Let’s face it. Instagram is one of those tools that you simply can't ignore. And, if you want to master Instagram for your online personal training business then the hacks below will help you on your journey.
But, why is Instagram important? Well, with over a billion monthly active users and the Story feature alone receiving 500 million users daily, it is easy to see how it's become the second most engaged social network.
Instagram is a platform that allows you to engage with your audience in multiple ways, harnessing the power of the platform will ensure that you can manage content, increase engagement and ultimately get more clients. We wanted to share our most favorite Instagram hacks with you. So if you're struggling to get to grips with Instagram, check them out below.
1. Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is great for personal trainers who want to engage their audience with content. It allows you to share multiple images and videos while adding effects and music. The reporting feature also lets you see who's watched your story.
This reel of pictures and images will disappear after 24 hours, allowing you to share moments from your PT Business throughout the day with your audience. This allows it to be ideal for more casual ways of communicating with your audience, be it selfies, or a behind-the-scenes look as your work as a PT, or it could be to launch a new fitness product. The options are endless.
One great, and underused feature is that you can save stories to your Instagram homepage. We like to think of this as a website, where you can save your most important Reviews, blog posts, new PT products. This makes sure that your most important content is easily accessible on your Instagram homepage for your clients and potential customers.
What we use it for:
1. Adding hashtags to posts for greater reach.
2. Re-posting a story that you're mentioned in.
3. Adding account handles to the story - You may be thanking a client for a review, or tagging in an influencer in the hope that they re-post your story to their followers. Which will increase the reach of your post.
4. We love using the Story highlight covers to bookmark reviews, blogs, and features.
2. Always think of video content
Have a scroll through your Instagram feed and I can guarantee the majority of posts will be video. According to an Instagram for business study there is an 80% increase in the time users spend watching videos.Some of the best ways we've seen personal trainers use videos in their day-to-day posting are fitness product launches, behind the scenes footage of personal trainers either doing the fitness programs or the steps they have taken to create it. But, our favorite way of using video is to run a frequently asked questions video and add to your Story highlight cover, so any new clients can get answers to any of those last-minute questions before they make a purchase with you.
3. Remember those hashtags
Struggling to get more people to view your content? Hashtags are a great way to increase your Instagram audience exposure.
Firstly adding industry-related hashtags to your posts will ensure that you're reaching a greater audience from that of your current followers, some examples of hashtags to use for your online PT business are:
#findmeapersonaltrainer?
#getmefit
#greatpersonaltrainer
#joinagym
#personaltrainer
This gives you greater reach and your posts have more of an opportunity of being found.
Secondly, you can use hashtags for research. Search for other PT’s on Instagram and see what content is resonating with their audience, this will give some ideas for your content and hashtags for your own content.
Hashtags are one of the biggest assets to master on Instagram, using them correctly will ensure you reach more people, get more engagement, and grow your audience.
Tips on using hashtags:
- Don’t add them to your original post, instead, add a comment on your post and add them into the comment. This will make the post cleaner, while at the same time ensuring you're using your favorite hashtags.
- Why don’t you create your hashtag for your fitness program and ask your clients to post, using it? This will build up a good amount of content for your hashtag, which you could add to your marketing.
4. Think about the layout of your Instagram page branding (color + content)
We like to think of Instagram as an extension of your website, Instagram gives you the tools to engage with your audience and you should consider doing the following:- Do you have a logo for your business? Make sure it is added to your profile
- Add an engaging bio introducing yourself as a personal trainer and also any qualifications you have.
- Use hashtags in your bio, in the example below Canva, have created their hashtag in the hope that people will use it to share images that have been created in Canva
- Utilize Story highlight covers. You can see in the example, that Canva is using them as an opportunity to promote design challenges, education (how to use their app), and templates users can use. Use these in your PT business to promote reviews, or fitness products.
Not everyone has the time to create brand styles for your business, but we do recommend deciding on two to three colors that you can try and keep to in your posts. Use free stock imaging software to search for relevant pictures and use image editing software like Canva to easily create templates that match your brand style.
5. Automation and Scheduling
Your time as an online personal training business owner is short. You're unlikely to have the time to manage your Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts while building your online PT business. Scheduling and automation are vital to managing your social presence, and your sanity.Scheduling platforms such as Hootsuite, or Sprout Social will help you publish content, schedule future content, and re-post your popular posts. In some paid plans you are also able to track and measure each post.
6. Create a business account to see more reporting
As we mentioned in our blog on how to create your Facebook business profile Instagram also allows you to turn your account into a business profile.The Instagram business profile gives you access to more features, plus it’s really easy to set it up. Here are some of the awesome features the business profile has:
- The ability to schedule Instagram posts.
- The ability to track the performance of your posts with Instagram Insights.
- Business profiles can share Links in Instagram Stories.
- The ability to promote your posts on Instagram ads.
7. How to set up an Instagram Business Profile
1. Go to your profile and click the gear icon.
2. Tap “Switch to Business Profile”
Yes, it is that easy!
That’s a wrap on our 7 Instagram hacks to super-charge your online personal trainer business. If you follow the steps in this post you'll be able to take control of your Instagram account and ensure you're optimizing it to generate leads for your PT business.
