Tag : instagram for business

120919 The Top Holiday Content Marketing Tips You Need To Know

9Dec

Content Creation

Content marketers and designers love the holiday season. Unlike the lazy days of summer, there is more than enough inspiration to go around for email marketing, social media, blogging, and any other form of content marketing you can think of.

There’s just one catch – there are just so many great ideas out there, there’s not enough time to do them all. Fortunately, we have you covered and we’re exploring the best ideas right here.

Updated festive visuals
Add a Santa hat to your profile pic, a menorah to your cover image, flashing lights to your Snapchat Story. Above all, make sure your holiday-themed contenthas imagery.
Flash sale
Have you looked at the calendar lately? It’s a bit too late to do a “12 days of deals” type deal. However, it’s still fair game for quick “limited time” social-media-exclusive sales. These do surprisingly well, especially as many of us procrastinate. Make sure the sale is worth people opening up their wallets for them because a lot of “wish lists” are complete.
Season’s greetings
Email marketing is a fantastic avenue to send out holiday wishes to your loyal customer base. As always with E-blasts, it is important to send out content that isn’t 100% pushy promotions. A holiday greeting email will do just the trick to make your readers smile and make sure they’re thinking about you when the time to make a purchase comes around.
Pics from the team
Whether you post (not embarrassing) pictures from your Christmas party or your team reaching out to the community for a volunteer event, this idea adds a healthy dose of humanity to any marketing campaign. This type of content, above all else, should be promo-free.
Content your audience will share
Cut out some of the promo posts in your content calendar and make room for some wholesome holiday fun. Take the time to write and design content that your audience members will want to share with their friends and family. Festive videos, recipes, craft and party tips are just a few ideas that can generate engagement.

Maybe the holiday season snuck up on you this year, or you’ve been grasping at straws for what to publish. Either way, the above ideas will help you finish your holiday season content marketing on a high note so you can focus on the new year!

Editor’s Note: This blog has been updated and republished to reflect current information. The article was cleaned up, recommendations were reassessed, and references refreshed.

Shop Owners, Here’s How You Can Be Successful on Instagram

20Mar

Instagram, Social Media

Is Instagram right for your business? I tend to see a lot of uncertainty in local store owners with this question, but you should have some confidence! There are plenty of ways for local businesses to use Instagram, and small shops are no exception!

I’ve been at this a long time, and I’ve seen every kind of business you can imagine give Instagram a shot. And local shop owners have been some of the most successful! Here, I’ll give you the tips that helped them get tons of attention on Instagram!

Give Them a Tour
What does the inside of the store look like? What’s actually on the shelves? Is this somewhere I want to visit?

These are all questions that your audience is going to have when they first stumble upon your Instagram account. So answer them with a video tour through your store! Take your viewers through the front door, guide them through the different sections, and overall do anything you can to convince them that your store is somewhere that they want to be.

Keep in mind that in no scenario is this a license for you to walk through your store and say “Here’s where we keep X. Here’s where we keep Y. Here’s where we…” You need to make it interesting. Talk to your viewers like they’re there in person. If you’d try to be friendly and charming with a customer in your store, then try especially hard for Instagram, because you’re potentially talking to hundreds of your customers!

Offer Exclusive Deals
One of the best things you can do is give people a reason to follow your Instagram account. And what’s a better motivator than the chance to save money?

Try posting a code of the week that visitors to your store can use for a discount on their next visit! You can go cute and make the code your tag line or something relevant for your brand, or simple and just say “Mention this post to get a free gift with purchase!” Your customers are incentivized to follow your page, and you can guarantee they’ll be regularly checking your content if you’re sharing discounts!

I know a lot of small business owners will point out that weekly discounts might hurt their bottom line. But I promise you that (as long as you’re not offering 50% off) a successful Instagram marketing strategy will more than make up for any losses from modest deals to drive customers to your store.

If you’d consider running an ad for a special discount in your local paper but not on Instagram, then the problem is how you’re undervaluing social media, not the discount itself.

Highlight New Products
Rolling out something new? Tell your audience about it! Instagram is a visual platform, so share pictures of your new releases. If someone loves your store, they’re absolutely going to follow you to see what your next release is.

If you really want to make the most of this strategy, you might even want to share products on Instagram before they’re available in-store. That way your shoppers are encouraged to be loyal customers and check your Instagram regularly if they want to stay up to date with the newest products. And why not reward the people who are engaging with your brand online?

