As a coach, you’ve probably already leveraged the power of Instagram, in an effort to advance your coaching brand. Indeed, Instagram can be a great tool to grow your audience and your business. Nonetheless, it does present some challenges, too. Nothing to worry about, though. With a few smart Instagram tips, you can manage to build a strong Instagram presence.
Want to learn more? Follow these tips to make your coaching brand an Instagram sensation!
15 Instagram tips to take your coaching business to the next level
So, you want to boost your IG presence and increase your stream of clients? Thankfully, there are many ways you could do that. How can you get results, without spending an awful lot of money? We’ve got your back on this!
Here are fifteen Instagram tips to generate buzz around your coaching brand, and start growing your business.
1. Optimize your profile
When you set up your profile, Instagram asks you to upload a picture and write a short bio of up to 150 characters. Now, as you might have seen for yourself, these two elements have the potential to draw new followers. The more targeted they are, the closer these followers will be to your ideal audience. Therefore, make sure that both your profile picture and bio are relevant, and to the point. It only takes a few seconds for your target audience to get an idea of who you are and what you offer.
2. Develop a signature coaching brand
The truth is that most coaches struggle with branding their business on social media. What are the ingredients that create the perfect branding recipe? Is it the logo? The tagline? The style of writing? The colors, use of emojis and overall aesthetics?
Well, it’s all those — and more. It’s a collection of — often contrary, but also complementary — elements that can create something unique, if you integrate them correctly. Kinda vague, I know, but if done correctly, everything you post will be instantly recognizable. People will know it’s you — and your brand — without even looking at your user handle.
To help you out with this, here’s what you need to keep in mind:
- Photos (and filters)
- Colors
- Fonts, emojis, hashtags
- Language, voice, style
- Personality, and attitude
- Consistency in the above elements; at least, where — and when — applicable
3. Attract followers — your target audience
Needless to say, growing a following doesn’t happen overnight; it’s an ongoing process. And since you want to target your ideal audience, well, the level of difficulty is a bit more advanced. Luckily, there are many ways you can achieve that. Among the best Instagram tips we can offer you in that direction, include:
- First off, define your target audience
- Then, define your goals
- Plan and follow a targeted marketing strategy
- Develop a consistent brand story and aesthetic
- Use keywords and relevant hashtags
- Optimize your profile (pic, bio, content, stories/ highlights)
- Create a consistent content strategy
- Post consistently, and at the right time (the time your audience seems to be online)
- Create a content calendar and schedule posts and stories
And, then, to the more practical tips
- Share and promote your IG account whenever and wherever you get the chance
- Urge your current followers to share your content, if they find it useful (make sure that they do 😁)
- Try to collaborate with influencers in your niche
- Also, try to collaborate with other coaches, nutritionists, sports psychologists, sports brands, etc.
- Tag other users, and encourage them to tag you; they may be your athletes or the aforementioned professionals
- Follow accounts pertinent to your industry
- Engage with communities in your niche
- Run contests and giveaways
- Utilize Instagram Insights
- Put some budget aside for Instagram ads
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4. Have defined goals to base your content strategy on
Defining your goals and using them as stepping stones for your content strategy will certainly put you in the right direction. You need to know where you’re going and what you’re doing; otherwise, you’ll be throwing your darts in the blind.
Defining your goals
One small step for a coach, one giant leap for a coaching brand 😄. Indeed, ‘defining your goals’ is one of the most important Instagram tips we can offer you. Besides, you’re a coach, you know the value of goal-setting. Take a few minutes to think about what you want to achieve with your Instagram presence. Is it brand awareness? Engagement? Driving website traffic? Getting new clients onboard? Try to be specific, and focus on these goals.
Creating a consistent content strategy
Now that you’ve written down your goals it’s time to set up your content strategy. Using a content strategy — and squeezing it into a content calendar — can keep you focused and organized. To keep your content strategy consistent, first, you need to determine how frequently you’re going to post. Is it going to be every day? Every other day? Twice or once a week? Some coaches post once a week, while others several times a day. It really depends on your schedule; whatever you decide, be consistent about it.
