Here’s an important question if you’re looking to become a business coach (or if you are one already): is social media waste of time for business coaches?
I recently had a conversation with an experienced business coach who was “well-connected” on social media (her words). She had over 2,000 twitter followers, 400 Facebook friends, and 1,200 connections on LinkedIn. She spent hours and hours every single week networking, engaging, and connecting with prospects. But as we talked, I discovered she got little return for her investment, and the majority of time didn’t generate any leads from social media whatsoever!
Is it just me, or does that sound like a complete waste of time?
It’s no secret that social media has been one of the biggest developments in marketing for business coaches over the past decade. Make no mistake about it, if you want to dominate your market, then social media is just one of the tools you need to utilise and master.
But if what you’re doing now isn’t generating any leads…then STOP!
What You’re Doing to Make Social Media a Waste of Time for Business Coaches
The surprising thing is, although almost every business coach knows how important and effective social media can be to generate leads and build your practice, very few are actually seeing the kind of results they want from the time and effort they’re expending.
So how do you make it work?
The answer is a simple, but critical, shift in your mindset:
You must STOP thinking of social media as a place to network, and START thinking of it as a marketing tool first and foremost.
It’s a subtle distinction, but it makes a huge difference.
You see, most business coaches use social media exactly the same as a typical user: their profiles talk about their family, their hobbies, and their past experiences.
That’s fine if you want to use social media to connect with family and friends, but if you want to use it in your business to generate leads, you need to be doing it differently.
To generate leads from social media, you need to shift from talking about yourself to what you can help your clients achieve.
In other words, as with all effective marketing, you need to focus on the BENEFITS you offer to prospective clients.
Don’t get me wrong. Some of your prospects will be interested in what you do in your spare time, and what you’ve done in the past. A human touch adds credibility and makes you more likeable. But that should be a comparatively small percentage of what you post.
So rather than talking about what you do in your spare time, talk about how what you do can help your future clients get the results they’re looking for. And rather than talking about your past experiences, talk about the past results you’ve achieved for clients or employers.
Looking for more great tips on becoming a business coach? Check out our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach, with a step-by-step guide to getting started in the industry!
