Social media refers to platforms that people frequent for socializing, sharing, interacting, and entertaining. These are digital web-based platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. No business, small or big, can avoid these platforms because it is where people spend time meeting each other virtually, and for marketers, there cannot be a better place than these platforms to market their products. Out of the various strategies discussed so far, I think, social media marketing is the most important for today’s times.
Social Media – Some Requirements
· Be consistent in your posts.
· Keep them simple and short.
· Post informative, useful, and compelling content. It could be your own or sourced from others, but your users need great content.
· Operate in your own area, with content that aligns with your ideas, values, and offering and makes sense to your audience.
· Be less salesy and promote less: Everyone knows you are here for your own purpose; still, you shouldn’t sound too salesy or look like you are always promoting. Users get annoyed and start unfollowing. It might affect your views and your page score on the Facebook algorithm, which will make your posts invisible. Follow 80:20 rule- 80% informative content and 20% promotional.
· Facilitate sharing: Enable the share button to get your posts shared, liked, retweeted, or repinned, which is key to increasing your following.
Benefits of Social Media Marketing
There are many reasons you should use social media marketing. Here are some of the most beneficial reasons to consider:
1. To be comfortable with what’s now unavoidable:
Yoga teachers hesitate or become uncomfortable with technology. Unless we convert this weakness into our strength, we cannot thrive in today’s times. Social media is a fact of life and shall remain so for the foreseeable future, and one can ignore it only to one’s peril. So, as a teacher you should be clear about it.
2. To increase awareness about your classes:
Millions of your prospective clients frequent social media platforms. You can reach out to them if you have a powerful presence there. It is a proven method to boost awareness by driving meaningful engagements for small businesses like yoga classes that cannot afford big marketing spending. It could be as views, likes, dislikes, comments, shares, retweets, bookmarks, or reposts. You can also use these tools and platforms to direct traffic to your site by providing links if you have one.
3. Improve leads, interactions, conversions, and sales:
Once you have a community of followers who rely on and engage with your posts and have a certain level of trust in you, you can pitch for your yoga class offering. Thus, depending on the experience your users have, you can improve lead generation, interactions, conversions, and sales. Use these techniques to increase sales.
· Launch contests for your prospective clients to take part in on your social media account.
· Provide/share links that take them to your website or wherever you have your landing page that details the offer/bonus you have included in the contest.
· Organize webinars and/or stream live videos to inform them about the service, the benefits, and the compelling offer/bonus available if they decide to purchase.
· If it finds traction, try other social media platforms to see where and which platform or combination thereof makes sense to your offering.
4. Forging relationships with your audience:
You can build reliable and long-term relationships with your target audience by being in touch with your followers through regular posts, interactions, and comments as texts, likes, and dislikes. Always provide them value and help them in whatever way you can. See what is resonating with them and what is not. See what comments are telling and seek their honest feedback on one on one basis.
5. See what your competitors are doing differently:
Having an eye on your competitors can provide great learning. Be aware of the new offerings, prices, and promotions by your competitors. This is not about copying them but understanding the market trends and outperforming them. Analyze their current strategy and think about how you can outsmart them. What are their failures, mistakes, and weaknesses, and how can you convert them into strengths or build your strategy around them, accentuating these pain points?
The ultimate idea is to ensure that your marketing is unique to your personality.
Different Social Marketing Platforms
As mentioned above, we have no choice but to use social marketing platforms. It is a must; there cannot be two opinions about it. Now, be clear about what you want to achieve and how to get the most out of whatever you do. It would be best to consider the mechanism, type, and benefits of various social media platforms offer before deciding which would be most appropriate.
1. Facebook
It is a top networking platform with over 2.13 billion monthly active users. Beyond doubt, Facebook is the most effective social media networking platform for reaching out to many people and, simultaneously, to your niche area. Ordinarily, for organic posts, reach remains low; it is, therefore, a good idea to go for sponsored posts.
How to go about it
Decide the date from which you want to run the campaign. Name an event page and invite friends, relatives, neighbours, and acquaintances.
Use an attractive photo of yourself doing a yoga pose you are comfortable with or any balancing pose for the cover image. Post every week and start interacting on the event page 45 days before the event date. Schedule posts ahead of time.
When creating an advertising plan for Facebook, consider the platform’s targeting options, especially options like look-a-like audiences (public based on a list of your existing clients, fans, app data, or pixel) that affect prospects like your current clients. Another powerful Facebook tool is retargeting (sometimes called remarketing) – you can create a Facebook audience for your ads that consists entirely of people who, for example, have already visited your website. Since these people already “know” you, you can target them with more specific ads that resonate with them.
Finally, despite having an enormous user base, Facebook offers various segmenting options for your ads. You can choose who sees your ads based on country, city, postcode, age, language, many types of specific interests, and inclusion or exclusion based on various criteria (fans of your page, for example). Combining what you already know about your existing customers and taking advantage of the targeting options Facebook offers, you can launch ads to a group of users who are most likely to engage.
