Many wellness businesses are turning to social media to build their business and increase their reach. They are posting daily, jumping on those oh-so-intimidating-Facebook-lives, and even messing around with Instagram Reels. However, it’s still not working. Wellness entrepreneurs are realizing that they are not making money through social media.
Still stuck with your best friends and your super-loyal aunt Karen as the first (and sometimes only) participants to sign up for your online classes? Asking your besties to share your posts for you and tag their friends? You are not alone. So, I have some good news and some bad news. Bad news first?
Most sales do not come directly from your social media page. The pretty photos aren’t necessarily selling your services for you. Yep. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but most of your followers are not arriving to your page eager to sign up for your classes and buy your program. Unless…. (and here comes the good news)… they know you and trust you. So, here is where you can put in the work and switch your mindset to help you to build your wellness business through your social media platform.
Here are eight ways you can focus your attention and your messaging on helping to transition the followers from scrolling past your pretty pictures or mindlessly clicking “like”, to actually showing up in your classes and signing up for your offerings.
So, just as I mentioned before, most people won’t buy from you unless they know you and trust you. But, we are trying to move away from only serving close friends and family, right? So, first and foremost, give your followers an opportunity to get to know you, without ever needing to actually meet you.
Social media is a space to build community, connection, trust and authentic engagement
- Allow your social media followers to get to know you. Who are you as a person? Outside your profession, who are you? What are some of your likes and dislikes? What do you do on the weekends? Are you a mom? An avid skier? An artist? Share these parts of you, with your online community. Sharing photos and aspects of your personal life help to establish common ground, allow your online community to relate to you, and give your followers an opportunity to connect with you on a more personal level. Now, you don’t necessarily need to share your deepest, darkest secrets or post photos of your children, but get personal in a way that feels safe and authentic for you.
Here are two fun, light-hearted games to play online, to help your online community to get to know you better.
Two Truths and One Lie:
Share three interesting facts about yourself, one of which is a lie. Your followers need to guess which fact is a lie.
Never Have I Ever:
Write three to five things that you have never done in your life and encourage your followers to comment and share one thing they have never done. These three things can be completely random, or you can tie them into your area of expertise. Are you a fitness coach? You can list three things you have never done or tried in fitness. Are you a nutritionist? List five foods you have never tried. Remember, encourage your followers to play along!
2. Open up. People tend to buy from you when you show them that you understand their pain and can demonstrate that your offerings can offer a “fix” or a solution to their problem. Remember, this is all about being honest and authentic. And doing so in a deeper, more vulnerable way than you have done in the past.
For example, as wellness professionals we may post something like this:
“I have been practicing letting go this past month and have grown so much since I have been taking time to tune into what I need and what I deserve.”
Sounds beautiful right? Now, how can we open up a little more and offer a bit more honesty and vulnerability here?
“I have been focusing on letting go of negative self-talk, specifically around body image, this past month. It has been a challenge, but from giving myself dirty looks in the mirror to repeating positive affirmations aloud to myself, I have been able to experience a sense of self-love and appreciation like never before. Some of my favorite affirmations are: I am worthy. I am enough, just as I am, in this moment. My body is powerful, beautiful and capable. I am grateful for the gift of this body.
Do you see the difference? More importantly, do you feel the difference in this messaging?
It’s time to be a bit more honest and authentic online. Allow your followers to see past the pretty, perfect instagram squares and see more into your soul, your why, your reason for showing up and sharing your gifts. This can be suuuuuper scary, I know! Start small and again, do what feels authentic and safe for you. By opening up and being a bit vulnerable, you are able to show your followers that you do, in fact, relate to them. That you do understand them. That you can empathize with their struggles and that you have tools and services that can help them to overcome these.
3. Be a friend. Engage in relationships. Remember, social media is a place to build community and connection, which later leads to building a trusting space for your followers to buy from you. So, be a human. Be a friend. When someone leaves you a comment, reply to them in a thoughtful, engaging way. Comment on the pages and feeds of your followers and reply to their stories. Ask them questions and follow up on big events in their lives. Did they have a baby? Check in on them and see how you can support them. Did they lose their job? Reach out to them or even offer them a free session. Again, be a human. Be a friend. Do these things from the heart, not with the intention to gain clients. Be authentic and honest. The rest will follow.
