As we’ve been discussing here on this blog, marketing your personal training business is all about capturing local internet traffic. This is just as true on social media outlets as it is on your blog and local pages.
Last week I spent a bit of time going over Google+, since that is going to be the most important social media outlet for getting you ranked on the search engines.
But I also wanted to take a few minutes to discuss how you can optimize your Facebook to get local “likes” as well.
Hopefully you’ll get a bit of boost in this regard on Facebook by following last week’s advice. After all, if some of the people who are handing you reviews do so on Facebook then they might well “Like” your page while they are there, especially if you are populating it with tons of great content that’s relevant to them.
But that’s only one tool in the toolbox. There are many other ways to get both current customers and potential customers, all from the local area, to join you on Facebook.
Facebook Advertising
I know that one of the major draws of most internet marketing methods is that they are free, especially when you are just getting started.
However, I also know that you have to invest in your business if you really want it to grow. And as investments grow, Facebook ads aren’t really a bad one at all. That’s because Facebook has a very clear targeting system.
That system allows you to get your ad in front of the exact people who are most likely to be interested in it. For example, if you know most of your customers are women between the ages of 35 and 45 then you can tell Facebook to show your ads only to women in that age group. You can target by reported income, too, which means that you won’t waste your time advertising to people who can’t afford your services.
You can then tell Facebook to show those ads only to people in your local area.
You can also tell Facebook to target people with specific likes and interests. And while few people are going to say that they “like” weight loss, they may well say that they like shows like The Biggest Loser, and they may well “like” the pages of weight loss products. All of this tells you that they might be interested in making the kinds of changes that you can help them with. This targeting is incredibly helpful since you only pay each time someone clicks on your ad. It means most of those clicks might become customers sooner or later.
Make sure you get a compelling graphic to go with your ad, even if it’s just a photograph of you and a happy, successful client or a stock photo. Facebook is a very visual medium, and your ads are not going to be effective if you don’t take advantage of that fact.
Following and Interacting with Local Accounts
Following local organizations works just as well on Facebook as it does on Google+. You won’t be able to follow individual accounts from your Facebook page, but you can follow other businesses, clubs, and organizations.
Simply following these pages won’t generate any engagement at all, however. It’s unlikely that the administrators of these pages are even going to take an active notice of your decision to follow them.
However, if you start sharing content, commenting on content, and liking content you will typically gain some traction. The other organization won’t respond, but people who follow those organizations might do so.
These organizations don’t necessarily have to have anything to do with fitness, though of course if you can find any in your area who believe in promoting fitness, getting kids moving, fighting obesity, or anything else that relates to your fitness business then you’ll definitely want to spend a lot of time interacting with them.
Getting Set Up on Facebook Local
Believe it or not, the Facebook app is used for local search just as often as Google Maps is. To get set up, make sure that your business page is marked as a “Local business or place” in the settings. Make sure that you have added your NAP information to your Facebook page as well.
Once you’ve done this your page should pop right up in the Facebook local search results for your type of business, which means you’ve just captured some additional traffic from people who are seeking out people just like you. That means you’ve just scored that many more phone calls!
Need a more step-by-step tutorial? Check out this resource from Post Planner.