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The Personal Trainer's Guide To Getting Clients From Facebook

Marketing
January 27, 2023
tim saye

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Changing behaviours is hard. Doing things we've never done can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. That's why most people make repeated attempts to achieve their fitness goals. With that said, connecting with others and helping them see the results they desire is one of the top priorities of a fitness professional.

As an online personal trainer, you'll need to know how to promote yourself through social media to attract new clients. You will also have to use different platforms to communicate with your followers and consistently post content regularly.

In this article, we'll review all available ways you can turn your Facebook followers into clients. We'll examine the channels, tools and methods you can employ in your Facebook fitness marketing.

Here's what we'll discuss:

How to Set Up Your Facebook Profiles

o Facebook Page

o Personal Profile

o Facebook Group

o Facebook Ads

o Facebook Messenger Bots

How and What Type of Posts Can You Create on Facebook

o Text Posts

o Pictures

o Infographic

o Recorded Video

o LIVE Video

o Polls

o Facebook Stories

How to Get Personal Training Clients from Facebook

o Post Regularly and Consistently

o Use Hashtags

o Be a Conversation Starter

o Network via Related and Specialised Communities

o Use Effective CTAs

o Engage with Your Followers

o Cultivate Authentic Relationships

How to Set Up Your Facebook Profiles and Channels

A solid social media presence is crucial in getting new online personal training clients. Still, you need to understand how to use your different profiles and channels to engage the right audience and attract followers who fit your ideal client avatar.

Personal Facebook Profile

Optimising your personal Facebook account for business purposes is a great way to market yourself as a fitness professional. You can keep this separate from another account you use for your friends and family only, or you can use one account for both.

One thing's for sure; people interested in your services will check out your social media profiles, so ensure if you have a profile on Facebook, it invites those people into your business channels.

So, with all that in mind, create a profile that reflects your brand and showcases your expertise. Your profile should include your name and a picture that can be a professional headshot but not necessarily as long as your face is shown clearly. Utilise the short bio section to outline your experience helping people reach their fitness goals. Also, add relevant links, your website, and even your education and courses.

The key here is to balance business posts and personal posts. People will relate to you on a personal level, so don't be afraid to shine yours in the content you make publicly available so potential clients can see them.

Once your profile is set up, you can connect with prospects by joining relevant groups and engaging in conversations. Additionally, you can use your profile to share content related to your ideal client's fitness goals, such as tips, strategies, and resources. Setting up your personal Facebook account for business can increase your visibility and reach a wider audience.

Facebook Page

Setting up a Facebook page for your personal training business is a great way to reach potential clients and increase brand recognition. Fitness marketing on Facebook is an effective way to target people interested in health and fitness.

Undoubtedly, your page will look very similar to your personal account. However, it is crucial to use a business profile. With a business account, you can take advantage of its extra features and benefits, making it easier for your ideal clients to find you and "like" your page.

Here are the steps to setting up and using your fitness business Facebook page:

Step 1. Create a profile with a profile picture, cover photo, and business description. Ensure you use copy and visuals that will attract your ideal clients.

Step 2. Create content that resonates with your target audience. This could include posts about fitness tips, healthy recipes, and workout routines.

Step 3. Engage with your followers by responding to comments, answering questions, and hosting contests. More on these later.

Facebook Group

Launching a Facebook Group for your online personal training business is an excellent way to get clients from Facebook. The idea is to create a community vibe online so people can feel a sense of belonging with like-minded people on a similar journey.

One of the keys to long-term success in business is to keep your clients engaged and happy. Providing a community feel is one of the best ways to achieve that. Especially once they connect to others in the group and generate their conversations, you'll have to make a huge mistake for them to leave your side.

Let's see the steps to having a Facebook Group set up:

Step 1. Create a group page with a catchy name and a description of what the group is about. Ensure to include keywords related to the fitness needs of your ideal clients and your business's services.

Step 2. Once the page is set up, invite people to join the group. The past way to do this is to post helpful content on your personal profile and business page and encourage people to join the group for more. You can also invite those on your contacts who fit your ideal client description or advertise the group.

Step 3. To start conversations and keep the group members engaged, post regularly with helpful tips and advice related to fitness and your business. Finally, make sure to engage with members of the group. Ask them questions, respond to their comments, and provide support. Doing this will help build relationships with potential customers and help you get clients from Facebook groups.

Facebook Ads

Facebook ads are a great way to reach potential personal training clients and increase exposure for your fitness business. With the ability to target specific audiences, you can ensure that your ads reach the right people. Additionally, Facebook ads are relatively inexpensive, making them a cost-effective way to promote your services.

Furthermore, you can track the performance of your ads using insights and analytics, allowing you to adjust your approach and optimise your campaigns. Finally, Facebook ads are highly customisable, allowing you to create ads tailored to your target audience's needs and interests.

By taking advantage of the benefits of Facebook ads for personal trainers, you can grow your business and reach a larger audience. If you'd like to know more about how to get more clients with Facebook ads, read our article on the topic.