4. Address the pain points of your social media followers. What do they need? What is the “problem” for which you are selling a solution? Be reflective about your offering and get really clear on who you have designed this class or service for and what they are struggling with. This can go back to the above point of opening up about your own experiences. You can address the pain points of your past and things you have worked through. You can also talk about what you are currently working on or working through.
Your messaging doesn’t always need to be super deep. It can be something as simple as, “I am struggling adding movement to my day during lockdown and feel generally low in energy and unmotivated. Join me for a 10 day fitness challenge to boost our energy levels and finally get out of these stretchy sweatpants.”
If you are not interested in opening up about your personal life, be a good listener. What are your current students and clients sharing with you before and after class? What struggles are they sharing online? How are they feeling? What do they need? Don’t know their needs? Ask them.
5. Identify the Benefits. This one is usually missing in our marketing and messaging. This is the “what’s in it for me” part that your followers are looking for. We often get stuck on only addressing the pain points and the “problem”. Look back on your recent promotional posts. Did you paint a gorgeous picture of how your offering is going to benefit your future client? Show them the dream- the light at the end of the tunnel.
6. Offer the solution. This is YOU! Your offering is the solution. Like Mark Walsh would say, share your sandwich! Be clear in your messaging about what you are offering. What is the class? Why is it unique from other other dance/fitness/yoga classes they just scrolled by? When is it? Where is it? How do they sign up?
Now for how to encourage your online followers to actually pay you for your services and show up in your classes.
7. Tell them that they can buy from you! So often we see wellness professionals afraid to deliberately mention that they are selling something. They kind of work around with gentle, soft language, suggesting that maybe, possibly, someone reading might kind of want to sign up for their program. “So, if that maybe, possibly, kind of sounds like something that you would maybe, possibly, kind of like, send me a DM.”
Be sure your call to action is clear in your messaging and confident in your delivery. If you direct them to your DMs, say it with confidence and let them know what to expect when they send you a message. If you are sending them to a link in your profile, be clear on where they should “click” to sign up or move forward in the investment process.
Don’t fear your greatness. Own it, chica! What are you selling? Tell me the benefits of your service and its value. Be transparent in the pricing when there is a set price or offer a range of pricing when possible. Hiding prices, in my opinion, shows me that you are either 1. Doubting your own value or 2. Hiding something. On the other hand, stating prices helps to demonstrate confidence and value.
8. Make it easy for your followers to sign up and pay you. How often have you thought of buying something online and the website was overwhelming, or you didn’t have your credit card nearby so you abandoned the mission? Honestly, if there isn’t a PayPal option, I don’t buy. Or have you ever wanted to sign up for a class, but you needed to send a private message to find the schedule or figure out how to register. Then, it takes the teacher a couple of hours to get back to you and by then, you are no longer interested. Another failed mission.
Provide your followers simple links on your Instagram profile- Linktree or similar works well to take your followers directly to your online booking system. Don’t have an online booking system? Add a direct link to your PayPal.me or Go Fund Me page. Or, include a direct link to your whatsapp so they can reserve through there. The less links, and the more autonomy you can create, the less likely you will lose these on-a-mission-to-sign-up-and-pay clients in the process.
So, there you have it. Eight ways to build trust and connection with your online followers and in turn, grow your wellness business and make more money doing it! Converting followers to paying clients isn’t about fancy tricks and clever copywriting. It is also not about you. It is about nurturing the needs of your current client base and meeting the needs of your ideal client. It is not about tricking your clients into buying from you or manipulating them into signing up for your offerings. It is about offering solutions. Being of service. Helping people by sharing your knowledge and your gifts. Remember, marketing can be both generous and kind.
Now, go out there and make a difference. The world needs your gifts and your greatness.
xo,
Jennison