Post Away
If you’re seriously considering posting on Instagram, then it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and get started. Just because you’re a local business doesn’t mean that you can’t find huge success on social media. Use these tips and start sharing content that your local audience will get engaged with!

I’ve got even more tips to help your local business succeed! Let’s talk about them during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

Social Media Marketing Solutions: Fitness Studios

29Aug

Business, Local Marketing, Marketing, Social Media

For the rest of the summer, the Go! Agency blog will focus on the social media habits of different industries. For each week in August, our first blog will explain common mistakes made by an industry; our second blog will explain how to fix those mistakes.

As we discussed in our previous blog, the fitness industry has some work to do when it comes to social media marketing. Thankfully, the common issues have easy fixes. Let’s take a look at one fitness studio that needs some more coaching on their marketing techniques! (Note: The following example is a hypothetical case study that combines features from several different situations. Names, locations, and other details have been changed to protect the privacy and anonymity of source examples.)

Ferris Fitness is a small boutique fitness studio that specializes in spinning and pilates. CEO Carol Ferris wants her studio to be a space where people can feel comfortable and get healthy. She is busy enough with the day to day operations (and keeping head trainer Hal from throttling Guy, a spin instructor), so she leaves the social media operations to Kyle, the receptionist and de facto office manager. Kyle likes that this duty enables him to flex his creative muscles (his degree is in graphic design), but he doesn’t know a lot about marketing.

Bad Visuals
Carol wants to show off their gorgeous layout, so she’s taken lots of pictures of the studio. Always when it’s empty, of course–why would you want people in the way? Pilates teachers Jessica and Simon will frequently snap candid pics during workouts, and sometimes even take (admittedly shaky) videos of group classes.

Solution: Polish your image.
We’re not saying that you need to make your trainers wear full make up so that you can take pictures of the class, but you need to look polished. Pay attention to lighting and composition of your shots. Take time to actually set up your photos. And enough with those sad pictures of empty gyms: people won’t be impressed by the space, they’ll be confused by your lack of clients.

Too Perfect
Spin instructor John wants to take before and after photos of clients, but Carol worries that asking would offend or embarrass them. Right now, their photos are mostly shots of the trainers during their own workouts.

Solution: Embrace reality!
You need to show the “before” picture if you want the “after” picture to have any impact. People want to see what your gym could do for them, and the best way to do that is to show a person who is at the beginning of his/her fitness journey. More than that, people want to to relate to others. Ask your clients if any of them would be comfortable sharing before and after photos. Ideally, you should present a mixture of all different ages, sizes, and body types.

Strictly Business
Ferris Fitness has an eclectic bunch of employees. Guy volunteers with the Special Olympics. Jess and Simon co-emcee a popular karaoke night at a nearby bar. The staff includes two retired veterans: Hal (USAF) and John (USMC). Sadly, no one would know any of this by looking at any of the gym’s social media channels.

Solution: Get personal.
Show off your staff! No one who’s seen Guy yelling at cyclists in his lunchtime spin class would ever think that he’d be great with children, much less children with special needs. Jess is so quiet during classes, but she’s effervescent on stage. Happy-go-lucky karaoke night Simon likewise bears little resemblance to stern trainer Simon. Hal and John don’t like to flaunt their military service, but they wouldn’t mind being mentioned on Veterans’ Day. By showing the human side of your trainers, you allow your audience to connect.

Ferris Fitness has one advantage that too many businesses lack: an owner who was willing to learn. After Kyle mentioned their social media issues, Carol did some research on her own. She had thought that her fitness studio was average in terms of social media, but she quickly saw how much she was missing. Carol decided to contact a small social media management firm. She felt doing so would be the best for herself and her staff–and the results have been great!

Don’t do all the heavy lifting of digital marketing by yourself! We can help you optimize your marketing strategies. Contact us today for a free consultation!

Social Media Marketing Evaluation: Fitness Studios

27Aug

For the rest of the summer, the Go! Agency blog will focus on the social media habits of some of our favorite industries. Every week, our first blog will explain common mistakes made by an industry; followed by a second blog that will explain how to fix them. Think of this series as What Not to Wear for social media marketing!

Fitness studios are booming right now, notably spinning, pilates, Crossfit, and other so-called “boutique fitness” specialities. According to an industry survey by American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal, high intensity training and group training are the two biggest fitness trends in 2018. Unfortunately, many of the smaller studios need help with social media marketing. Here are a few of the biggest mistakes we’ve noticed among fitness studios.

