You know you are an excellent coach, and you are making a difference in peoples’ lives. Coaches and mentors become a significant part of peoples’ growth and success. It is a relationship based on trust and authenticity.
What do you think of when you think of a ‘brand’? Most people think of color schemes and a logo, but it is much more than these.
Because of the intimate nature of the coaching/client relationship, many coaches do not think of themselves as a ‘brand’. This is understandable because what you do is much bigger than a product or commodity. However, being mindful of your messaging and your brand identity is a key aspect of the success of any coach, particularly in the online community.
Taking Your Coaching Business Online
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most businesses are prioritizing how the communicate and sell online. With a service like coaching, you may be having difficulty mapping out how you can effectively coach in the digital world, especially if you are accustomed to in-person relationships.
This is where fully understanding your brand comes into play. How you communicate your principles and core values online is key to attracting and securing new clients. It’s vital that your unique approach and personality are reflected in your messaging, your content, and all your online communications.
How you interact with your clientele is also key. Thanks to advances in technological platforms, there are a myriad of ways to directly communicate with clients, face-to-face, without meeting them in person. There are dozens of applications out there to help you build your community effectively, whether it is to meet one-on-one or hold webinars, classes, or offer other resources online.
Know Your Niche
Who is your ideal client? In what areas do you really shine? To differentiate yourself from your online competition, it’s vital to understand your target audience. Tools like social media are not all about the numbers. It’s better to have 100 fully engaged and committed followers than 1,000 followers that aren’t involved in your community and don’t become clients or potential clients.
When it comes to online marketing, you can’t be all things to all people. Your brand will get lost in the fray and you won’t attract your ideal clients. Determine your essential messaging. Coaching can encompass a lot – what’s your specialty? Who do you love to work with? You brand is your opportunity to clearly define this in all your content and communications.
Define Your Core Beliefs
Core beliefs are essential to your coaching brand. Core beliefs are not personality characteristics, like “honesty” and “authenticity”. Core beliefs are your core principles. They are the code you live by and the foundation of the work you do with your clients. Drill down to identify those core principles that are interwoven throughout the work you do. What are you helping your clients aim for? Is it living with acceptance and gratitude? Do you help people build mindfulness to change behaviors? Are you an expert in healthy boundaries?
Write down the messages you consistently share with your clients that are effective in your business. These core beliefs must be consistently present in all your messaging and content, so your audience really gets to know who you are and what you stand for.
eLearning is Key
When moving from in-person to coaching, it’s essential to think through how you will instruct and interact with your clients. You may have print materials or workbooks that now need to be available in an interactive eLearning course.
While this prospect may seem daunting, it’s easier than you think! Digital Content Creators works with coaches to build engaging, interactive, and effective eLearning courses that directly reflect your unique brand. We can work with your existing materials, or help you create it from scratch.
eLearning courses are much more effective than passive videos on platforms like YouTube. Online courses require user interaction and engagement, provide direct feedback to you as to how your clients are progressing, and help benchmark a client’s progress.
Let us help you make the switch to impactful online coaching. Contact us to set up a free consultation to get started!
Be sure to check out the conclusion of this series in Part Two!