Facebook, the social media and social networking service, created a global connectivity revolution soon after its launch in 2004. The instant & real time communication with contacts (by finding friends, family, acquaintances – old, new or even previously thought of as lost) was a game changer in how people would connect & exchange information going forward in the 21st century.
Since its inception, Facebook has grown exponentially. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the last decade and ranked third, worldwide, among the most visited websites in 2022. Available in 112 languages, as of July 2022 Facebook claimed 2.93 billion monthly active users!
With a multibillion ready audience available at a single touch of a screen, it is no wonder that Facebook became a magnet for entrepreneurs looking to promote & expand their business and increase profits! Facebook ads offers a tremendous advertising platform for entrepreneurs with over 1.6 billion people worldwide connected to a small business via the social media giant!
So, is Facebook for coaches? The answer to that is – absolutely! As a coach looking to maximize reach and connect with a large potential client base, Facebook is the platform of choice to establish a strong presence and attract more clients. Here are some clever tips on how to get coaching clients on Facebook.
Create a separate page for your coaching practice
Right at the outset, create a separate FB page for your coaching practice. Even if you are a personal coach and your brand revolves around your identity, it is always better to separate your professional activity from your personal profile. Why subject your personal contacts to your professional posts, and why inundate your professional contacts to personal details? Also, having a dedicated FB business page gives your coaching practice that legitimate commercial identity.
Be genuine
Coaching is all about trustworthiness, and just because FB gives you access to a huge audience don’t be tempted to embellish your credentials, services offered or the results that you can deliver. Be original, genuine and sincere in your outreach. While posting – whether text, audio or video – make sure that they are your thoughts and coaching ideas rather than rehashed versions of popular opinions. Your potential clients are smart and can differentiate between the pretentious and the real.
The credibility, and ultimately longevity, of your coaching practice depends on how you are perceived by prospective clientele, so by all means put the best version of yourself out there but make sure it is also the true one!
Connect with other coaches/coaching groups or communities
Joining a group of fellow coaching professionals or even a coaching community is a smart move and has many advantages. It lets you access the shared knowledge that members bring with them, discuss problems (there is a good chance that a lot of other coaches might be experiencing the same and will pitch in their ideas), brainstorm about coaching strategies, get solid referrals etc.
Also, if the group or community already has credibility and good presence on FB, you can utilize it to connect with a readymade audience, expand your reach and attract clients.
Be seen on FB where your clients are likely to be
FB has over 2 billion active users per month, that does not mean that all of them are interested in being coached! Joining fellow coaching groups or communities is a good idea to establish a solid FB profile, but don’t limit your presence to professionals only from your industry. Expand your scope, research on the type of clients who would be interested in your coaching services and then try to be present in those places to ensure more visibility to the right audience. Once there, actively participate in discussions, FB live, other scheduled activities to remain accessible to would be clients.
Engage and build connections
The USP of FB is forging connections. Once you join a group or a coaching community don’t remain a spectator to group activity. Participate actively, post interesting content, take the effort to converse with members, build rapport with potential clients by answering queries, communicate about your coaching offerings etc. Ensure that you follow the guidelines of the community & keep your responses respectful.
Start your own group/community
The next organic step after being a part of a coaching group or community could be to start a similar activity of your own. This allows you to become a thought leader, absorb the knowledge that you have gained as a member of other groups, add your inputs and begin your own coaching community.
It is easier said than done though, and by no means a must-do step – a new group needs a lot of hard work to make it popular. Be clear about the title, your credentials, who the group is for as well as the rules that members will have to follow. Create and post relevant content regularly to keep the group engaged.
Promote your group/community to your FB contacts as well as via email, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn etc. to get the desired traction. Also, making it a closed group (instead of public) is a better option as it lets you vet the members before they join.
LinkedIn allows coaches to build a solid ground to grow their coaching business.
Interested to learn how to use LinkedIn to get more coaching clients? Check this out!
Use Facebook ads to attract more clients
As a coach, think of Facebook as a platform that offers a lot of business opportunities – acquiring leads, attracting clients to actual sales/client onboarding.
The most effective way to leverage Facebook for business growth is Facebook ads. On an average people spend at least 6-7 minutes per day on Facebook. Through their user data analysis tools, Facebook ads give you a great advantage of aiming those ads specifically at your ideal clients (demography wise) and that too on a modest budget. Facebook ads have proven transformative for many small businesses, and as a coach they can do the same for your coaching practice too.
