If you’re a coach and you’d like to market your business online, your Facebook profile is a great place to start. In this blog post, we’re going to show you how to use Facebook without ads to help you get more clients.

With the current data showing that Facebook has 2.41 billion monthly users and with data showing that 74% of users on Facebook use it for professional purposes – it’s clear that Facebook is the top social media platform right now. Using it intelligently can help your coaching business.

It’s likely you don’t need convincing that Facebook can help you promote your business, but rather, you’d like to learn how to best use this powerful tool.

If you do need a little convincing, let’s look at a little more anecdotal and hard data.

If you think about your own practices online, it’s likely you’ve noticed that you spend a lot of time on social media. According to the New York Times, the average person is on Facebook for fifty minutes every single day. If you add that up, that’s nearly 20,000 minutes or 300 hours every year spent on Facebook. All those hours are valuable minutes that people could spend seeing your content, your offers, and connecting with you to be their coach.

If you’re using Facebook, this tutorial will help you understand how to use those hours you’re spending on the platform wisely. It’ll show you how to use your profile as one more tool to attract clients, network and grow your connections intelligently, and it’ll transform those hours you’re spending on Facebook into a client-generation activity.

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH FACEBOOK FOR GENERATING BUSINESS

When you use social media for business, remember that business pages encourage you to pay to play. If you’re using your business page as the primary place to post, know that you will need to understand how to run ads in order to get visibility. For small businesses, the pay-to-play model can be expensive and drive up costs quickly.

If you’re not sure how to run ads, we suggest using your personal profile. With your personal profile, you won’t have to pay to get exposure. For the sake of this article, we’ll focus on using your personal page, any Facebook groups you may have, and the Messenger feature.

If you’re thinking that your personal profile won’t help you attract clients, let’s consider this piece of data: The average Facebook user has around 300 friends (and maybe you have more). It’s likely you don’t know everyone you’re connected to, and it’s safe to assume you don’t know what their needs and wants are (yet!). This means you can’t assume some of the people in your network don’t want your services (or that they don’t know someone who does want your services).

If you’re serious about coaching, let’s get one thing clear: You’re here on a mission to serve and you can only do that by sharing your gifts. Facebook gives you the opportunity to announce to the world that you’re here, that you can help, and that you’re available. In a world where we Google and search for just about everything – Facebook now works like an online directory. Being there in a way that appeals to your ideal client is one more way to draw in clients.

STEP 1: GET CLEAR ON WHO YOUR IDEAL CLIENT IS

In this world where we’re inundated with content, it’s become ever-more-important for us to selectively choose what content is meant for us and what interests us and what doesn’t.

Our attention spans are shorter than ever, and as a coach, this means it’s good for you to be clear about who you serve. Being clear on this makes it a cinch to create content that attracts and appeals to your ideal client.

To help you get that clarity, consider these few questions:

• What does my ideal client enjoy doing?
• What does my ideal client like learning about?
• What does my ideal client value?
• What does my ideal client like to read?
• What are the main struggles of my ideal client?

These questions are not to be overlooked (trust us!).

Take a moment to write down your answers. We know this is article is free, but if you treat it like the premiere coaching that it is, you’ll actually reap the rewards. Not only will this help with what you do on Facebook, but it’ll help your email marketing, blog post creation, and all of your marketing efforts from here on out. Taking the time to know your ideal client will help immensely.

The answers you put down will shape what and where you post, along with what kind of pictures, stories, and pieces of information that you share.

Now that you’ve got some answers written down, let’s move onto the next section. If you don’t have your answers written, take a minute to do so right now so you can keep following along!

STEP 2: CREATE A BIO THAT TELLS OTHERS WHAT YOU DO

Finally, be sure to tailor your bio and cover photo so that it appeals to your ideal client. If you look below, you can see what your bio line looks like from a desktop and from a phone.

As you can see, this bio line immediately alerts anyone who sees your profile about who you are, how you serve, and what you do. This is precious real-estate. Use it to your advantage!

If you’re a Cancer Coach, Digestive Health Specialist, Hormone Coach, etc., make sure to add that to your bio so your potential clients know exactly how you can help them.

Editing your bio on Facebook is super simple. Here’s how you can do it from a desktop.

It only takes a few seconds to create this bio, so don’t skip it.

