The Number One Basic Strategy to Grow Your Business Online
“My classes are doing okay, but they are very small”. I hear this every day from my clients. As more and more fitness professional went from employees to entrepreneurs, we realized that having a platform ready to train online, a camera and an online program are not enough to have a successful business. We also need to know how to bring clients in and convert them into paying customers.
A Homebase
The very first step you want to do is to set up your HOMEBASE. Every marketing effort that you do, whether you are posting on social media or sending text messages to prospects, these strategies need to be redirected to somewhere where there can be an exchange of money.
You want to set up a platform or somewhere where there can be exchange of money. We do spend a lot of time on social media but you don’t OWN Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube or Instagram. All these platforms are places where you go meet potential prospects. You may have lots of followers, people that like your posts, share, comments, etc. however, your ultimate goal is to bring them outside of the public platform and follow you to your HOMEBASE where you will give them more value.
Dating Analogy
Let’s say you meet someone at the coffee shop. Are you going to drop on your knee, offer them a ring and ask them to marry you, the very first time you meet with them? You don’t propose to somebody on the first day that you met. They have no idea who you are. You should not be offering them to buy something from you at this stage. And unfortunately, that’s what a lot of people are doing on social media trying to grow their business.
A lot of people are posting on social media expecting people to spend money with them right away. It is not rare that I get messages on social media from people wanting to “marry me” on the first day.
Here is what to do instead: Firstly, you need for them to notice you. The best way to get noticed is to talk their language. What do they need? What are their problems that you may have a solution for? Secondly, give them some free value. Before you invite them to a free trial class or give them a free assessment session, offer them some tips or PDFs they can consume on their own, without involving a face-to-face. Just like dating, you need to move slowly with the relationship.
Remember that people go on social media to be distracted and entertained. So, grab their attention and entertain them. It is a great way for them to know you exist and to start to like you.
For example, post a three-minute video blog explaining a specific exercise for women to get the attention of your target market (in this case, let’s say it is women after they had kids) and then send people back to a great article about The 3 common mistakes that women make when going back to their fitness routine after having kids, which article is located on your HOMEBASE (more likely, your website). If you post on social media, time your posts to make sure some of them are connected to a call for action, sending people back onto your website for you to collect their information and make them eventually sign up for your classes or train with you.
Post content for your target market and give without selling nothing. Once every 5 to 7 posts, include a call for action that will redirect people to your HOMEBASE that you can collect their name and email address. Once they’re on your website and on your mailing list, they have a little bit more interest in your services. They’ve clicked out of their social media platform, and they are starting to get more interested in you.
What’s next you may ask? Once you have their info, you want to plan a series of follow up emails and contact points that will move them from “interested” to paying clients. That is when you can offer them a free trial, a free assessment session, etc.
So, the number one basic strategy to grow your business online is to give, give, give, entertain, and make sure you have a HOMEBASE to redirect them to.
If you are interested in the nine other tips to a successful business, go here to download the 10 Tips to a Successful Business: www.thinkyourself.com/businessguide
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