1. Bad Visuals
Every industry makes this mistake, so we cannot stress it enough: level up your visual game. Do not post bad pictures. Poor lighting and composition can make a brand new studio look like the inside of an abandoned warehouse. Speaking of abandoned, don’t post pictures of empty rooms or equipment. Spinning studios are major offenders here: stop using photos of empty bicycles. You may think you’re showing off your state of the art equipment, but viewers will see a studio with no members.

2. Just Too Perfect
Speaking of overused images, too many fitness studios post pictures of perfect people. It’s great to post pics of your staff (more on that below) or other fitness professionals, but you need to connect to your audience. While your audience will undoubtedly have a good number of fitness buffs, it will also include people who want to improve themselves. You need to appeal to customers who don’t look perfect. And what about expanding your client base? With the incoming Silver Tsunami, many fitness pros have found success by appealing to the older demographic. Finally, think of this as an opportunity to prove the value of your services by taking photos of clients throughout their fitness journey. You need to show the “before” if you want the “after” picture to have any impact.

3. Strictly Business
While personal trainers can take a more personal approach with their social media profiles, fitness studios need to be a bit more business-oriented. Unfortunately, a lot of these studios take that to extremes and show no personality whatsoever. Staff is almost anonymous; the brand itself has no personality. As we discussed in our blog on restaurant solutions, you need to mix up your content if you want to keep your audience’s attention.

4. Little to No Engagement
Connecting to your audience is the point of social media. You must respond to each comment and question. You should participate in challenges on social media platforms, or follow fitness-specific hashtags. Finally, consider using your social media accounts for giveaways or promotions that would not be available elsewhere.

5. All or Nothing Approach to Marketing
Far too many fitness studios fall into one of two camps: 24/7 sales pitches or radio silence. As any competent social media marketer will tell you, neither is a winning strategy. Consider the previous entries and vary your content. Don’t bore your followers, and don’t forget to educate them. Your social media channels are an opportunity to give your potential customers a taste of what you have to offer.

Remember: there are no such things as rest days when it comes to your social media marketing strategy! Check out our next blog for solutions to these common problems.

Has your marketing strategy hit a plateau? We can help you achieve your goals! Contact us today for your free consultation!

Social Media Marketing Solutions: Restaurants

22Aug

Thankfully you can quickly and easily correct all of the mistakes we discussed in our previous blog post. Let’s take a look at one restaurant that needs some help with social media strategy. (Note: The following example is a hypothetical case study that combines features from several different situations. Names, locations, and other details have been changed to protect the privacy and anonymity of source examples.)

After Drs. Sam and Colleen Holt left academia, they opened Kerberos Cafe. They have a solid business plan and have seen a lot of success, but they understand that marketing on social media would increase both their audience and their profits. Unfortunately, their Ph.D. programs in physics and mathematics didn’t really cover Facebook or Instagram.

Mistake: Not having a designated social media manager.

Sam and Colleen’s two children, Matt and Katie, help out with the social media when possible, and members of their staff will step in if asked. However, the kids are both in college and the staff members juggle multiple other duties.

Solution: Assign an employee to manage your social media.

Social media marketing needs to be a priority, not an afterthought. This is not to say that you should necessarily hire someone exclusively for this task, but you do need to have one staff member who is in charge of your social media profiles. Don’t just assume that the youngest employee is best suited to this task, either. Ask for volunteers, and choose an employee who understands how to use social media and (preferably) knows at least the basics of social media marketing.

Mistake: Mishandling reviews.

Shiro, the general manager, tries to keep up with Kerberos’ Yelp and Facebook pages. However, he is often swamped with other duties and can’t always reply to each review. Shiro once made the mistake of assigning shift leader Keith to monitor the page, which almost resulted in some less-than-professional responses.

Solution: Respond to every review (and review each of your responses).

The restaurant has a strict policy of approving all social media posts, so Keith’s angry retorts were never seen by the public. (Shiro was annoyed, but accepted the blame himself and moved on.) Shiro realized that the only way he’d be able to read and reply to every review is if he delegated some of his other responsibilities at the end of each shift. This situation is not uncommon; trade off one duty to fulfill another. Responding to consumers will benefit your brand, as over 70 percent of consumers surveyed claimed that prompt responses from companies on social media increased the likelihood for positive word of mouth. You must respond to your reviews especially: it shows that not only are you committed to improving your business, you are equally committed to customer service.