STEP 3: CLEAN UP YOUR PROFILE IMAGES. A PHOTO SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS

Have you ever heard the saying:

“A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words”

Well, online it’s very true. What people see of you online is how they determine who you are. As much as we don’t like to judge a book by its cover, we do.

Your photos on your profile tell a story.

Do your photos tell the story you’d like your ideal clients to conjure up?

If not, go take down those weird college photos. If you like what’s there, great!

Here’s are a few examples of amazing profiles. Don’t you just want to get to know these beautiful people? *Notice they all have a clear bio too?

As a coach, people will look at your profile and decide whether or not they connect with you. Just like most of us judge a book by its cover, a celebrity by their onscreen appearance, or a professional by their resume – your photos can help paint in the most positive light.

Your photos are one way your ideal clients will look to understand who you are. By consciously selecting and deleting certain photographs, you can be sure your best clients see you for the high-quality person that you are.

When you have some time, set a moment aside and start looking at the pictures you’ve posted. As you look through them, ask yourself, “is this the message I’d like to share?”

Depending on your answer, decide if that’s what you want your dream clients to see or not.

STEP 4: CLEAN UP YOUR FRIENDS LIST

This section is really only necessary if you have over 2,000 friends and connections. If that’s not the case, go ahead and skip this section (you can come back to this if you ever reach that threshold). And whatever the case is, I want to realize that this list is like your email list (more on that later).

If you’re thinking that your personal profile won’t help you attract clients, let’s consider this piece of data: The average Facebook user has around 300 friends (and maybe you have more). It’s likely you don’t know everyone you’re connected to, and it’s safe to assume you don’t know what their needs and wants are (yet!). Don’t assume some of the people in your network don’t want your services (or that they don’t know someone who does want your services).

To unload those ‘dead accounts’ otherwise known as ‘inactive or deleted accounts’ you’ll have to go through your friends list. This is best done from a desktop (from a phone, it will be very laborious).

To find those inactive accounts, scroll through your friends list and look for accounts that have no profile pictures. Unfriend those accounts. As you scroll through your friends list, if you see accounts that have no information underneath their photo or there are accounts you know that a user doesn’t really use – unfriend those accounts too. This will work to assure Facebook no longer tries showing your content to people who don’t ever engage with your posts.

STEP 5: SHARE POSTS YOUR IDEAL CLIENT WILL ENJOY

If you think of your Facebook wall like a radio or tv channel, you’ll start to see it as a tool that engages and attracts your dream clients. Everyone who scrolls on Facebook is looking for something to entertain and attract them – and that content is what they ‘like’ and engage with. So, use your posts as a way to share great information you know your ideal client would love.

While most people post willy-nilly, you can be intelligent and post content that your perfect client would be drawn to.

If you think of any radio station, they all play music and shows that attract a particular audience. Your Facebook wall is no different. And if you think of a radio station or television station, you know that a percentage of it is made for entertainment and a small percentage is reserved for advertisements. Let me explain a bit more.

We go on Facebook to be entertained and to socialize. If you post content that draws in your ideal clients, you’ll get their attention. Much like TV stations put on programs designed for a particular person, you can curate your Facebook wall to draw in your ideal clients.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR POSTS

• Stories about some breakthrough you had in your life.
• A success story about a client who had the issue your clients do and how you helped them.
• Commentary on something trending and your own personal insights (stay away from politics).
• A tip you found that helps your dream clients solve their most pressing issue (gut health coaches could post about Cider Vinegar or a cool recipe like this one).
• An insight that you had which is new and helped you personally.
• Occasionally post about your offers and services (more on this below, get this and you will increase your enrollments).
• Share updates on your business (your posts work like a press release to update your followers).
• A vulnerable share that allows people into your life a bit. (Michelle Phan recently shared a very vulnerable story and it has 13 Million views).

The idea here is to be a voice that speaks and connects with your community. Sharing stories and regular content helps you stand out. Your Facebook posts are truly a form of content marketing and that’s why it’s good to share stories, offers, and various types of content.

SOME EXAMPLES OF CONTENT

Here’s a post where a viewer loved my story so much he asked to share it with his large email list (I had no idea he even read my stuff).

And if you’d like to see a vulnerable type post that really connected readers to me, you can go here. You don’t have to get so personal, but at least open up your life a bit and let your fans get to know the raw authentic, beautiful you. As a side note, that post resulted in five podcast interview invites.

