Amongst social media profiles, Google searches and all singing and dancing websites, competition to stand out can seem fierce, so as a Coach how can you cut through the noise, stand tall and make an impact online?
Below are some of my top tips to help you get noticed in the digital world:
1. Build a good website
Your website is like your shop window and as the saying goes ‘you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression’. Understanding what your website is designed for before getting it built can help you to stay focused on its purpose rather than getting lost in aesthetics.
Some key questions to consider before designing your site include:
2. Make your site search engine friendly
It was recently sited that consumers trust organic Google searches 6 times more than paid per click adverts. Making your website SEO friendly can make it easier for your ideal clients to find you when they type the keywords into a search engine. Some quick tips that you can immediately apply include using the keywords that your ideal clients would use in the copy of your website. Understanding the pain points of your ideal clients and what phrases they would be using when searching online can help you to craft your copy around their language. For example, would they search for ‘transformative coaching’ or would they be searching for ‘how can I increase my confidence?’, making a list of the language your clients would use is a great starting point and some great websites which can help you to get up to speed with alternative SEO practises are wordstream.com and Moz.com both of which can educate you on techniques which you can apply when creating your content.
3. Get Blogging
Writing a blog is not only a wonderful way to assist you with your SEO it is also a great way for your ideal clients to get to know you, build trust, and for you to be seen as an expert in your field. Maintaining a consistent tone of voice and letting your audience know what you’re about can help you to build your audience (tribe), answer questions your clients may have, as well as build your online visibility. A great way to start off your blog is by exploring the common challenges that your ideal client may have, or finding out what your customers would like to know and answering these topics in the form of a blog post. With each blog post ensure that you end it with a call to action at the bottom, do you want your ideal client to leave a comment? Download a free e-book relevant to the topic? Or schedule a discovery call? When used correctly, blogging can act as a powerful tool for your Coaching business.
4. Go Social
With an average of 1.13 billion active daily Facebook users alone it’s no surprise that our purchasing behaviour has extended across social media platforms. The way in which many of us now buy our products and services are linked to us hearing about them via platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Linkedin. Social media is a great way for you to enhance brand awareness and build genuine connections and relationships with your ideal clients. It can be easy to get lost in wanting to have a presence on every social platform available however it is worth making a note of two platforms that your ideal client will be on, and consistently posting on them, rather than trying to be on every platform and not posting frequent content. If your audience isn’t on snapchat then it would be pointless to invest your efforts into promoting your services there. Researching two platforms where your ideal client is likely to be online and building a social strategy on those platforms can save you time, hassle and social overwhelm. Another tip to assist you in your social media efforts is to remember that it isn’t just a place to keep selling, first and foremost social media was built to foster relationships so if you keep the intention of offering value to your audience and building relationships with them you are more likely to increase your following.
5. Be Visible
As a Coach it can sometimes be easy to cheer for others from the side-lines rather than put ourselves out there. The reality is, if we aren’t visible online then our clients won’t be able to find us. If you want to build a successful Coaching business where you can help and reach more people then it means not being afraid to put yourself out there. Exploring any limiting beliefs that you may have around this and working on Coaching yourself or getting some Coaching on building your confidence around this can make all the difference to how many lives you can touch and the direction in which your Coaching business will move. When you allow yourself to be more visible online you’ll naturally attract your ideal audience and be able to clearly see what type of content your audience values.
Navigating your way through the digital world can seem daunting when setting up your Coaching business but if you use the right methods you can put yourself in front of the right Coaching clients, make an impact and most importantly make a difference.
Bev James
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
