“If your business is not on the Internet, then your business will be out of business.” – Bill Gates
It’s no secret that the landscape of business is shifting onto the online market. With more and more attention being drawn to social media and other online outlets, the game of marketing has changed slightly. As coaches, we have a burning desire to help our clients reach the next level of their development, the problem is if these people don’t know you exist…how can we ultimately serve them? In order to attract your ideal clients you must put yourself in the position for them to find you, so if you have been curious about how to get started in the online space this article will take you through “5 Ways to Grow an Online Presence” to put yourself ahead of the game to dominate the online community!
Step 1: Who is your Ideal Client?
You’ve got to know who your ideal prospect is. Before you go in guns blazing online, you first must know the type of client you are trying to attract. What age range are they in? Pain points? Interests/hobbies? Do you know the ideal change they are looking to make in their life? Getting specific as possible with the exact type of client you want to work with is vital for developing trust in your prospect…when you speak their language they will start listening. BEFORE you even think about marketing yourself online, get clear with exactly who you would be serving and why.
Step 2: Choose a platform
Social media is one of the biggest growing industries in the world. In the last 5 years, over 3.5 billion people have signed up to a social media platform! (Emarsys, 2019) Millennials make up over 90.4%, Generation X makes up 77.5% and Baby Boomers are at 48.2% (Emarketer, 2019). Facebook has over 10% of its users from the age of 54 and older! (Clement, 2019) So there is an audience for you, the key is knowing where they frequent. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn etc. all have specific ages they are catered to, so when you know exactly where your ideal client spends their time online you can focus your efforts on that platform; which is why you need to first know WHO your ideal client is.
Step 3: Deliver your message
Content is king. In order to attract your ideal client and get them interested in what you have to offer, you need to make content to get their attention. The big ways to do this are in forms of: video, written, or voice. Play to your strengths, if you are good in front of the camera and have an animated personality – go video. If you excel more with written word – make that your go to type of content. You might even be proficient in a combination of a few others, the point is deliver what you offer in a way that your ideal client is not only attracted to what you have to say but also makes them want to take action.
Step 4: Find your niche
It can be a crowded field if you are trying to establish yourself online as a coach, especially now that everyone online is calling themselves a “coach”. Generic life coaching will not be enough to attract an audience as it is too general…it’s like trying to catch fish in a big ocean with a small net. When you are SPECIFIC with a focus in your coaching it makes it much easier to find a lane to advertise in and create content for. What solution do you have for an ongoing problem? Follow your passions to help you create your niche. For example, my niche is in helping young men without direction clearly define their life’s path and transform into the man they’ve always wanted to be. The more defined your specialty is, the more trust and authority you create with your prospect.
Step 5: Collaboration is key
Two heads are better than one. There truly is strength in numbers, and if you want to increase your exposure then you would be wise to find ways to collaborate with other coaches/creators/entrepreneurs on social media. Working together with like-minded people is critical, especially if you are just starting out and have a lot of questions; you can bounce ideas off of one another and promote each other’s content on each of your pages. I think as coaches we all can benefit from having each other as a resource, and collaborating on ideas/content/business is a way to boost both of your exposure – the name of the game is attention and the more eyes you can have on your profile is critical.
In Closing
If you follow these 5 steps then you will be well on your way to creating some serious buzz online! Take your time with this, it isn’t going to happen overnight (unless something goes viral) so stick with it and always remember WHY you started. Looking forward to seeing your booming success online!
Bio: Tino is a transformational coach that specializes in helping young men without clear direction define their life’s path and transform into the man they’ve always wanted to be with his coaching company: “The Sophisticated Man”. Tino currently has a YouTube channel of over 8.9 thousand subscribers and an Instagram over 3.5 thousand followers with most of his content on those respected platforms… as well as a weekly Podcast show.
Contact Tino at his current email: [email protected]
