Here’s your cue: market your business.
Of course, you’re an excellent coach offering some of the best coaching programs and services, but there’s a chance your client base may hit a plateau. That’s because word-of-mouth (WoM) marketing alone won’t help develop an extensive clientele.
Yes, WoM is a testimony of your efficacy that drives traffic and invites ideal clients. But to grow your practice efficiently, explore other golden marketing mediums, such as social media. It’s a great place to build start-ups on a budget.
Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are some of the best advertising platforms. These social networks harness the power of algorithms, ensuring the news about your coaching business outreaches the right target audience.
Explore how to use virtual coaching ads to bring additional clients into your business in this ultimate guide.
What you should use social media ads
Think about where you most often get information about the products or services you buy –– the answer is likely the internet or social media. Sometimes, a new local restaurant’s ad in your Instagram feed encourages you to plan a dinner with friends on Friday. In fact, you might see the luxury bag’s ad you just googled on every social media platform with a promo, prompting you to buy. Have the same effect on potential clients by running your business’s virtual ad.
Here’s why you need social media ads when advertising coaching services:
- Budget-friendly: From start-ups to well-established firms, there’s something for every marketer when it comes to social media ads. Create free digital marketing materials by posting about your business on social media and asking your followers to spread the word. In the case of paid advertisements, social media lets users determine an ad budget (and change as needed), meaning if you’re willing to spend only a fraction of your marketing budget on paid ads for the first few months to analyze results, you can. Later, if you think the ads drove more than the expected traffic, you can always increase the spending.
- Vast reach: More than 4.26 billion used social media in 2021, which means you could reach a broad audience by running an ad. And, if you offer online coaching services, communicate your services to people outside your geographic area since you’ll be meeting with them virtually.
- Targeted audience: Many social media platforms let users tweak ad parameters such as age, gender, and location to reach a filtered, specific audience. Then, the powerful algorithms behind these apps ensure the ideal demographics see the content.
- Lead facilitation: If someone sees your ad and exhibits interest in your services, they’ll click on it to learn more about your business, services, and — most importantly — you. They’ll browse your business and personal social media accounts to gain more information, such as formal client reviews and the program enrollment process. Finally, they’ll tap on the website link in your profile’s bio. That’s where they’ll subscribe to your services.
What platforms can you use?
Most popular social media networks offer an easily accessible advertising component for business owners, allowing you to run free or paid ads and review the app’s analytics to evaluate metrics such as open, click-through, and conversion rates.
Here are some of the most popular social media applications to leverage:
This image- and video-driven app allows you to insert ads into people’s feeds and stories. Plus, they offer the creative freedom of advertising in various formats, including carousel posts and video ads.
Facebook boasts an enormous audience with the highest monthly active user count. It offers extensive targeting options making professional Facebook ads an intelligent move for any coach. The platform allows you to target specific demographics in addition to users who recently searched for terms or phrases such as “coaching” or “life coach.”
This platform allows you to target people who follow your competition or similar profiles. Twitter also assesses hashtags relatable or relevant to your business so that you reach a focused audience.
Advertising on this professionally minded social media app helps you reach entrepreneurs and business people looking to boost their careers. LinkedIn is a great place to pitch your services if you offer life, business, or motivational coaching.
TikTok
The short-form video platform lets you pick your ideal audience and reach them through targeted TikTok Ads. When finalizing your target segment, consider demographics, behaviors, and interests. Analyze your metrics to see which subject is resonating the most among the platform’s users.
YouTube
The platform focuses on keywords. All you need to do is create a Google account, use relevant and trendy keywords, and use hashtags to reach the masses. Another content targeting method is topics, which involves using vast subjects such as “wellness,” “health,” and “life coaching” to immediately drive traffic to your profile. So, if you use wellness as a topic and an individual searches it, your ad will feature on top of the search page.
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A 5-step guide to creating a coaching ad strategy
If this is your first time making a social media marketing campaign, it’s also your first opportunity to make a strategy for advertising in these spaces. So let’s make it worth your while. Follow these five steps to create an efficient strategy:
- Define your audience: As you set up your ad, you’ll answer questions about your target audience, so be sure to know the ideal demographic. Think about the geographic region and age group. Also, research the region to know how much clients are willing to spend on your services.
- Make your offer clear: Come up with some simple ad ideas to avoid packing too much information into one. In one ad, offer a discount to new customers, while in another, provide quick and straightforward information about your services. Keep your message concise, and aim to educate potential clients about your business in the easiest manner –– when people click on the ad or the link in your bio, they must learn all they want about your business.
- Get creative: Don’t underestimate the importance of an aesthetically pleasing ad. Social media attention spans are short, and these are image-driven spaces, so create an ad that looks good. If you need help, hire a designer (if the budget permits) or use a template from a design app. Always stick to your branding — use the same colors, fonts, and logo across all platforms — making it recognizable and memorable for existing and future clients.
- Set a budget: Know how much you can spend on social media advertising, and research how much it costs on different platforms. Stick with the structures you can afford on the apps that reach the right potential clientele.
- Monitor and edit: Social media applications provide analytics on ads, and these metrics help you create better content. Check out what’s resonating with the right audiences and follow the trends. Begin with short-term ads, see what works, and optimize your marketing materials as needed.
Social media ad types
When it’s time to hit the drawing board and create your first Instagram or Facebook ad, your primary goal should be engaging the target audience. Here are some common types of ads and why they’re engaging:
- Video ads: Since videos are popular among social media users, create a brief video that catches a viewer’s attention. Start with short-form videos such as Instagram and Facebook Reels and gradually move on to long-form content. Try using a statistic about coaching to hit the right chord. For instance, if you’re a life coach, consider broadcasting educational content or one-minute breathing exercises to keep anxiety at bay.
- Lead generation: Encourage viewers to sign up for your content and learn more. Use a landing page to capture information such as their email address and build a marketing contact list.
- Website visit: Drive traffic to your coaching site by dropping a link to it in your ad, allowing viewers to stick around and read more about your services, packages, and pricing.
Keep your advertising leads organized
Before running an ad campaign and trying to find new coaching clients, ensure you have a safe place to store people’s data. We recommend using a customer relationship management (CRM) tool.
Practice’s CRM platform, designed with coaches in mind, allows you to store client information securely, send documents and messages, book appointments, and receive payment –– all in one place. Try it today.