Does Social Media Feel like a Big “Should” in Your Coaching Business?
Coaches love depth. We love deep conversations, deep explorations and deep connection—and many of us don’t particularly feel like social media achieves that on a regular basis. We are left wanting more and it’s not in alignment with the deep connection we strive to create in our lives, our businesses and with our clients.
This lack of depth is precisely why social media marketing can and very well may feel like a “should” in your coaching business. I recently on-boarded a few new clients and they all said something to the tune of, “I know I should be doing social media so I’ve been working on XYZ… but it isn’t fun or interesting to me.”
I could feel the heaviness so I got curious with them and started asking questions. Sure enough, it turned out that, to them, social media was a “should”. “Shouldn’t I do it? Isn’t it the hot new thing?”
Here’s the bottom line: If you’re going to use social media for your business, do it in a way that brings depth, opens up a rich conversation and feels resonant for you. If it’s not resonant for you, it’s probably not going to be resonant with anybody else!
Remember, too, that social media is new in our world and businesses have been thriving for decades without these tools. Yes, social media can be a powerful thing if it resonates with you and your ideal clients, but if you’re doing it from a “should” place, it’s probably not going to be very impactful.
Even though it is popular and potentially powerful, you don’t have to use it! It’s not right for everyone. But if you do decide to explore how social media might fit into your business and marketing plan, let’s take a look at how you might go about doing it successfully.
Where are your ideal clients?
You want to think about where your ideal clients are hanging out. They may not really be hanging out on Instagram, or if they are, their reason for being on Instagram may not be related to the work that you do.
As an example, if you’re an executive coach, being on Instagram or Facebook probably isn’t the right venue for you. Even though your ideal clients are using those platforms, they’re not there for business reasons and they don’t want to hear about work-related stuff when they’re using those platforms.
Is there a social media platform that feels more resonant to you?
Check in with yourself to find out if there is a platform that feels more resonant to use. Make sure that you’re using it in a way that creates the outcome you want and the experience you want with it.
I’ll just say this: coaches are typically hired because people trust them and the prospect feels that the coach can make a significant difference in their lives. So, unless your social media strategy creates this, they’re probably not going to buy from you anyway.
Use your social media voice to draw people to a free gift that goes deeper, or a webinar that explores a specific topic, or an ebook you wrote, or something else that will help people see the breadth of the gift that you are. People don’t hire coaches based on snippets, so the deeper you can take them, the better.
Here’s an example of how it might look: I have found a way to use social media that feels really great for my business. I’m fairly active on LinkedIn. When people connect with me I start dialogues with them: I get curious and ask them about their business, and I ask them why they chose to connect with me. Often that can lead to a back and forth dialogue that leads to a breakthrough session with me, which can lead to a coach-client relationship. At the very least, they usually join my mailing list, which will allow them to see the gift that I am a few times a month. See how I’m using the platform to take the conversation deeper?
Don’t do the same thing and expect different results.
I’ve had clients tell me, “I’ve been doing Facebook for 6 months and I haven’t gotten results.” Well, then why are you doing it!? You cannot keep doing the same thing and expect that it’s going to have different results.
Find a way to use social media that feels resonant for you, and if it’s not working, either mix things up (possibly by delegating to somebody who can help you do it more powerfully), dump it and let it go, or find a new way to do it that feels good to you.
The bottom line is, if you don’t have a really focused, deep strategy on whatever platform you’re using, your voice will probably be lost.
If you choose to do it, dedicate yourself to it and do it fully. Learn about your platform, try new things and take the conversation further with your audience. If you have a platform and a strategy that works for you, I’d love to hear about it—leave a comment below to let me know how social media works in your business.
With appreciation,
Tara Butler Floch
Along the lines of “don’t do the same thing and expect different results”, I’d add: Be sure to track your results. It’s pretty easy to determine where a new client came from (you can simply ask), but it’s harder to determine the full effect your social media efforts are having if you don’t actually look at the numbers in your Google Analytics account (you have one, don’t you?). When you look at your numbers, you might be surprised at what you discover.
I recently looked at the numbers for one of my clients. We discovered: Facebook didn’t generate any sales for her, but it did generate 5k visits a year (visits alone are good for SEO). LinkedIn drove just 18 visits in an entire year (that was with posting 3-5 updates a week and one article a month). She was also posting one article a month to a specialized social media platform that catered to her target market. This platform drove just 3 visits in the entire year.
What was surprising was that the website that referred her the most targeted traffic — traffic that actually bought — came from one of her own websites, one that she did very little to promote. It sent her 150 visits a year, which isn’t a ton, but enough to generate actual sales.
After looking at her numbers, it made sense to continue Facebook and do more to promote her secondary website, but drop all other social media.
She generates enough sales through her website that it would have been impossible to determine what promotions to continue without the data in her GA account. So, be sure to set up your Google Analytics account and then learn how to interpret the data in it.