how they could work with you if they liked what they got during the Facebook Live session.

Tip #4: Use Your Facebook Profile

Where your Facebook page is all about your business, your Facebook profile is all about you! (Learn more about personal accounts vs. business accounts.) You can use your Facebook profile as a way to build awareness around what you’re doing and to help people connect with you on a personal level. It’s incredibly important that you avoid doing direct promotions from your Facebook profile, as that breaches Facebook’s Terms and Conditions.

But even though you can’t do a “Hey I have a promo! Buy ten training sessions and get one free!” post on your profile, you could write a post about how much you love the work you do and why. Sharing photos or videos from continuing education training sessions demonstrates your development. You can keep it real by posting photos of your pets or from the various adventures you’re going on! You can be human while being strategic; use your Facebook profile as a way to help people connect with the real you.

Tip #5: Use Facebook Ads

All of the previous tips up to this point have been free options. And while there are a number of ways to capitalize on Facebook at no charge, the power of Facebook Ads can’t be denied. It’s no secret that Facebook has an insane amount of data about its users! Luckily for us marketers, that data can be used to target the people who are most likely to be interested in your services.

Facebook Ads can fit into a larger lead generation strategy. This type of content primes leads for your offerings. You can use ads to build your email list to lead your audience into a paid program. Sending traffic to opt-in pages for free downloads tends to convert better than sending cold leads to an ad for a high-priced program. People need time to get to know you and decide if you’re the trainer to help them.

If you’ve never run Facebook Ads before and you have the budget to do so, it would be in your best interest to enlist the help of somebody who understands proper targeting and the technical side of advertising. Who knows—maybe you can find somebody in your network who’d be willing to trade Facebook Ads services for personal training!

So there you have it: five ways to use Facebook to grow your fitness business. Rather than trying all of these strategies at once, take some time to determine which ones seem best-suited for your audience and your own personal strengths. Pick one or two and stay consistent for at least three months, tweaking where needed. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results right away; growth can take time, especially if you’re using one of the free options mentioned above. Stay consistent, keep delivering value, and the results will come.