Also, when it comes to the content itself, choose variety, but try to keep a balance among different types of posts. To clarify, you can share:
- Sports-related posts (tips, news, something from your athlete’s training session, etc.)
- Posts about your brand (your values, mission, etc.)
- Other people’s content; maybe with your own take on the subject, each time
- On rare occasions, content that showcases your services (but don’t be salesy)
5. #Mindthehashtags
Hashtags are little treasure chests at the end of the Instagram rainbow. There’s not a single successful Instagrammer who doesn’t use hashtags to sort and direct their content. Instagram tip for the win 👉 you can get better with hashtags by doing a little research on:
Your target audience
They follow certain hashtags because they find some value in them. They engage with other people in posts with these hashtags. Long story short, these are hashtags served on a silver platter for you.
Competitors
By competitors, we mean those who’ve already used hashtags to build up a following; and are still using them to reach new followers. In short, you want to use those hashtags because they’ve been tested; and they’re working great.
Sports community pages, brands, and influencers
OK, you may not share the same goals with them, but you can find a hashtag or two in their posts that blinks. Dig into their posts to spot such hashtags, they may prove to be very useful.
6. Post as regularly as you can
You don’t have to post every day. However, try to post as regularly as you can to keep your audience’s interest high. If you post once every now and then, they will drift away from you. Be visible to them, don’t let them forget about you and your brand. Even when you don’t have something important to say, you can share a relevant article that got your attention; or post a picture with a short caption — perhaps, a motivational quote. That will do the trick.
7. Focus on producing quality content
Among the best Instagram tips, for successfully building your brand, is to invest time and energy in producing and sharing quality content. It’s essential to create the right content for your target audience, because that’s how they’ll start engaging with your brand.
Hence, pay attention to everything, from the photos and videos you share to the filters and emojis you’re using. What’s more, commit to writing or ‘regramming’ impactful posts that bring value to prospective clients. Such content helps you connect with your audience and build a relationship with them.
Features of Instagram you can utilize
The good news is that Instagram offers many features that will help you create and share quality content. Since you have many options available, why not experiment with them, and see what works for your brand? IG features you can utilize include:
- Posts — The perfect opportunity to prove your expertise.
- Filters — To ‘show your true colors’ and stand out.
- Videos and reels of your posts — To increase engagement.
- Stories and Highlights — To get more personal, share ‘behind-the-scenes’ snippets, and get your followers’ attention, fast.
- IGTV — To share ‘how-to’ videos; generally, educational content that is longer than 3’ and can’t be squeezed into a Story.
- Live videos — Live streaming is an excellent opportunity to make a Q&A live coaching session and gain insights into your target audience’s problems and aspirations.
Writing compelling captions
Writing compelling copy is an essential skill to develop, as an online business owner. How can you write compelling Instagram captions? One great way is storytelling — we’ll discuss more on that further below. You don’t need to write pages-long posts, short captions work just fine; as long as you bring value to your audience.
Overall, focus on thoughtful copy material that helps your followers understand certain sports-related topics that interest them better. And, remember to include the proper hashtags to create buzz around your posts; and, of course, connect with more prospective clients.
Using Call to Actions, whenever necessary
You’ll notice, with time, that certain posts can accommodate a ‘Call To Action’ (CTA). A CTA is a short imperative sentence that encourages your followers to act on the post you shared; where, for instance, you requested that they ‘Follow the link below.’ In other words, a CTA’s role is to direct our audience down your marketing funnel, responding to different intentions every time.
For example, in one post, you may ask your followers to visit your website, read your blog post, or connect with you. In another, you may encourage them to tag people who may find your posts helpful, share your post, feel free to comment, etc. The key here, too, is to get creative and experiment, as much as you can, to find out which CTAs work best for you.
8. Start — or join — conversations
Instagram, like all social media, is all about connecting with each other and creating communities. The rest — traffic, followers, sales — are the result of the relationships you create within these communities. So, how can you start or join a conversation? Here are some Instagram tips we have to offer you on that:
- Always be open and willing to connect with others
- Seize every opportunity to connect — but don’t be clingy
- Respond to people’s posts with likes, shares and comments
- Give a shout-out to people’s achievements, or for sharing something helpful
- Follow people and pages that share valuable content
- Finally, share valuable content yourself
9. Share your knowledge of your niche endurance sport
We have highlighted this in a hundred different ways and in so many articles; so you must have gathered how important it is, by now 😄. As mentioned, social media is all about communities; and, in communities, everybody offers whatever they can. Here, you have a unique opportunity before you: To help people. This is the nature of your profession, after all.
