5 Tips on How to Use Instagram for Your Yoga Studio
About a month ago, I was on vacation in the Philippines to visit family. I recently got wind that my brother took his social media marketing to the next level. He´s a surgeon with a passionate blog about food and wine. Anyway, he and I had a very interesting conversation about social media management; particularly about Instagram. He said that these days you could use your Instagram account for almost anything From Branding yourself to selling your product. It has more original content as compared to Facebook which has sponsored, original and shared posts dividing its social network pie. In addition to this, the future of this image focused platform is getting brighter as we speak. Based on my own observation__I have to agree.
As a Yoga teacher, we have to brand ourselves more than others because of our field. Image is key. So how can we use our pictures to gain more classes? Since my graduation from my 200-hour TT a couple of years ago, I took to streamlining my social media accounts to start my brand. IG played an important role in my plan. While I may have a website, a Facebook and Twitter account at my disposal, I found that Instagram won in expanding my reach as well as going local to gain my students. I´m here to share that with you today.
1. Create Separate Account
Your Primary Instagram account should remain as your personal account where you give your followers a chance to see the most versions of you. It is a mix of your private and public universe. It's also where you have built up your initial following of which is useful to start gaining followers. Make a separate account just for you to post your reflections as a yoga practitioner and educator. This way they could see your professionalism likewise your perspective from your yoga goggles. You can have as many as 5 accounts to your name. It's easy to set it up from your tablet or phone__ just list down your passwords so you can get into all of them.
2. Links and Hashtags
I´m being Captain Obvious here but some people take this for granted and in the focus of this article, this may really help you. We all know that your L´s & #´s extend your reach in social media marketing but how do we focus that reach to gain actual clients? By localising your #´s and tagging your studio! Make up hashtags that highlight your neighbourhood and country. For example, I work in a studio in Madrid, Spain. This studio happens to be beside the Madrid River. I would tag my studio´s name and #aerialyogamadridrio or something like it. Look up existing hashtags that have something to do with your city and neighbourhood.
3. Image Content
Class photos are great, pictures of you doing amazing asanas are awesome; the thing is videos almost always triumph over stills. If you use a video snippet of some fun moments of your class, I guarantee 100 views in 2 hours. Fun is infectious. Everyone is going to want a piece of that.
4. Use Your Profile as a Link to Your Other Accounts
Take advantage of every media avenue you have. Have a Link to your site, group and Facebook page on your profile. The bottom line here is easy accessibility. Make sure you are consistent. Use your professional name on all of them even if the username is taken. Find a variation that will link your name with your brand. Mine is @jen_misfityoga. I did this because misfit yoga was taken. I had to get a wee bit creative. It turned out well. My actual name is now associated with the words misfit yoga. Lemonade out of lemons ladies and gents!
5. Your Caption Should Have Access to Your Contact Info
Always end your Caption with a way for people to contact you. You can close with something inspirational all you want but your contact info is a way for your potential students to see that you are real__that you care.
Start with these 5 tips. It should be enough to get you on your way to gaining more clients without getting too overwhelmed with all of the tasks you have to virtually accomplish. Remember. Expand your reach, be specific, be consistent, most importantly be accessible.