Facebook Messenger Bots

Facebook Messenger bots are an effective tool for personal trainers to market their services. They allow trainers to automate customer service, build client relationships, and increase social media visibility.

To set up a Facebook Messenger bot:

Step 1. Create a Facebook page for your business as described above.

Step 2. Use a messenger chatbot platform to design your bot, including the conversation flow and automated messages.

Step 3. Link your bot to your page and test it out. With a well-designed Facebook Messenger bot, personal trainers can easily engage with potential clients and promote their services. It's an invaluable tool for marketing and building relationships with customers.

If you don't want to invest in a 3rd party AI bot, you can still create some automation by setting up FAQs and automated away messages in the Facebook Creator Studio.

What Type of Content to Use on Facebook for Personal Trainers

The most critical part of creating engaging social media content is understanding your ideal clients, how they consume information, what format they prefer when learning new things and even how much time they spend on social media.

As a personal trainer, there are many ways to engage your current and potential clients on Facebook. With the right content – and a bit of trial and error – you can discover the types of content your target audience likes best. Here are seven types of Facebook content for personal trainers and how you can use them:

1. Text Posts: Share motivational quotes, tips for good health, and success stories from current and former clients.

2. Pictures: Show off before-and-after shots of clients, or post inspiring images of athletes in action.

3. Infographics: Share fun facts or statistics about exercise and nutrition to stimulate conversation.

4. Recorded Video: Create video tutorials, interviews with successful clients, or even behind-the-scenes looks at your studio.

5. LIVE Video: If you're comfortable in front of the camera – go live! Showcase your services, demonstrate exercises and share helpful tips for getting into shape. You can even do some Q&As to answer questions from your audience.

6. Polls: Engage your followers with polls by asking them about their fitness goals, nutrition preferences or what kind of content they want to see from you.

7. Facebook Stories: Highlight success stories, snippets of client workouts, or "day in the life" videos that show off your unique style as a fitness professional.

By mixing up these types of content on your Facebook channels and ads, you can keep your followers engaged and inspired to get into shape with your help!

How to Get Personal Training Clients from Facebook

Facebook marketing can be a powerful tool for personal trainers to get new clients. You can create compelling, targeted ads to reach potential clients and start meaningful conversations. You can post engaging content to establish yourself as an authority in the fitness field and organically grow your following. With the help of Facebook Groups, you can offer personalised advice and create a community for people interested in fitness and health.

With Facebook, personal trainers can generate leads, build relationships, increase brand awareness, and ultimately acquire more clients. Let's look at the 8 practices you can employ to ensure your Facebook marketing efforts lead to success.

1. Post Regularly and Consistently

Posting regularly and consistently is critical to reaching a wider audience and building relationships. Make sure that you post relevant and engaging content that has the potential to capture the attention of your target audience. If you can post intriguing videos or photographs, then all the better! This will help to draw in more viewers and make them more likely to remember your services.

2. Use Hashtags

When you post content on Facebook, use relevant hashtags such as #personaltraining, #fitnessmotivation or #womensfitness. This will help your content be seen by users searching for these terms and increase the likelihood of generating new leads.

3. Be a Conversation Starter

Post content that encourages engagement from your ideal clients. Pose questions and invite them to share their thoughts and ideas. This will not only help you learn more about what your target audience wants but will also help to spread awareness about your services.

Whether you do this on your Facebook stories, in your Facebook group or even in other niche-specific Facebook groups where it's allowed, it will enable you to put your name out there and create awareness around you as a personal trainer.

4. Network via Related and Specialised Communities

Many specialised groups and communities on Facebook are related to personal training and fitness. For example, if your ideal clients are 50+ men wanting to lose belly fat and improve their golf game, you can find related groups on Facebook and start conversations with them, as per point #3.

Connect with these communities and join in on conversations that might be going on to show your expertise in this field. You may also find it helpful to partner with other professionals in related industries, such as physiotherapists, massage therapists or osteopaths.

5. Use Effective CTAs

Crafting a compelling call-to-action is critical for any Facebook promotion. Use catchy phrases like "Sign up for a FREE personal training session" or "Transform your body with _____". Capitalising on urgency can also spur people to become clients and book with you.

6. Engage with Your Followers

One of the best ways to increase engagement on Facebook is to respond to comments and messages from your followers. This will help show them that you genuinely care about them, which will go a long way in gaining more clients.

You can also go out of your way to welcome new Facebook page followers. Nothing pushy or promoting anything, just letting them know you're there if they have questions and hope they find your content valuable.

7. Cultivate Authentic Relationships

Personal connections are essential in social media marketing, so build relationships organically and authentically. Genuinely engaging with potential clients and learning their stories often go a long way towards demonstrating to them that you would be the best personal trainer for their needs.

Wrapping Up

Facebook marketing for personal trainers can be quite a complex strategy, as you can see, so start where your strengths lie and build from there. If you're good at posting Facebook Stories, start applying some of the strategies to the content you post there. If you have a Facebook Group with a decent number of members, start putting out content they will value.

The success with Facebook fitness marketing will come down to how consistent you can be, and if your followers stay engaged long enough for when you need your services, you'll be the first they'll contact.

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