Mistake: Having sporadic updates and other scheduling issues.

Katie and Matt handle Kerberos’ Facebook profile, Shiro monitors the Facebook page and Yelp, and Allura covers Instagram. The restaurant had a Twitter account, but no one remembers the password or has had time to reset it. They all try to post daily, but sometimes a full week goes by without an update.

Solution: Get organized and pre-schedule posts.

Shiro had already reached that conclusion, and now blocks off a specific time for social media. Katie and Matt need to do the same. They should also look into a social media management tool that will allow them to pre-schedule posts: that way, they can just provide the content and not worry about posting at the optimal time!

Mistake: Not interacting with anyone on social media.

Katie usually posts about new menu items or seasonal specials, although she knows that the content can look boring. She doesn’t really share many articles and feels awkward responding to customer comments. She posted a picture of Lance–the cafe’s popular bartender–from a charity marathon (after much pestering from Lance himself), and was pleasantly surprised by all the positive reactions.

Solution: Engage in the social side of social media!

To paraphrase a maxim, a social media profile will not succeed on promotions alone. You must vary your content. Promotions are still a great tool, though! Kerberos should consider doing a promo available only to those who follow their social media profiles. A small incentive like a free dessert or appetizer is a relatively cheap way to drum up engagement and convert your audience into customers. This will also prompt user-generated content (UGC), because people love to post and share about getting free stuff!

Final Point: Prioritize your visuals.

Allura, the dining room manager, double majored in hospitality and photography. She even suggested ways to improve Kerberos’ Instagram page during her interview. Shiro was just grateful to find a volunteer, especially one whose photography experience consisted of more than selfies. Allura takes care to get the best lighting and ideal presentation for each shot. She also supplies Matt, Katie, and Shiro with images for Facebook posts and promotions.

Thankfully, the Kerberos staff understand the power of images in social media! After a little tweaking, they were able to get their social media strategy on point:

Are you in the weeds when it comes to your marketing strategy? We want to help your brand get the most from social media! Contact us today for a free consultation!

Social Media Marketing Evaluation: Restaurants

20Aug

In 2016, 75 percent of U.S. restaurants advertised on Facebook (Statista), but that doesn’t mean that the industry has mastered social media. Too many restaurants treat social media like sidework–an afterthought. Updating pages, posting content, and responding to customers–it’s easy to see why some restaurants are in the weeds when it comes to social media! Although several big chains have been killing it on social media, others need guidance. Here are a few of the biggest questions you need to ask.

Ignoring Reviews

According to BrightLocal, 85 percent of consumers give online reviews the same weight as endorsements from people they know. Sites like Yelp are more influential than ever: 34 percent of consumers report that peer reviews influenced their restaurant choices; and 61 percent of consumers have looked at restaurant reviews online.

Do you monitor your Yelp, Facebook, or your delivery service pages for reviews?
Has your restaurant ever received a negative review? How did you respond?
Do you respond to positive reviews?
Do you share positive reviews?

Little to No Interaction

If you take away only one thing from this blog, let it be this: the purpose of a website is to spread information; the purpose of social media is to connect with your audience. Too many restaurants use their Facebook or Twitter profiles only to showcase new menu items or notify the public of holiday closures. An engaged audience is a profitable audience! Too many restaurants neglect this simple fact and don’t respond to comments or questions on their social media profiles. On a semi-related note, restaurants are guilty of wall-to-wall promotional posts. You should be doing more than just sharing your brunch specials.

Do you reply to comments?
Do you follow your regular customers and interact with their posts?
Do you ever showcase your staff on social media?
Do you only post promotional material?

Poor Scheduling or Rarely Updating

Some restaurants never update their profiles, and some posting schedules follow no discernible pattern. People need to know what to expect. Customers can’t take advantage of your happy hour specials if they don’t know about them in time! Oh, and have fun explaining to the staff that the restaurant’s owner sat three tables five minutes before closing, because the customers all looked at your (outdated) information on Facebook and didn’t know you’d changed hours of operation.

Which social media platforms do you use? How often do you check them?
Is all of your information current on each of your profiles? Hours of operation, menus, specials, et cetera?
Do you announce new menu items? Specials? Events?
Would people have an easy way of accessing your menu or website from your social media page? When was the last time you posted?