But for Facebook ads to be effective, you need to have a strong service offering that clients would be willing to pay for.
Post engaging & relevant content
Your FB page should be a platform that showcases your industry knowledge, work experience and coaching philosophy. By posting interesting articles, blog posts, videos, quotes on coaching related topics such as personal & professional growth, impactful career transitions, decision making, developing leadership qualities etc. you can engage with your existing as well as potential clients effectively.
The kind of content you share also proves your expertise in various coaching related subjects. That will help in not only drawing more traffic to your page but also help establish a strong brand for your coaching practice on social media.
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Use Facebook livestreams to grow your business
Facebook live is a popular platform, especially for small businesses who have modest budgets for marketing & promotion. FB live lets users directly stream a live video feed on their page to get real time exposure to a large audience. It’s an interactive and user-friendly platform (you can easily access Facebook Live via your mobile on the go) that lets you connect with your targeted clientele, free of cost.
Via Facebook live streaming you can convey your thoughts directly to your audience, increase traffic to your page and also promote your coaching brand on FB.
Stand out by giving your clients/group members a unique experience
Facebook gives you the opportunity to tap into a huge audience but there is a true danger of getting repetitive or monotonous in creating content. So many timelines are filled with random forwards, meaningless and irrelevant matter that many people don’t even glance at.
As a coach you need to avoid that pitfall. If your aim is to stand out amongst your competitors, then the input from your side also needs to be distinct.
Find novel ways to engage your clients via engaging q & a sessions, inspirational stories about individuals doing outstanding social work, highlight posts on your Facebook page when you have important news or milestones, appreciate your employees when they achieve a personal goal, compile a behind the scenes story on how a workday looks like at your coaching business, share smart tips on coaching and so on.
Visuals are important in hooking potential clients, so try and use a mix of high-quality images, embedded video links, text only for quotes or only videos while posting to keep your FB page visually appealing.
Post client testimonials
Nothing boosts your credentials than posting solid proof of your previous success stories, straight from the clients. Make sure the testimonials (videos are most preferred) cover multiple areas of problem solving, ROI on the coaching process as well as the real transformation that it has delivered to the client.
Posting testimonials also highlights some very desirable qualities in a coach such as transparency, trustworthiness, business ethics, skills, professional qualifications and more.
Make sure you post & interact regularly with your audience
Having a posting schedule for FB (indeed for any social media) is necessary to create a constant presence on the medium. Chart out a timetable for posting articles, quotes, blogs, podcasts, videos etc. and then make sure to stick to it. Posting once a week or fortnight is not going to drive traffic towards your page, nor create a dedicated audience nor engage potential clients. Out of sight is truly out of mind on social media!
Looking to up your social media game to get more coaching clients?
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Conclusion
Facebook is all about building relationships and connecting with people. As a coach you can make great use of this tremendous platform not only to attract a large clientele or boost revenues but also to establish yourself as a genuinely effective coach whose skillsets help people lead better lives.
Hopefully this article has helped address your queries on the use of Facebook for coaches. With such a massive reach, as a coach you just can’t afford to ignore Facebook. Now that you have fair insight into how to get coaching clients on Facebook, go ahead, create a solid presence on the social media platform and let FB transform your coaching practice.
FAQs
1. How do I get more coaching clients?
For a coach, clients are the very lifeline of their coaching practice but landing that first paying client can be extremely stressful. In order to ensure that your coaching practice has a steady stream of clients, you need to communicate what they do, their coaching niche and services, be visible to potential clients via social media or online channels, target the right client, create engaging and appropriate content, use SEO, social media, free or paid ads, referrals etc. to drive higher volumes of traffic to online platforms, collaborate with fellow coaches and put forth attractive coaching packages & offers to sign up clients.
About Simply.Coach
Simply.Coach is an enterprise-grade coaching software designed to be used by individual coaches and coaching businesses. Trusted by ICF-accredited and EMCC-credentialed coaches worldwide, Simply.Coach is on a mission to elevate the experience and process of coaching with technology-led tools and solutions.
Writer
An avid reader with love for books on history, sci-fi and popular fiction, Pallavi is a gifted content writer. She is also a keen listener of Indian semi & classical music. Currently, she juggles her duties of being a full-time mom with part-time content writing.