Facebook and other social media sites allow you to do many things for free. You can make your existing/potential clients get to know who you are, what you do, and how your offering could benefit them. They can see you as a teacher and a real person—your professional and personal life. You can announce anything new you plan to do—new types of classes, workshops, events, retreats. You can also see what is happening in your area and what other teachers are doing.
If you own a website, you can provide a link to that.
You can plan your strategy by following these steps to get the most out of Facebook marketing:
· Create a business page: Set up a professional-looking page with relevant information about your class timings, type of class, teacher who takes it, and for whom they are meant. Put any other information that you find suitable from the client’s point of view.
· Post engaging content: Share promotional and informative content, such as blog posts, images, videos, and updates about your services.
· Use sponsored posts: Boost your reach by supporting posts to target specific demographics and interests.
· Interact with your audience: Respond to comments, messages, and reviews to build relationships with your followers. When you feel necessary, organize webinars.
2. Instagram
Instagram is a visual platform of social media networking sites. It has more than 800 million monthly users worldwide and is the most popular social media platform the new generation frequents the most. It is again a suitable place for image-heavy content where you can upload your class photos and videos of memorable moments—your students practicing challenging poses, meditation, etc. You can have your post promoted to reach a larger audience. It is the platform where celebrities in fashion, films, sports, and entertainment are active online. That’s what makes it favourable to the youth, particularly females.
Instagram is the ideal channel to promote your classes if most clients are between ages 18-40. You can use the services like Buffer and Hootsuite. Both are good, particularly when connecting with all the major social networks from one convenient dashboard. While each has slightly different features, both make scheduling posts to multiple platforms at one time manageable. For a bit of aggression in your social networking, both services offer advanced paid plans that provide several additional options. If you want to use these channels for your marketing campaign, these services will allow you to grow and develop a robust presence with minimum effort.
3. Influencers
Social influencers rule the world of social media, be it Instagram, Snapchat, or YouTube, which are the most visual of all the social networking sites. There are, however, platform-specific influencers, like tech influencers on Twitter or industry experts on LinkedIn. In the yoga business, it's often difficult for anyone to afford its costs. However, a great way to overcome this is by leveraging your friends and acquaintances who have a large following on social media platforms. You can ask them to endorse your classes to their audience, which can greatly benefit your business.
If you want to promote your classes/offerings with an influencer, please take care of the following.
Suitability: Is this person appropriate to influence the audience you are looking to target? Do they have a significant presence on the social media platforms where your prospects hang out? Is the person you are considering relevant demographically to your target? Can you find a better person with mass appeal but less costly? Is she so high or low in standing that people find connecting with them difficult?
Transparency: All the details are transparent, and there are no underhand dealings. They won’t want them to be paid in cash. There is no legal bar for them to sign such a contract, and they agree to abide by all the terms if anything is required legally. They should declare their interest that they are being paid either in cash or in kind to promote this service.
Mutual benefit: Both parties should understand that it is (promoting a service or brand) in their mutual interest. The influencer is happy to associate with the service/ offering they agree to promote, and it won’t affect their image or damage their brand. Similarly, the service provider also understands that it is beneficial for them to get a celebrity endorsement.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the best platform for professional networking. It offers a defined target group based on the field of work. It is mainly for job seekers and companies, thus ideally suited for B2B social networking/marketing. LinkedIn offers campaign targeting based on the segmentation you are looking for or are interested in. Since the platform is for employees and professionals, and all would like to see them fit physically and mentally, it makes sense to advertise classes on LinkedIn. The important thing is people are stressed due to inherent pressure/ tension in their jobs; they need yoga more than anyone else. If interested, you can tailor your classes accordingly and popularize them on this platform for free. If it makes sense, go for the paid version later.
To leverage LinkedIn for marketing:
· Create a professional-looking page with relevant information about your business, products, or services.
· Publish valuable content: Share informative articles, industry news, and updates about your business to establish your expertise and credibility.
· Participate in groups: Join relevant LinkedIn groups to discuss, share your insights, and connect with potential clients or partners.
· Use sponsored content: Promote your content to a targeted audience using LinkedIn’s advertising options, such as Sponsored InMail and Lead Gen Forms.
5. X (formerly Twitter)
X is a platform for tech-savvy young professionals. It stands out mainly for two reasons—real-time or what is happening right now and hashtags that represent massive conversation topics. Post quality content that is engaging to your audience. Post daily, but don’t flood your feed. You can go for “X blue” to sound authentic. You can use promoted tweets to advertise your services to a particular segment. By utilizing appropriate keywords/hashtags, you can run paid campaigns to share content and offers with potential clients. X also has targeting options you can choose from—your followers, look-a-like audiences, interests, and demographic characteristics such as location, age range, and gender.
If you are not using their paid services, X can also serve as your preferred platform to raise awareness about your services and classes. You have the option to directly message them individually or receive feedback through their comments. Kind teachers have a helping attitude and genuine interest in their clients, improving their image on X, which helps them increase their follower base and sell their services.
Remember, each social media platform has its unique characteristics and user base. Tailor your marketing strategy to fit the specific platform and audience for the best results.
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