No Community Involvement

Social media might be on the world wide web, but it still gives you a chance to connect with your local community! Successful restaurants are well-established in their communities. Becoming a regular at community festivals and charity events is powerful free advertising! Some smaller establishments have had a great deal of success utilizing social media to create buzz in the community.

Do you tag other local (non-competing) businesses?
Have you ever networked with other businesses in your community?
Do you ever promote or take part in local festivals or events?
Does your restaurant offer deals that are only available or visible on social media?

Bad Visuals

We cannot emphasize this enough: social media users respond to images. You need to bring your A-game when it comes to your visuals on social media. You want to entice potential customers with perfectly plated entrees, but even one bad picture could change their minds.

Are you photos polished and high-quality or amateurish and average?
Does your photographer use proper lighting?
Have you ever relied on an Instagram filter to “fix” a below-average photo?
Be honest: would you eat the menu items you post on Instagram?

This post is just an appetizer. In our next blog, we’ll explain how restaurants can fix these errors!

Are you in the weeds with your social media marketing strategy? We can help! Contact us today for a free consultation!

Social Media Marketing Solutions: Venues

15Aug

All the mistakes we discussed in our previous post can be quickly and easily corrected. Today we’re profiling a venue that needs some guidance with social media marketing strategy! Although we focused on a performing arts venue for our example, these solutions can apply to venues of every type. (Note: The following example is a hypothetical case study that combines features from several different situations. Names, locations, and other details have been changed to protect the privacy and anonymity of source examples.)

Les and Louis bought and renovated the old Coven Street Theatre with plans of transforming the dilapidated dance hall into a community hotspot. They have an eclectic mix of bands and events, including charity concerts, weddings, folk singers, quinceañeras, gothic rock shows, stand-up comedy, film screenings, and even open-mic nights. Claudia, their intern, is doing the best she can at running their social media profiles, but she admits that she’s overwhelmed.

Bad Visuals

Louis and Les agree that crowdsourcing photos from their audience members during concerts and other events is a great way to increase engagement–and an easy way to score free images. However, Louis wants Les to be more discerning when it comes to choosing which photos to post. Armand, a professional photographer and Louis’ boyfriend, has often pointed out that they chose inferior shots when better pictures were available.

Solution: Don’t post images of inferior quality.

There is only one solution to this problem (and, yes, we will discuss it in every blog of this series): you must get serious about visuals! Do not settle for low-quality photographs. Your audience sees your venue through the photos you post on social media; if you post amateurish, poorly-lit, badly composed, and otherwise low-quality images, that is how they will view your venue. Online visuals often provide first impressions: people will pre-scout before actually visiting a space.

Grand Theft Photo

Louis wants Armand to take a few photos during events, but Armand refuses to work with Les. It seems that Les has gained a reputation for using images from professional photographers without asking permission or giving proper attribution. Although he never used any images for promotional or marketing purposes, Les has alienated the photography community to the point that few pros are willing to work with him (or at his venue). Even wedding photographers are reluctant to shoot at Coven Street!

Solution: Make amends and follow procedure.

All you need to do is get a photographer’s permission to use the photo and then properly attribute the photo. Professional photographers are professionals: what you might consider a hobby is their actual job! They want credit for their work. If you don’t know who took the photo, then don’t use the photo. It’s a good thing that Les never used any of the uncredited images in Coven Street’s promotional materials because that would have been grounds for a lawsuit! Les made it right (after a great deal of harping from Louis), but he could have permanently alienated an entire industry. Louis and Claudia had to spend hours correctly attributing old photos–time that could have been used more productively if best practices had been followed from the beginning.

Constant Promotion

Even if their photos are sub-par, their posters are on point! Yvette, Coven Street Theatre’s events coordinator, designs all of their promotional materials. Louis loves her aesthetic (she moonlights as a freelance graphic designer), so he encourages Claudia to use Yvette’s posters as images whenever possible. Additionally, Yvette has told Claudia to promote every public event at least twice a day on each of Coven Street’s social media accounts. They need to spread the word, right?

Solution: Shake it up a bit.

Posting news of upcoming events and shows is informative. Only posting news of upcoming events and shows is boring at best, obnoxious at worst. Social media is about connecting to your followers, not pitching to them. Think of it as an opportunity to humanize your business. Post about your staff or give your followers a glimpse behind the scenes. If your venue is historic or in a historic neighborhood, promote that aspect! Show your audience why you love your venue–and why they will, too.