Now it’s your turn!

Start sharing content that helps your audience meet you, connect with you, and makes them aware that you’re a coach.

If you’re still a bit confused, go back to step one and answer the questions again. That exercise will help make this part much easier to understand.

STEP 6: JOIN FACEBOOK GROUPS OF YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS

When most coaches get started with groups, they make one fatal mistake. They join groups for coaches and groups hosted by coaches. While it’s great to be surrounded by your peers, that’s not the most likely watering hole for your ideal clients.

If you’re a coach who specializes in weight loss or depression – you’re most likely going to connect with your dream clients in a group for ‘women who want to get fit’ or “overweight women who want health secrets.’ Being in a group for coaches just puts you in a pool of coaches who want to talk about being a coach (which is great if you’re looking to connect with supportive peers!).

When you want to get noticed by your dream clients, engaging in a community that attracts your audience will set you up to be seen by the people who need your services. Again, we’re brought back to step one. What is the main issue your clients want to solve? Who is that person and where are they most likely to hang out at? If you’re not sure, check out a variety of groups, and soon enough you’ll get a sense of where your people are.

Also, if you have your own Facebook Group (or want to create one), you’ll find this article quite useful.

Now let’s move on to you and your offers (and how to keep it classy).

Here’s how to search on your desktop (use the search bar, type in what you’re looking for):

Join groups where your ideal clients are at. Provide value. Don’t try to sell, just be the awesome caring person you are in real life, and people will take notice.

STEP 7: PROMOTE YOURSELF (DON’T WORRY NO ONE WILL BE OFFENDED)

If you think of a radio or TV station that you really enjoy; you know they all devote a percentage of air time to selling or promoting something. Even HBO and paid premium channels have product placements. And if you look at any leader in their niche (say, Jack Canfield, Oprah, the Institute of Transformational Nutrition, or anyone else that comes to mind) you’ll notice they intermittently share their offers. A part of online marketing, tv, radio, and even Facebook is sharing offers. This is how businesses grow, and now that you’re a coach, you need to share your products and services with the world.

If you’ve ever heard of Gary Vaynerchuck, you know he’s done very well for himself with social media. Currently, he has millions of fans and ranks very high across all platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, YouTube, and Snapchat). Want to know what his best advice is for creating sales via social media? Well, it isn’t to get a ton of fans (it’s something more attainable and useful for everyone). As Gary puts it, the size of your following isn’t what matters most, it’s your ability to impact and influence. You can do that by sharing your knowledge, insights, and stories.

In Gary’s bestselling book, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Hook: How To Tell Your Story In A Noisy Social World” he boils it down to this: “Share valuable, entertaining, and useful content and intermittently sprinkle in your offers (hence the jab, jab, jab, and hook title). Pretty simple right? It’s something any of us can do and we don’t need a big social media or email count to do that.

BEING A TRUSTED VOICE IN YOUR FIELD

As a coach, you get clients by being a trusted voice in your field. You attract clients by being someone your ideal clients connect with and that’s why you tell stories and share useful trending information. As you create that trust, you also ensure your readers and followers know what you have to offer by sharing that you’re a coach and that you have programs available for purchase. You can do this in a very classy and professional way. Here’s an example of a post you could make:

“Hey! As you may know, I am an expert in helping women lose weight and build confidence. Lately, I’ve shared how one of my clients lost 50 lbs in 10 months by following a special protocol I designed (message me if you want it too!). And if you’d like 1-1 support, I have a few spots left in my program. Feel free to message me to talk about how my coaching weight loss program could help you!.”

Here is an example of a post I made seeking speaking gigs (see how simple this is).

And here’s a very classy post where someone shared their expertise and advice (and let readers know what they do).

You can make posts like this on your personal page without offending or bothering anyone. In fact, it could very well be the thing that inspires someone to go, “That’s what I’ve been looking for!”

CONCLUSION

Given that data is clear – social media is used by billions of people each month, it’s in your best interest to use these tactics to increase interest in your coaching business. Start sharing, posting, and don’t forget to think of your ideal client as you’re creating content.

Tell us what you think. Share one big takeaway that you got from this article. And feel free to give it a share to someone directly who you think might benefit from it too!

Want more tips? Find out how to engage with your audience, continuously serve in a meaningful way, and establish a reputable brand for your business through consistent brand messaging.