You want to let your prospective clients know that you care; and, there’s no better way to do that than with a few free tips. Act as if they already are your clients. Only, don’t reveal all your professional secrets, just enough to make them come back to you for more tips; until they realize you are what they’re looking for. It might sound like something Dr. Evil would do 😆, but it’s just quid pro quo. Pretty fair, right?
10. Become a storyteller
Instagram thrives on photos, so, honing the art of photography can get you really far. Yet, even if you manage to take the best photos in the world, they won’t do much if you’re pairing them with bad copy. Thus, one of the best Instagram tips we have to offer is to work towards becoming a storyteller. Someone who can use the photo to inspire and educate; someone who sees beyond the photo. Becoming a storyteller, in this regard, means entertaining a notion or an idea, drawing from the photo you shared; while offering your professional advice or thoughts, as food for thought.
11. Grow a community of athletes around you
Again, Instagram is a social media platform, and that means connecting with others; ideally, your target audience. While it’s a good idea to actively participate in communities other people started, it would be even better to create and grow your own community. A community for athletes to engage with each other; and, of course, with you and your brand.
12. Provide value to your audience
This Instagram tip is in conjunction with what we discussed earlier, on providing free advice and education to your prospective clients. At first thought, you may feel a bit threatened by this, but remember ‘quid pro quo’; nothing is really for free, and your offerings will bear fruit. If you provide value, it will come back to you, in some form. To explain, if you offer a tip about a specific workout or strategy you use to potential clients, they might appreciate your coaching style and may decide to collaborate with you.
13. Share use cases and client testimonials
Our pool of Instagram tips wouldn’t be complete without this one. When you’re building your coaching brand on Instagram, you want to cultivate credibility. How can you do that? By featuring a few use cases and client testimonials in your posts. This will immediately increase your credibility, and show your prospective clients that you know what you’re doing.
14. Never leave a comment or DM unanswered
Remember what we said about being open and seizing every opportunity to connect? Well, answering comments and DMs is another way to do it. You may have had a long, tiresome day, but dedicating a few minutes to respond to people’s questions or remarks can make a huge difference in the success of your coaching business, in the long run.
15. Be humble and authentic
Last, but not least, if you want to build a loyal audience and attract new relevant followers, you must be humble and authentic. Write your captions in simple, unpretentious language, like you’re talking to one of your athletes or a friend. If you use scientific terminology in your posts, don’t try to impress them, explain what it means — educate them.
Above all else, show them the real, everyday you. People want to know the person behind your IG profile and connect with that person. They want to know what one-on-one training is like with you; that’s how they’ll recognize whether there’s chemistry between you or not. And, you know how important chemistry is between athlete and coach.
TL;DR – Something to take home
Instagram may be quite complex to manage, business- and marketing-wise, but it’s worth the short-lived hassle; that is, until you learn the ropes. When it comes to getting engaged followers, targeted leads, and loyal clients, it can transform into a powerful tool.
As you consider everything we discussed here, take this thought home with you, as well:
Your coaching brand is not just what you do, as a coach — but also who you are, as a person.
Instagram is certainly a great place to let your authentic self shine — apart from your coaching brand. Besides, it’s the person behind the brand that inspires loyalty, first. Yes, use Instagram to brand your coaching business, with sports-related posts and whatnot; but don’t be afraid to put your unique experiences, passions, ideas and personal thoughts into the mix, too.
So, there you have it! Those were the Instagram tips we compiled for you, fellow coach. We do hope you found them helpful. Feel free to check out Endogusto’s IG page and have a look at our content. And, by all means, don’t hesitate to like, comment, share or even send us a DM, if you want to learn more about us, and Endogusto. We’ll be very happy to connect with you.
Until next time!