A social media strategy that works
I’m Liz Campbell, owner and trainer at M12 Fitness. I’m a Canfitpro certified Personal Training Specialist, Healthy Eating Coach, and Prenatal and Postpartum Exercise Designer.
My business has been affected by the pandemic. I’m sure the majority of businesses have. When I heard of gym closings, and with the pandemic going on long enough that outdoor workout classes weren’t an option, I had to put on my entrepreneur hat and ask myself “what do I do now?”
My answer was actually something I’ve contemplated doing for a while but was never forced to do until Covid, offering online virtual personal training.
Switching my business to online virtual training was a must. I can practically count on one hand how many months the gym where I was training clients has been open since the pandemic started. I couldn’t maintain my business at the same degree with the space being closed. I knew online training was the only way to go.
Pivoting my business meant if I was going to find clients online, I needed to have a strong online presence. I’m most active on Instagram when it comes to social media for my business but I didn’t really have a strategy. I knew some little tips and tricks from reading old blogs from websites I wasn’t familiar with that I Googled, but I didn’t really know if what I was doing was working.
That’s when I met Jana! We’re both a part of a women’s marketing community called the Modern Collaboration Society. We hit it off because we both have a passion for fitness, and we’re both entrepreneurs. In the conversations we’ve had she found out I could use some help when it came to hashtags. She was willing to teach me an awesome Instagram hashtag strategy that’s doubled my insights in the past 4 months and has seen my follower count rise steadily. I’m going to share it with you now.
Your limit on hashtags per post on Instagram is 30 and should be broken up into the following metrics:
Large tags - These are hashtags that have been tagged between 300K-900K times. Make sure to use tags that are related to your industry. Use 5-10 of these hashtags in your 30 hashtag set.
Medium tags - Medium count hashtags have been used between 50K-300K times and are more niche specific than your normal hashtags. This could include your location and your business focus. For example: #calgaryweightlifting
Niche specific tags - This tag set will be very specific because this is the hashtag set you’ll use to target your ideal client. These are the hashtags THEY would be searching for. These tags should have a count of less than 50K. Use 10-15 of these hashtags.
Brand - This tag is all about YOU because once your business is booming your ideal clients will be able to search your business name, slogan, or a service you offer within a hashtag. For example the 2 I use are #m12fitness (business name) and #homeworkoutcommunity (my online fitness service). You can use 2-3 of these hashtags in your 30 tag set.
Now that you know how to structure your hashtags another important thing to do is to engage with them. The strategy Jana taught me was to search the hashtags you’re using in your post and within that search like 5 posts, comment on 3, and DM 1. I pick 3 different hashtags from my post at a time, engage in those 3 hashtags in the way I just told you, and I do this 3 times per day. It takes around 5-10 minutes per session depending on the posts I’m finding to engage with.
This is where I’ve been seeing a lot of my growth. Engaging in this way makes your comments more visible on other people’s posts and makes your posts noticed within the hashtag search. I’ve gained new followers, my insights have doubled, and I’ve even made some new friends through my DM’s!
Using the methods Jana has taught me I’ve seen growth by at least 2-3 follows per day. Per DAY! In the past I’d get 1 or 2 followers per week. I’m excited to see what kind of following I’m going to have in a year from now with this same strategy.
If you’re looking for guidance on how to get more eyes on your business, regardless of your industry, Jana is your girl. The tips and tricks I’ve learned from her have been invaluable.
Thank you for reading and, for any fitness or nutrition coaching or information you’ve been looking for, I’d love to help you out! Find me on Instagram @m12fitnessliz or visit my blog on my website here: www.m12fitness.com/blog