Bonus Solution: Connecting to the Local Community

Where do people go before and after a show? If your venue doesn’t have a kitchen or a bar, are there restaurants or bars in the neighborhood? Are there any hotels or bed-and breakfasts conveniently located nearby? Connect with your neighbors, in person and on social media. Consider running specials with your neighbors. Wedding guests could receive a group rate at a hotel, or nearby eateries could offer discounts to ticket holders of your venue. You could promote other businesses, as well: keep a list of preferred vendors for special events. With cross-promotions, everyone wins!

Les and Louis don’t have a lot of the social media problems common to many venues (Claudia takes her duties very seriously), but the problems they do have are pretty major. However, each can be fixed with a change in attitude and a minor change to posting habits. We’ve placed before and after shots of Coven’s Instagram profile below. As you can see, they have addressed all of their issues, resulting in more engagement!

Is your venue properly showcased on social media? We can help you optimize your social media strategy and maximize your results! Contact us today for a free consultation!

Social Media Marketing Evaluation: Venues

13Aug

Venues range from cozy wedding spots to massive concert halls. Like all industries, venues are not immune from social media blunders. Let’s discuss a few of the major social media marketing mistakes of venues.

Bad Visuals

The cardinal sin of social media is posting low-quality images. Some venues–particularly music venues–might think that edgy, guerilla-style pics add authenticity to their social media image. No, sorry: out of focus, badly lit, poorly composed photographs look amateurish and sloppy, not hardcore. A professional photographer is worth the investment. Speaking of which . . . .

Grand Theft Photo

Some venues and promoters have a bad habit of using photographs without obtaining the rights from photographers, and sometimes don’t credit the photographer at all! Not only is this illegal (stealing is generally frowned upon), it’s a surefire way to quickly burn bridges in the local scene. Don’t play fast and loose with intellectual property rights.

Constant Promotion

This is a major problem with venues. If all your posts are about events, how will the public get to know your brand? You should still promote every show, but you should also add some posts about your staff, your history, or even just candid backstage shots. Wall-to-wall promotion is boring, and risks alienating your audience.

Singular Focus

If a venue holds weddings, banquets, concerts, plays, and stand-up comedy, shouldn’t the venue’s social media feature each one? It might be primarily a music venue, but occasionally hold weddings; or it could be well-known for hosting celebrations like bat/bar mitzvahs, but lesser known for it’s off-site catering. While you should of course promote on the work you want to do, you want to look well-rounded. Your audience needs to be aware that your space can be used for more than just one type of event or function.

Not Updating Your Calendar

No one wants to drive hours for a concert only to discover upon reaching the venue that the band has cancelled the tour. A couple who scrambled to make their back-up wedding date work with everyone’s schedule would be understandably upset if they found out that a surprise elopement meant the venue was actually available on their preferred day. Mistakes such as these can be annoying inconveniences to major hassles–and always cause negative publicity for your brand. Stay on top of scheduling, and keep your social media calendars up to date!

Focusing on the Wrong Platforms

Do you really need a company LinkedIn profile if your venue is known for its thrash metal shows or romantic wedding gazebo? A business Pinterest page might be great for a wedding venue, but less useful for a concert hall. Figure out where your target audience is online and meet them there!

No Personality

If you focus on wall-to-wall promotion, you will obscure the venue itself. People want to know why they should attend shows at your venue or choose your venue for their event. You should explain what sets your venue apart from the competition. Is the building or neighborhood historic? Do you have a restaurant or bar? Do you cater off-site? Were you ever mentioned or profiled by a major publication? Sharing what makes your venue special is a great way to connect to your target audience!

In our next blog, we’ll explain how you can quickly and easily correct these issues!

Is your venue’s social media marketing getting bad reviews? We can help! Contact us today for your free consultation!

Social Media Marketing Solutions: Yoga Studios

8Aug

All the mistakes we discussed in our previous post can be quickly and easily corrected. Let’s take a look at a yoga studio that needs to work on it’s social media marketing. (Note: The following example is a hypothetical case study that combines features from several different situations. Names, locations, and other details have been changed to protect the privacy and anonymity of source examples.)

