by
Sara Sims
Coaches know they need to have an effective online presence to grow their practice,
and part of that includes participating in the social media networking phenomenon.
Don’t be overwhelmed, it can be very easy and I’ll show you how.
Social media includes popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
YouTube and blogs. You can build your following by seeking connections with
your current clients and colleagues, and also by linking yourself with any organization
or association that you are part of.
Today there is a large audience looking for great coaches, and 96% are looking
online – this is where social media can make such a difference. Your posts
and tweets will enhance your reputation and pique people’s interest when
they are looking for coaching services.
Start with Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to create a separate Twitter account
and Facebook page for your business. The benefits to having a page for your
practice are that users can endorse you by promoting your page to their friends,
and the page can be strictly professional. Then lock the privacy settings on
your personal profile to keep the public from viewing your personal interactions.
Your clients want to engage with you and are looking for fresh content, articles,
interesting tips, and thoughts for the day. Using social media, coaches can
also help enhance their brand awareness in the community by establishing their
niche in their area of expertise. You can build partnerships with helpful referral
organizations to create a wider following. Most importantly, keeping your services
“top of mind” to your followers will help encourage them to schedule
appointments with you.
Tips for posting updates on social media:
- Make your updates timeless so they are relevant no matter when someone reads
them. - 75% of your comments should provide value to the reader. These could be
inspirational quotes, questions that elicit thought and feedback, interesting
metaphors or encouragement to take an action. - 25% of your comments could ask them to do something, such as complete a
survey, subscribe to your e-newsletter or register for a free workshop. Even
better, offer package deals or discounts for sessions with you. - Set aside time to post on social media and have fun with it! Spending focused
time just twice a week is easy to manage, and that consistency can make a
big difference to your results. - To save time, you can link your Facebook and Twitter accounts so that when
you post something on Facebook, it automatically posts on Twitter. Just be
mindful that Twitter has a 140-character limit.
Sara Sims is the Director of Business Development at CoachingWebsites.com.
CoachingWebsites offers a comprehensive website service designed just
for coaches that includes domain, hosting, design, content, SEO, credit
card processing, online appointment requests and more with no set-up
fees or long-term contracts for only $59 a month.
Member benefit: IAC members receive their first three months free.
Log
into the members-only section for more details.
