While social media gurus come up with new marketing tactics almost every day, long-term success in social media depends on effectively applying foolproof social media strategies. Indeed, when it comes to attracting prospects and optimizing your social media marketing funnel, there are some basic strategies that work like a charm, every time.
In this article, you’ll learn about how you, as an endurance coach, can adopt these strategies, to drive a profitable online coaching business! ✌️
15+1 social media strategies for coaches
Here are 15+1 social media strategies for endurance coaches that you should use, to take your business to the next level.
1. Identify your niche
Finding your niche is crucial for establishing a loyal audience and creating a steady revenue stream. But, how can you identify your niche, if you haven’t already? Well, you can try this simple method:
- Zoom in on a specific endurance sports area — and, maybe, a subcategory — that you like. Choose an area where you’re knowledgeable (and, preferably, experienced).
- Analyze your target audience.
- Find a gap in that market, and call dibs on the front seat.
When you complete this process, you’ll be able to adjust or build your services accordingly. Only, make sure, beforehand, that your services can address the problems your audience is facing, effectively.
2. Research your competition
Paying attention to your competition and analyzing their social media strategies, will provide you with many actionable insights. Without a doubt, gaining a better understanding of your competition will help you position yourself, as an endurance coach, and successfully market your product or services.
3. Simplify and productize your services
What is productization? Simply put, it’s making products out of your services, to simplify the customer’s journey; and, thus, make it easier for your prospective clients to buy your services.
4. Start with a single social media channel
Amid the social media craze, you may be enticed, at some point, to be active on all the available social media channels; in an effort to get the most out of them. And, why not? They all have their advantages, right? True, but would this be practical? Probably not.
On the contrary, it would be practical to start with a single social media channel. Then, experiment with others, working your way through them, one by one, and verifying that they work, before building on them. While at it, consider where your target audience is most active and focus on that channel(s).
5. Identify your unique abilities to find your differentiation factor
There’s not a single successful brand that doesn’t have at least one unique trait that sets them apart from the competition. That’s why it’s so important for you to identify your unique abilities; everything that can make you — and your coaching business — stand out from your competitors.
6. Quality over quantity
There is more to social media than just posting. They offer you a chance to share your story with your audience; even if it’s a short one. What matters here is quality over quantity. To explain what we mean, good-quality storytelling is powerful storytelling. And, powerful storytelling is always one of the main components of successful social media strategies.
7. Establish yourself as an authority
If you want to become an authority in your niche (and you do, trust us), it’s not enough to be knowledgeable and experienced; although, it is a prerequisite. Your prospective clients must be persuaded that you are. What we want to say is that you need to develop a solid social media strategy that can effectively communicate that to your prospects. Keep in mind, this process will take time, but claiming your space out there, as a go-to expert, will make all the difference in your online coaching career.
8. Help people ‘Know, Like, and Trust’ you
There’s a tactic, known as the ‘Know, Like, Trust’ (KLT) factor, that’s becoming very popular in social media marketing. According to it:
- First, you need to introduce yourself (the real you) to your target audience. This is the ‘know’ factor; or else, creating familiarity.
- Once they get to know you, they’ll start connecting with you, as a coach. This is the ‘like’ factor.
- Finally, they’ll be convinced that you are the right coach for them. Yeah, this is the ‘trust’ factor. 😊
Building a strong KLT mechanism goes hand in hand with the authority-building tactic that we discussed earlier. It’s all about establishing a community of loyal followers-athletes that will eventually become your loyal clients. Mind you, it may take time to get this going, but it’s worth it.
9. Use the ‘give-give-ask’ strategy to yield results
The ‘give-give-ask’ strategy is focused on providing value to prospects before you start talking business with them. How does this work? You essentially offer discounts or free goodies to your prospects — anything that could benefit them. Then, give them space to decide if you’re fit to become their coach. These offerings may be, for instance, seminars, how-to videos or podcasts, posts with tips, etc.
10. Keep it real
Keeping it real simply means showing your human side — including your vulnerabilities. It also means being authentic, honest, and approachable. This way, your social media strategies will work better for you, bringing the results you want.
11. Use elements of trust to build credibility
You need trust to create a deeper relationship with your prospective clients and build credibility. Among the best social media strategies for trust-building is leveraging the ‘elements of trust’ approach. For example:
- Being honest and reliable
- Being a good professional (competent)
- Showing consideration and compassion
- Opening up to your followers, and making yourself available
12. Strategize your time on social media
To be efficient in the super-addictive social media world, you need a time bound strategy to help you focus when you do social media work. In other words, you need a strategy that will allow you to avoid time-wasting activities on social media, while enabling you to act upon your goals.
13. Diversify your content
By diversifying the content you share on your social media pages, you increase the chances of attracting more followers. Diversifying your content is a good way to keep your followers engaged, as well. So, if you want to spice things up, try to share content that is:
- Informational
- Educational
- Interactive
- Inspirational
- Celebratory
- Fun
- User-generated
- Challenges
- Promotional (keep it for last)
Note: Make sure that the content you share every time, is relevant to the situation, or occasion. Also that it supports your social media strategies, and is aligned with your goals.
14. Schedule your social posts; be consistent
Consistency in social media is of utmost importance. Just think of a page you follow, or followed, where they posted every day; and, then, nothing at all — for days, weeks, or months! This irregularity wouldn’t look good to your followers, would it? They’d get frustrated and then find another page like yours to follow.
Hence, if you want to build — and keep — momentum in social media, you should post in a timely and consistent manner. What will greatly help you stay organized and consistent with your posts is scheduling. If you make a detailed and cohesive schedule, with time, your presence on these platforms will strengthen. And, as a result, your social media strategies will become more effective, as well.
15. Use hashtags that contain relevant posts
Using hashtags in your social media channels can increase your brand’s visibility and, ultimately, attract your ideal clients. Follow these guidelines to give a boost to both your social media reach and social media strategies:
- Focus on using specific hashtags, but don’t forget to put some popular ones in the mix, too
- Create your own signature hashtags
- Always use relevant (to your post) hashtags
- Never use too many — nor the same — every time you post something (that would be hashtag spamming ⛔)
16. Don’t forget: Measure your results regularly, against your goals
Keeping track of your progress often, can show you how close you are to reaching your goals. By measuring your results, you can determine which social media strategies are most effective and which not so much. This process of constant evaluation will keep you focused, and give you the motivation to do better.
Are you using any of these social media strategies for coaches?
After reading our take on the must-follow social media strategies for endurance coaches, do you think you’re using any of them, yourself? If you do, you can include some more, in your overall social media plan, to accelerate your online success. And, if you don’t already, you have no excuse not to start using (at least some of) them today, to grow your business!