Mantras & Mudras is a new yoga studio in Chippewa Valley, Michigan. Lindsay Weir, owner and yogi, switched careers after three decades as a microbiologist and moved back home to open up her own studio. She wants Mantras & Mudras to appeal to as many people as possible, so she has hired a diverse team of instructors. Unfortunately, none of them have a background in marketing. She thought she could convince her brother Sam to help out with their social media, but he is adamant that his Ph.D. in computer science did not prepare him for running a Twitter account. Right now, she and Kim–head instructor–manage all their social media profiles as best they can.

Mistake 1: Inferior Images

Lindsay decided to crowd-source the images for their Instagram page. She receives pictures from all of her instructors, and–once she’s obtained the consent of the subject–posts them all. She knows the pics aren’t polished, but won’t the rough quality just enhance the carefree vibe?

Solution: Get serious about your visuals.

As we mentioned in our Brewery edition, this is a flaw common to every industry.

However, this is particularly heinous with yoga and other image-friendly activities. The solution? Make quality visuals your priority! Whether you just become more discerning about the images you post or you hire a professional photographer, you need to treat this seriously. Having decent visuals is not optional for social media.

Mistake 2: Not Posting Frequently Enough

No one has time to post. Lindsay has been busy setting up the studio. Kim still has two teenagers at home, so she can only post at work in between classes. Although assistant instructor Millie has taken over social media duties when Kim is really swamped, their posting habits are still haphazard at best.

Solution: Use a program to pre-schedule your posts.

Good news: your audience (yoga aficionados on social media) is highly engaged already! Bad news: you will lose them quickly unless you feed their content craving! Social media moves quickly–if you don’t post often enough, you are limiting the size of your audience! Successful yoga studios on Instagram post once a day at minimum. It is an indisputable fact that yoga studios must post often if they want to stay relevant. A social media manager (either a program or a professional) can help you. The best programs not only enable you to pre-schedule your posts, they allow you to crosspost to all your accounts on different platforms.

Mistake 3: Too Much Filler, Not enough Value

Given that they don’t have a lot of time to take polished pictures, it’s no surprise that Kim and Lindsay post a lot of inspirational quotes and sayings on every platform. They’d like to posts more shots of poses, but they agree that poses should include instructions and neither has time write guidelines.

Solution: Shoot for quality and quantity.

As we mentioned above, yoga-enthusiasts on social media are engaged and eager for content. Ergo, you need to post frequently. That being said, you need to make sure that the content has value. A few quotes are fine, but no more than one every week. When you post pictures of poses, include instructions for how to do the pose. You need to commit to doing several quality posts per week, and at least one quality post per day for Instagram. If you don’t have time, you must make time.

Mistake 4: Ignoring the Human Element

The instructors are all passionate about yoga, but they arrived at it from different places. Millie enrolled in a yoga class as an elective for undergrad when she needed one more course hour to remain a full-time student. Kim first got into yoga at the suggestion of a therapist, who thought the calming practice would help her deal with PTSD. Jean, Lindsay’s mom, took a class with a friend a few years ago and loved it–she’s now one of the oldest Yoga Alliance-certified E-RYT 500s in the country! It’s too bad that these compelling stories aren’t included in the studio’s social media . . . .

Solution: Share your stories.

One quick caveat: before you post anyone’s photograph or even use their name on social media, make absolutely certain that you have their permission. Once permission is granted, talk about yourself and your instructors! Share inspirational journeys, life hacks, personal quirks–you name it! This will help your followers identify with your staff, and thus will humanize your brand.

Mistake 5: Ignoring the Yoga Community

Lindsay has a doctorate in microbiology. She has presented papers at international conferences and lectured around the world. Lindsay is a brilliant woman, but she’s self-aware enough to admit that she just doesn’t grasp the social aspect of social media. Her niece tried to explain hashtags to her, but Lindsay is still lost. As a result, Mantras & Mudras is disconnected from the greater yoga community on social media.

Solution: Connect!

Use hashtags (#yogaeverydamnday, #yogaeverywhere, #yogaeveryday) to reach new followers! Participate in monthly or weekly challenges! Tag and contact yoga influencers! Your community is already on social media, it’s up to you to take the time to find it.

Once they understood what was holding them back, Mantras & Mudras overhauled the studio’s social media strategy. Below are the before and after screenshots:

To paraphrase a post from Mantras & Mudras, you decide if today is one day or day one. Every day is another chance to make a fresh start. Your yoga studio could attain social media success if you get commit to improving your social media strategy.

Yoga instructors and yoga studios: now is the time to align your strategies with your goals! We want to help you! Contact The Go! Agency today for a free consultation!