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And with the vast abyss of online marketing modalities out there, IG might seem like the easiest place to start (believe me, I've been there too).
But instead of merely doing what everyone else is doing (signing up for this webinar course or that social media hashtag training, or spending hours creating flawless Reels for the 'Gram), I want to help you avoid the burnout that comes with stand-alone social media marketing.
As an educator and holistic business coach to over 100 impact-driven entrepreneurs and with over twenty years of marketing experience, I want to help you focus on what will make an impact as you market your new brand.
Six Reasons not to Focus on Social Media Marketing at the Start of your Business
1. When you start that IG account, you can bet it will take up a lot of your time, and at the beginning, it's inevitable that you'll experience a lack of engagement with your posts. It’s disappointing when you're pouring your heart and soul into your carefully curated images and posts, and they don't get any engagement.
2. Even after successfully gaining a following, these followers rarely convert into clients. After a while, this can really knock your confidence because you’re not seeing any rewards for your labor. I've seen many brilliant coaches question their offer and think there must be something wrong with them because they have put all their eggs into the one 'marketing basket.'
3. Social media is like running inside a hamster wheel with no off-switch. To keep up with its fast pace and ever-changing algorithms, you have to keep pumping out content and showing up in your stories all day, every day. This is not only exhausting, but it can be hard to come up with fresh ideas for content because you've yet to get much client experience.
4. 'Comparison is the killer of joy' (Theodore Roosevelt). Instagram can be a comparison pit. When you continually watch the content of other successful coaches ahead of you, it's easy to compare yourself to them, deflating your confidence.
5. There's no way of knowing if or when your efforts will pay off when marketing on the ‘Gram. It's not as simple as: ‘Create + Post = Clients’. Building an engaged community takes time, commitment, and trial-and-error experimentation. The marketing world is vast, so why put all your time, money, and energy into just one method?
6. More followers does not mean more money. That's not how it works. Have you heard of the brand Aril? She had 2.6 million followers and yet couldn’t sell 36 t-shirts. If you don't build a cohesive marketing ecosystem to support your customer journey and turn your followers into buyers, all of that time curating for the 'Gram is a big waste of time. Sure, interactions on social media might help you feel supported, but it won't do anything for your business.
So, how did Business Owners Market Their Services Before Instagram Became Popular?
I've tried and tested many marketing methods during my 20﹢ years in entrepreneurship and I know which approaches can work well for coaches. I want to help you find a more gentle and sustainable path to marketing yourself so you don't exhaust yourself on IG in the hopes of going viral (sadly, unlikely, and even then, remember, followers rarely convert into clients).
So before IG became the go-to for marketing, people leveraged one (or several) of these tactics:
- Utilizing the power of referrals. Creating intentional referral programs is a low-cost and efficient way to attract more of the same client profiles. With this word-of-mouth marketing strategy, when a private mentorship client refers a friend, you could offer a free coaching session in addition to their package, for example.
- Engaging in affiliate marketing through synergetic enterprises and collaborations with other impact-driven leaders. By inviting others to promote your services, you reward them by paying them a commission each time someone invests. Our clients are our best advocates because they know our approach and have experienced working with us. I invited my client who completed a 12-month group program with me if she would like to be an affiliate and earn commission and she said yes!
- Building communities around their philosophy and approach via speaking engagements, events, and workshops. Face-to-face opportunities are the most natural and practical way to meet potential patrons. When I started out as a coach I had no mailing list so I reached out to a business center and asked whether I could teach an SEO workshop and they could promote it to their community. That's how I immediately got a mentorship client.
- Email marketing to foster a genuine culture around their brand, vision, and approach and deepen connections. Connecting via an email newsletter is an excellent opportunity to speak directly to your audience, nurture a closer relationship with them, and become the 'go-to' person in your niche in their inbox.
- Website and SEO (search engine optimization) development: Your website is your online home, and an SEO keyword strategy means the right people will find you online. In the screenshot above, my client found me through the keywords ‘heart centered business coach’. Because of keyword research I currently come up as the second organic result on the first page of Google. You don’t have to drastically overhaul your entire website in one go. Once you know the fundamentals of SEO, you simply integrate into the way you write. Contrary to popular belief, SEO is not complicated- it's about a long-term approach.
While social media can be a valuable touchpoint within a larger marketing ecosystem, focusing all of your energy on building an Instagram account is not a sustainable way to create long-lasting impact. Attracting the right clientele through marketing is the compound effect of applying selected tactics consistently over time for a more gentle, balanced approach to your marketing that, over time, will bear much fruit- with less effort.
So please don't focus on just Instagram. You'll burn out.
So Which of the Above Marketing Tactics is Most Appealing Right Now?
You're not alone if you feel overwhelmed by the sea of marketing options. So, let's welcome in a mindset shift: There is no 'one size fits all' model for marketing your brand. You're completely unique in your values and offerings, so your marketing ecosystem should reflect this to your community.
When you know how, marketing isn't scary, complicated, or difficult. Your unique marketing ecosystem should be straightforward, consistent, and enjoyable.
In Coach Marketing 101 with Maika, I help coaches understand the marketing ecosystem and design a path that aligns with their vision and plays to their strengths to help them:
- Build a community around their values.
- Share inspiring messages through their content so people constantly think about them.
- Promote their coaching with authenticity and grace.
- Consistently attract soulmate clients without burning out.
Click here to join the learn more about Coach Marketing 101 with Maika and get ready to learn how to enjoy effectively marketing your new brand. You can do this!
