5 Steps To Save Time On Social Media For Fitness Professionals

This post was originally posted on GXUnited.com.

We all wear multiple hats, and as fitness entrepreneurs, we all feel pulled in a million directions at some point during our day. We must do ALL THE THINGS, then struggle to deal with the guilt of not getting it all done. Trust me, even the most organized of us struggle with having ‘enough time’ to get everything done during the day. Can we all agree that ‘enough time’ will never happen?

We are busy, and our time is precious. We don’t have a moment to waste in this business, especially on sales tactics that do not work.

We all know social media can bring our businesses more publicity and customers. But are you effectively using your social media accounts to ensure your sales tactics bring you clientele and not push customers to hit the “unlike” button?

 

Step 1: Know Your Audience

Social media should not be entirely focused on selling. It’s about building awareness. It’s a magnet that helps you attract the clients you want. Think of it like fishing—you have to know what fish you are searching for before picking your bait and body of water. Your “bait” should attract your fish, just like your posts should attract your target market.

Right now, take a moment to close your eyes and envision your dream clientele: Female or male, 25 or 55, Suburban or rural? Does this matter? Absolutely! Don’t waste your time by casting out a too large net. Instead, use social media to help you find and target your dream audience.

Not all social media platforms are created equal. While you may appreciate one platform more than another, your client market may disagree. Research your market to find out where they live online.

In years past, there have been definitive demographics per platform. However, in the past year, many demographics have evened out. Some general statements can help you find your people:

  • Facebook is male-dominated, with 50-65-year-olds being very active.
  • Instagram has more females (barely), with 25-34-year-olds having the most accounts.
  • TikTok users’ average age is 10-19.

Research your specific demographic to find out where they live online. Then, focus your efforts on those platforms.

 

Step 2: Know What You Know

You have heard that your “why” should fuel your “how.” Last year, your mind probably revolved around the fear of the unknown: Who am I if I don’t instruct or coach? Fear shouldn’t be the fuel. I challenge you to create your purposeful why statement this week. It’s probably changed from pre-pause, during the actual pause of 2020, and now.

Take time to recognize the evolution, sit with it for a while, and then use this fuel to light your next fire.

So, what is your expertise?

If I gave you a microphone and asked for you to speak about a topic for over 30 minutes joyfully, what would you share? Write down at least 5 of those topics.

 

Step 3. Know What to Create

Once you know who you want to talk to on social media, you must know what to share. Your posts should blend the questions of your target demographic (their pain points) with your statements of expertise.

People are looking for answers to their problems, so be their solution (within your scope of practice). You need to understand what your target demographic is Googling at 2 a.m. to know what content and programming to provide. What are they struggling to accomplish, and how can you be the answer or solution?

Now, how does your expertise show in your offerings? If you use social media as a brand awareness tool, but your brand has nothing to sell, you waste your time. You need offerings that establish you as the expert while answering the needs of your target demographic. Your social media is a personal account without offerings and should reflect as such.

You have expertise, knowledge, and a scope of practice. Stay within your boundaries. Align yourself with other wellness professionals that close the gap on your limitations. That way, if a client comes to you searching for answers outside your realm, you can refer them to someone else and, hopefully, vice versa.

 

Step 4. Know What to Post

Now you know what topics to create, so it’s time to get busy.

Do you bake one cupcake at a time? No! You make 12 (at least). Well, make multiple social media posts at once. Batch your creativity and store it all for later use.

For example, your target demographic is busy moms of young kids who need to make kid-friendly meals. You have a passion for nutrition, so you decide one of your weekly posts should be recipes from your online e-book. Instead of creating your post every Monday, create 4 posts at a time so you know exactly what you are posting before the day arrives.

Yes, write your captions, take the videos or photos, create the graphics, and research the hashtags for multiple posts in one sitting. Have a strategy and a plan versus being in the moment reactive.

The “how” of creating the content depends on the platform you choose to use. Each platform has an algorithm that determines what content is seen most frequently. For the most part, video is the top tier. Some platforms thrive off of evergreen content (posts that live on your profile), others live off of disappearing content (24-hour lives), while others combine the two (Facebook and Instagram).

So, how you communicate your recipes will depend on the platform you focus on based on your target demographic.

Want to know the quickest way to lose followers on all social platforms? The more you sell, the more you disconnect.

People are on social media to make connections, not purchases. Remember the 80% rule that most marketers and social media gurus follow: 80% fun posts and 20% sales. If you constantly direct-sell, your audience is likely to stop paying attention to you. But if you are a little creative, you can make your ‘fun’ posts soft sales.

 

Step 5. Know What to Say

Remember, social media is meant to be social. While planning who to talk to, where, and when is all-important, so is actually using the platforms themselves.

Think of it like a video game: the more features you use, the more points you earn. Spend time on creation, but spend more time connecting with your audience, leads, and clients.

Comment, share, like, and tag (this is called engagement). Interact with the people you want to have as clients and those who have noticed you – your leads.

 

These five steps will help you build a more effective social strategy, allowing you time to focus on your business. But before you can grow, you have to know what your current goals are for your social media. You can’t “manage” your time, effort, and energy without a set of priorities. You can’t have set priorities without an end game or finish line. So, what are your current goals for your posts? Is it to have more website views or higher engagement in your private group? Decide so you can begin tracking your insights to see what is working and what is not. Ditch it if something isn’t helping you get closer to your goal.

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