How To Maximize Your Social Media Presence As A Coach

Last updated on May 22, 2023

Let’s start off with this basic premise:

If you want to be known, you have to be seen and experienced first.

And yes, that applies to us coaches too. 

With the ever-growing popularity of coaching as a lucrative and rewarding career and the presence of thousands of coaches worldwide, it’s critical to maintain one’s visibility for the prospective consumers’ consideration.

Again, if they don’t know you, or know anything about you, then you’re missing out on the opportunity to land yourself a contract with your ideal client or open new doors for your own expansion, be it in media or for a brand or organizational collaboration. 

Trust me on this. I became an international best-selling author and radio talk show host because I was discovered on social media. I’ve gotten to speak at a number of global summits, published coaching thought leadership articles, and been interviewed in numerous publications and sites while recruiting a roster of local and foreign clients just because they liked what they read and saw about me online.

So, coming from experience, here’s my advice: in our job, apart from the results we offer, visibility is king.

And this is where social media platforms come into play.

By this time, I believe that you are very much aware of the power of social media. If utilized fully (and strategically), it can launch you to full coaching stardom. And I don’t mean by doing crazy challenges nor trending dances, but rather, being able to build your following and credibility through quality content that’s very much aligned with your core as a coach.

As early as now though, let me be clear about this: it’s not about being present on every social media platform out there. While it’s nice to have accounts across multiple social media platforms, focusing on what truly is relevant to your market and to your own strengths is key so that you’re able to maximize each channel fully.

Allow me to share with you 5 steps you should take if you want to maximize your social media presence as a professional coach:

1. Have a formidable brand

Ownable, relatable, and sustainable. That’s how your personal brand should be. 

How do you want the consumers to perceive you? What do you want them to associate you with? What’s your unique coaching platform and what is the unique benefit that you offer? These are just some of the questions you can reflect on as you build your coaching brand. 

In my case, my coaching brand #bestmeever is quite self-explanatory. however, I like to define it as one’s authentic, unapologetic, grandest version—something which is very much aspirational for the market in general who long to have and live the life they’ve always wanted. 

To formalize my brand, I had the name patented and then created brand format extensions to amplify association: from my book series to my podcast, to the topics in my talks on TED.com—they are all anchored around #bestmeever. 

Additionally, my brand icon of a unicorn 🦄 is something which played a significant role in my own life story and has also been present in almost all of my social media posts, even in my comments. 

Once people began associating phrases about becoming the best version of one’s self with unicorns, brand recognition took on a life of its own. People were actually sending me unicorn gifts at the radio station and tagging me in unicorn posts, memes, and products! 

By choosing a brand that is true to your core and your story, clients and potential clients will associate the two together, and the marketing then takes care of itself.

2. Create consistently relevant content

Building your social media presence is not a one-time event. It requires you to consistently show up on your social media platforms of choice and provide quality content that will resonate with the market. 

While providing timeless feel-good posts about inspiration and the like will never go wrong, don’t fall into the trap of trying to please everyone or keeping the content at a superficial level. You must be willing to give your take on trending matters that are aligned with your practice and core values. 

Remember, people don’t just want to read or hear quotes from you; they also want to know your stand on current issues which may be of great importance to them. 

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to post every single day. If that’s not a match for your energy, don’t feel pressured. Half-baked work is easy to spot. Instead, have your own posting schedule that works for you.

(On a personal note, I rarely post on weekends. When I do, it’s more about my personal life, a welcome breather from my daily inspirational posts about becoming one’s #bestmeever. This also allows people to know me beyond what I do professionally. 

The funny thing, though, is that on the rare occasions that I miss posting anything, I get private messages from my followers wanting to make sure everything’s okay. It seems my posting inspirational thoughts consistently at 7am has created a habit for them and something to look forward to each morning.)

3. Be original

Coaches, don’t try to be or sound like someone else. Have your own tone of voice, look and feel, and craft your own original content. 

While there’s nothing wrong with reposting super nice materials from other coaches once in a while (giving them credit, of course!), it’s more important that you take time to align your postings with what rings true to you and your brand as a coach. 

Let your personality show in each and every social media post or video that you make. Allow people to remember you for who and what you are, and not for what you’re trying to become. 

This is something that has worked very well for me as, time and again, people have told me that they can hear my voice as they read my daily reflections and quotes and can imagine my reaction and expressions toward their current struggles because of their familiarity with my delivery. 

4. Maximize your skills and talents creatively

Can you write well? Speak eloquently? Act professionally? Sing? Whatever your talent may be, bring it to the table. Allow people to experience you and your gifts as you choose a social media platform that will highlight them fully. 

Just to throw out some other ideas, you could write and sing an original song, tell your life story, and create interesting and funny memes…who says you have to always be stiff in your format? 

Explore. Be brave. At the end of the day, let the world know what you’re capable of and what impact that can have on people. 

Case in point: I like doing random inspirational videos and written posts on social media (Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram are my favorite platforms since I consider speaking and writing as aces up my sleeve) making sure that they showcase my brand and personality clearly. 

And guess what those creative content pieces led to? A number of brand and organizational collaborations, a publishing deal, and being chosen to take part in the global campaigns of social media giants Facebook and TikTok. Oh, and massive follower growth too! Totally worth it. 

5. Showcase your achievements, testimonials, and recommendations

And no, it’s not bragging. Check in with your intentions: it’s all about celebrating yourself and what you have achieved. You deserve to share each milestone with the rest of the world. It’s not just about getting the approval of the netizens, but rather, acknowledging yourself and your growth. 

If you’re coming from a humble, well-meaning space, then by all means, proceed. Amplify the testimonials and recommendations you have received by publicly thanking those who have given them freely (with their consent of course) and post about your career highlights (new credentials, awards received, etc.) so that people will know that you’re consistently working on yourself and that you worked with others in your growth process. Doing so helps build your credibility and reputation in the minds of your customers, which in turn, can open more doors for you both personally and professionally. 

In my case, every time I post a win, I get encouraging messages from people telling me that I actually inspire them to go beyond their own borders and do better. 

Conclusion

I hope that these tips can help you grow your own social media presence and become top of mind amongst your target market.

Bear in mind, though, that whatever you choose to post on social media holds great power. Much like the lesson from the Spiderman movie, with great power comes great responsibility, so act mindfully. 

Editor’s Note: Want to know more about Myke and his work? Don’t miss our interview with him here at Life Coach Magazine. And if you want to brush up on your social media marketing skills, check out this affordable course from Meta on Coursera.

Myke Celis

Philippine Celebrity Life Coach and international best-selling author of the#bestmeeverbook series, Myke Celis (M.A., PCC) is a multi-award-winning global Master Coach, thought leadership writer, radio talk show host, and one of the most in-demand subject matter experts in coaching across print, radio, TV and digital media worldwide.