Well, it may come down to what you are doing to market yourself, your business, and what value you can add for a potential client.
The number one question asked is: How can I grow my business, brand or reputation as a trainer? It all comes down to marketing strategies to gain more clients along with retention from results and experience. I will touch on the best marketing tools, and creating a positive online reputation through social media.
Social media is everywhere. You won’t see many individuals or businesses that aren’t on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. The reason so many people use these platforms is very simple. You can target hundreds and hundreds of people within your area at the click of a button. Using social media to interact with potential clients is a great time-saving strategy. You are able to connect with 30 people all at the same time with the same message. If you are time smart you will be taking this option over 30 individual phone calls or face-to-face conversations. Now this isn’t to say personal phone calls or one-on-one talks are a bad thing, but for something such as a new deal or offer for example you are wanting to target as many people as possible. Save the personal talks for sales pitches or converting new clients.
When you’re ready to start posting on social media, there are a number of different aspects to take into consideration.
The main tools you have to work with, and think about, are:
- The image (or video) you are using
- The time at which you post your message
- Hashtags
- How this post will appeal to your target market
- How you will follow up on potential leads
These above points may seem very simple and basic to some, but they are often done very poorly, and it may be the reason why client conversions are low.
Images or Videos
The reason the image you use is so important is because this is your first point of contact with a customer. If this image attracts them, they will continue to read into the post and what is offered. On the other hand, if this image offends the customer or doesn’t interest them, they will move straight past it and won’t even glance over your text. You need something that will grab their attention quickly, and something they can relate to. For example, don’t be posting a picture of a bodybuilder when marketing towards mothers or an older population.
Your Target Market
This also relates to point number 4, which mentions your target market. You want to post images that appeal to your audience. If you want to attract mothers, use an image that shows a woman running with her child in the stroller, or a mother working out with her baby. Make your first point of contact a big selling point.
Timing of Posts
The time you post and the hashtags you use will be very important as well. Firstly, the timing of your post matters, because you want as many people as possible to see your post. Try to choose times when the majority of your target market is online. On Facebook, this can be done by looking at the Insights tab on your page. For Instagram, you can use 3rd-party apps, or you can look at how your past posts performed at different times. A good guess is often before and after work (8am and 5-6pm), as well as lunchtime (12-1pm), and just before bed (8-9pm). These are times when the highest number of people will be on social media checking up on their friends and family, so it may also the best time for you to jump in and attract new business.
Hashtags
It is a similar reason as to why hashtags are used. They’re used to attract potential clients by using words that associate with your target market, or keywords that they may be searching for on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. For example, when trying to attracting new mothers for a fitness class, you could use hashtags like #mothers, #mothersgroup, or #fitmothers.
Lead Follow-up
Every new client wants to feel like they are special, and that you will go above and beyond in terms of service to have them as your client.
The final task when marketing on social media, is deciding how to follow up on leads once you get them. Are you responding the same way to each lead? If so, you need to change this ASAP. Following up on leads should be personal, and the information given out should be targeted towards the individual and their needs. You can use some of the information that you may have on your website to give it a professional feel, but also make it personal.
Every new client wants to feel like they are special, and that you will go above and beyond in terms of service to have them as your client. If they feel this way just from a sales pitch, imagine what they will be thinking about your service once they sign up!