How to turn followers into customers
A guest article by Antonia ReinhardIf you work as a yoga teacher, you usually can't avoid using social media. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are now an integral part of almost every marketing strategy, including in yoga. It doesn't matter whether you offer yoga classes online or offline.
However, it is not enough to simply upload a few nice photos regularly. If you want to win customers and sell something via social media, then it is essential to know exactly what you are offering and what your target group is. Only then will the right followers, i.e. your potential buyers, find you on their own.
Acquiring customers on social media: My 8 best tips for your yoga marketing
Yoga Marketing Tip #1:
Your offer must be crystal clear
Followers will only buy from you if it is clear at first glance1) WHAT you offer (e.g. course, membership, a digital product)
2) WHERE you offer it (i.e. whether online or offline and at which location)
3) FOR WHOM the offer is suitable (e.g. beginners, advanced, pregnant women)
4) WHY you are offering it (i.e. what the benefit of the offer is for your community and what problem it solves)
5) HOW to buy this offer (e.g. via link, email, Instagram DM, booking system, website)
The clearer you formulate your offer, the faster your followers will know whether this offer is suitable for them or not.
Yoga Marketing Tip #2:
Community building and interaction with your followers
A loyal community and a solid reach are essential to increasing your sales.
The key to this lies in interaction with your followers. If you interact and communicate correctly, your community will feel taken seriously and will build trust in you. This will lay the foundation for a later sale.
Interactions not only help you to become more visible and generate sales: you can also use the exchange with the community to find out what your followers expect from you and what needs and problems they really have. This gives you the chance to adapt your offers accordingly.
Attention: You don’t need a huge number of followers to sell something – a small but loyal community is worth much more.
Yoga Marketing Tip #3:
Storytelling
Your followers should identify with you and your “journey.” So talk about your personal path, your journey, who you are and why you do what you do.
Storytelling helps you connect even more closely with your community: the more authentic you appear, the more your followers will be drawn to you and become loyal customers.
Important: Show your weaknesses as well as your strengths, because that is what makes you truly human and approachable. The more authentic you are and the more real stories you share from your life, the more likely your followers will be to seek support and guidance from you.
Yoga Marketing Tip #4:
Use all functions for more reach
Instagram offers users various formats and functions to package content. Use these to draw the attention of your target group:
With posts and reels you can share your added value and position yourself as an expert.
Hashtags help you address your target audience and gain more reach.
Participation campaigns and competitions are important to build a loyal community.
In live videos you can answer questions or invite guests (e.g. experts on specific topics)
Yoga Marketing Tip #5: Advertise on Facebook and Instagram
Once you have created an offer, you can start creating advertisements. These will be displayed to your target audience and draw attention to you and your products or services.
Advertisements cost money, so think carefully about what content you want to share.
My personal tip to you is: Use advertising to draw attention to free offers. This will help you, for example, to expand your email list and gain new newsletter subscribers.
Yoga Marketing Tip #6:
Newsletter and email marketing
You can also use your social media presence to make your followers aware of your newsletter. Create a free gift (a so-called lead magnet) and mention it on all your social media channels.
Keep drawing attention to your newsletter and your gift.
Why? Because discounts, gifts and promotions bring you new newsletter subscribers, who in turn become customers in the long term.
Yoga Marketing Tip #7:
Call to Action
To encourage your community to buy, you should always include a call to action in your posts.
No matter how many times you've mentioned your offer, keep asking your followers to take the next step. If you think that's too pushy, I can reassure you: your community WANTS to be taken by the hand.
So encourage your followers to…:
1) click the link in the bio
2) subscribe to the newsletter list
3) Like, comment on and save your posts and reels
4) reading your blog articles, listening to your podcast and watching your videos
5) watch your live and ask you questions
6) to be added to the waiting list for an upcoming offer
7) Join your Facebook group
8) and much more.
Yoga Marketing Tip #8:
A good launch strategy
Once you have created a product and want to sell it, you should think about a good launch strategy.
First, set a phase in which you will sell your offer. Start talking about this offer weeks in advance. Adjust your social media posts accordingly and create a waiting list if necessary.
The strategy may look different depending on the product. However, the basic rule is: be even more active on your channels during the launch phase than usual, think of small “bonuses” and promotions to tease your followers and get them excited (about the product).
Also share testimonials and customer reviews so your community knows what to expect when making a purchase.
If you apply these 8 yoga marketing tips, you can be sure that you will be able to help even more people with your offerings in the future: whether offline or online.
Antonia Reinhard
As an expert in yoga as a profession, Antonia supports yoga teachers to be successful self-employed. Antonia is an Anusara and Yin yoga teacher and has been teaching yoga for over eight years and organizing retreats and workshops. Her heart's desire is to empower women in their yoga business to be successful, fulfilled and relaxed. In addition to online courses and yoga mentoring, Antonia also has the podcast "Yoga as a Profession".
Antonia on Instagram