Put the Social in Your Social Networks

Last week I talked about standing out from the competition. Online coaches have tons of competition, but if you are unique and authentic, your audience will find you. Give your audience a path to help find you by setting up an informative and personalized social media platform. We all know the importance of networks such as Facebook and Twitter, but are you using it to your best advantage?

I recently had a call with a frustrated coach; she couldn’t understand why she should continue her social media marketing when she isn’t getting much in return. It can get frustrating, but I have found that consistent and informative content on these networks is a great way of establishing a presence and becoming a trustworthy connection. I always suggest a variety of postings daily, which should include content other than your typical marketing posts. Posting content that provides resources, personalized touch, article links and advice will give your connections reason to stop and read what you have provided – thus establishing you as a trusted source.

Another thing to consider is your level of personal involvement with people in your network. During our call, I asked this coach how often she sat down and started a conversation with one of her connections. She hadn’t – ever. While I admit it is not feasible to have a personal conversation with every connection, even having a few per week will add up to a lot of client potential. Let’s say you strive to “meet” three connections a week, and those three connections tell their connections what a great conversation they had with you; how helpful you were and so forth. That’s a lot of word-of-mouth publicity.

This coach began reaching out to her connections and wouldn’t you know she has already booked a consultation with a new potential client. It’s all about growing trust within your circle of connections. The coaching industry, online coaching in particular, demands a high level of trust to be established before someone will agree to sign on. So it is well worth the effort to spend time each week getting to know your audience. How much time do you spend connecting with your audience? Are you providing resources or advice in your posts? If you are having a hard time reaching your audience, consider posting a variety of content as well as reaching out to your connections personally.

As always, if you have any questions you may reach me at andrea@aokbusinessservices.com

Be Unique in Your Coaching Practice

The world of online coaching has become intense – so many people want to share their knowledge and expertise with the world. One has to wonder though, with all these experts out there, which one do we ask for help? Which one is the expert-expert? Through my work with online coaches, I have found the main issue to be – “how do I build up my clientele and stand out from the crowd?”  While this is a heavily loaded question, there is one very simple answer – stop doing what everyone else is doing!

I was recently on a telesummit call (The Shine Your Light Telesummit), listening to branding expert David Tyreman discuss the importance of being your own authentic brand. It really got me thinking, why are we constantly trying to duplicate the success of others? As Tyreman explained, “we start emulating others and the fact is the more we emulate others the more invisible we become because then we have nothing that makes us look unique or different or better.” It makes sense.

Online coaches have a lot of competition, whether they are business coaches, life coaches, career coaches, food coaches or any other type of coach, the competition is fierce. Developing a unique program or service is one way to stand out, so is the way interact with your clients and the level of comfort and professionalism you provide them. So what does your brand say about you? How do you stand out from other coaches in your industry?

Take some time to think about what it is that makes you unique and then strategize ways that you can present that uniqueness to the world.