22 November 2024
One of the big mistakes we can make when we use Social Media to grow our business or boost our online profile, is to measure our success by how many likes we get or how many followers we have.
But creating great online content is not just about self-promotion or building your brand, it’s also about putting content out that can help or support others, so it’s time to forget about all these vanity metrics.
And as a professional coach, we feel the real success comes when you can create great social media content that generates conversations with people who want to engage with you, because they like what you say.
Our recent blog on growing your coaching business was very popular, so now we show you how to grow your social network, generate meaningful connections and effortlessly create great social media content that delivers more than just likes and followers.
The first step is to stop measuring your success with vanity metrics. When you next post something, don’t fall into the trap of hitting refresh to see if anybody likes what you said. You need to flip the script and instead of seeing how many people like your content or follow you, see how many engage with what you have posted.
As a professional coach you can only work with a few people at a time and social media is the same. Instead of wanting thousands of people to like or follow everything you post, look to engage with a few people and see how you can start a conversation with them.
We would normally expect it to take about 10 conversations for you to convert a prospective client into a fee paying client, but it does depend on how easily you find selling your coaching services. So if you want to sign up a new client each month, you will need to have at least 10 different conversations each month. But that only works out as 2 or 3 a week, so your social media needs to help you find about 5 new connections each week or at least one per day.
Tip: Block out 30 minutes each day to check social media. Use the time to find people with similar interests, join in conversations and check who liked or commented on your posts. And use your socials to share your thoughts, feelings and insights, plus any personal take on what is happening around the world or in your life.
Our best advice is to never compare yourself with others, because you are unique and it really does takes time to engage and build your audience. And don’t worry if you feel like a social media imposter with nothing to say, because in this blog we are going to show you how you can create your own great content. But you do also need to know how to find all of those new connections each week, if you are going to start some meaningful conversations.
But content is not just relevant today or right now, because it could also be of interest to the person who finds it by chance in 6 months time. They are never going to book a coaching session without first finding out who you are and what you have to say. So take a fresh look at your website or social media content and check if it shows you have insight to share or something helpful or supportive to say. It should give people confidence and helps them build up a picture of who you are before they contact you.
And people will follow you for many different reasons, but when the time is right they will reach out and get in touch to say they are interested in what you are saying. This is your opportunity to do what you do best and have a conversation about how they are feeling and what help or support you could offer them.
But waiting for somebody to get in touch is only half of the story and this simple proactive approach will help generate real conversations with other coaches or more importantly potential clients:
Tip: If somebody likes or comments on your content, check their socials to see if it’s somebody you feel you could work with or help. If you do message back, thank them for connecting and ask what they liked about your post as this helps start the conversation.
We know you may not be a marketing expert, but you are a professional coach and coaching is all about having conversations. So we are going to share some insights into how you get people to want the experience of having a coaching conversation with you.
Remember, great content is not about self-promotion or building a social media empire, but it is about wanting to share something that you think will help somebody or resonate with them. And this is not something that needs to instantly connect you to thousands of people, but will be meaningful to a few people so you can engage with them and have that initial conversation.
Your content needs to show people who you are and how you can help, not what you know. You do not need to have something unique to say or present yourself as an all knowing expert on a specific subject. And never think you need to revolutionize a specific area of coaching, because the thing they will want to know is who you are and the experiences you have had.
Never publish content that says “this is what you should do or what you should believe”. Just like this blog, the things you are sharing will mostly be about what you are doing and how it works for you, what you believe could help others and how it makes you feel. Look back over your social media content and see if it feels like you are sending out a gentle invitation for people to find out who you are, how your life used to be and some of the challenges you have overcome. Or look for any posts that share some of the ways you have helped others overcome their challenges and what worked for them.
When you post something, we all know it may not be the only solution and more importantly may not work for everybody, but you are sharing it in case it can be helpful to others. It’s also a great way to showcase how you work and the different types of approach you take to help and support others. Remember you are trying to connect with a few people and get into a real conversation because something you shared has resonated with them.
This is also the best way to avoid any negative comments or feedback, because you are not saying you are the single expert with all of the answers. You are just sharing your experiences and hope your content will show your beliefs and philosophies, or the journey you or your clients have been on together.
Tip: If you post quotes from other people, nobody will know what you think. Always share what you are feeling, your outlook on life, or say something about the quote that resonates with the people you are looking to help or support. And where possible try to be open and honest, so you may wish to share some personal thoughts, but never share any private information.
One of the biggest barriers to using social media, is the knowledge that this is a beast that needs to be fed on a regular basis. And you get into the cycle of not posting any content because you have nothing to say or no audience to read it, but the main reason you have no audience is because you do not post any content.
Don’t try to be sensational, but always stay relevant and relatable. Take an everyday experience and find a way to link it back to a lesson you have learned in life. That lesson will stick with anybody reading your post for much longer and if they need help they will remember who gave them this insight and hopefully get in touch.
As a professional coach your primary business is to support others so they can grow and be the best they can be. So our best advice is for you to always create great social media content that does the same thing and supports people in the same way as your coaching style. Your content should share the same type of feeling that people will get from a coaching session with you.
When you tell a story or share an experience, the person listening will naturally relax. When they relax they will listen more. Look for everyday events that could make great stories, metaphors, teaching lessons or learning lessons.
Tip: If you find it hard to create great social media content, get into the habit of reading or watching the news each morning and see if something resonates with you. Then ask yourself why. Try to retell the story in your own language or teach it your way by using your own words.
When you are checking social media, it really helps if you have your clients in mind and look for things you think they will be interested in. When you spot something that could be of interest to one of your clients, take a minute to quickly share it with them. But remember to add a short personal message explaining why this made you think of them. Anybody can hit forward on something, so always add value and make the message meaningful.
The same approach can be used when you are creating content. Think about the clients you could share it with and send them a short personal message with a link. Tell them why you had them in mind when you created this piece of content or why it made you think of them. This will deliver a much deeper level of coaching to your clients, because it could be linked to something you discussed during a recent coaching session or could help them prepare for a future coaching session.
Tip: This can also be a great way of converting potential clients you are starting to engage with. By linking relevant content you see or create back to conversations you are having, you are showing them you listen when they talk and have been thinking about what they said.
To support your development as a professional coach, we have published a range of ebooks with insight into many different aspects of coaching. One that helps you unlock a connection with others are these two exclusive ebooks:
Coaching Emotional Intelligence: Your practical guide to coaching Emotional Intelligence. We look at emotions, emotional intelligence and emotional intelligence in the workplace, plus some examples for how it can be tested.
Neuroscience and the Human Brain: A detailed look at the brain and how Neuroscience can help a professional coach understand human behavior.
Content is constantly being added to the site, so please check our on-line shop. Or read some of the other blog posts written by our team of international coaches.
Image: Thanks to Cristian Dina for sharing their work on Pexels.
Please note: This post was inspired by the work of Jason Goldberg.
Please note – Our materials can only be copied and distributed, if you include a reference and link to the original source: (cc) MyCoachingToolkit.com – 2020
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