Does your coaching business have an online presence?
Your immediate answer may be ‘yes’. But are you online in the way that you need to be?
Unless you have a brick-and-mortar business or a business in which you are consistently face-to-face with potential customers, your online presence is vital to your business.
An online presence for coaches? What is that?
My definition is: The culmination of all the places that your business appears, is mentioned, or is searched online. This includes your website, your social media profiles, your reviews, and any other site that mentions you (or links to you).
How are you managing your online presence? Do you even know if you have one?
The easy way to tell is to Google your business. Through this search, you should see your website, your social media pages, and images associated with your brand.
Take a look around. Is the message and imagery flattering, cohesive, and appealing to the people that you are trying to attract? If not, you may have some work to do. Read on.
Does a coach really need a website?
YES!!
Aside from the local pizzeria, I rarely purchase goods and services from businesses with no web site. It’s not that I’m judgmental. It’s just that the best way to reach me online. And the same may be true for many of your ideal coaching clients?
You have the task of convincing your ideal clients, that your brand will provide value to them. Word of mouth only goes so far. If they cannot vet you on their own terms (and differentiate you from your competitors), they simply cannot validate what I’ve heard about you.
70-80% of potential customers will research a company online before making a purchase decision, usually via their webpage.
But here’s the unfortunate truth:
Only 40% of small businesses have a website. Only 12% have a Facebook page. (inc.)
The reasons given by businesses without are:
- They feel like having a website is not relevant to their business
- They feel that building a website is too expensive.
Neither are true.
But what about a landing page?
Landing pages are important to your business but they are NOT your website. Landing pages only have one purpose: To get your visitor to take a single focused action. The conversion rate will depend on what you are asking them to do and how well they know, like, and trust you.
If your landing page is their first exposure to you online, then your page may not convert as well. You aren’t able to nurture the relationship by letting them understand your business, your services, and the rest of your content. Your results will vary, but I recommend having both a full website and several landing pages for your events and promotions.
But what about social media?
Social media is also vital to your business. It’s a great way to get exposure for your business (and traffic back to your website). You can also build groups, communicate with prospects, automate posts, and advertise on these platforms.
But let’s be very clear: Your social media profiles do not belong to you. Most likely, you are using the service for free (with the exception of paid ads) so you are subject to any changes that the platform might make. The platform has the right to make changes in the best interest of its own shareholders – which is to keep users engaged on that platform and to encourage more paid ads.
Yelp and other reviews sites are not acceptable alternatives to a website either. Consider this, with review sites alone, you are relinquishing control of your online presence to the public. People are more likely to post a negative experience than a positive one. Even if you are able to control the damage to your brand, your marketing efforts reactive than proactive.
Your reach, your layout, and even your content depending on the platform. So your website needs to be the ultimate ‘home’ for your business.
Does your coaching business need a logo?
Yes … eventually. If you are just starting your coaching business, your logo should be at the bottom of your priority list. This is not to say that your logo is unimportant – your logo is just the cherry on top of your online brand.
Once you do decide on a logo, you’ll need to work with a designer who understands your business and know how to make it appealing to your ideal clients. It’s a reflection of who you are, what you value, and the image that you are trying to convey.
Having a solid online presence gives you an advantage
It gives you brand legitimacy. Unfortunately, many small business businesses suffer from an incongruent image, confusing messaging, poor design, and outdated content. This is a terrible impression for visitors and potential customers.
My team and I at Foolishly Creative can take your vision, logo, image, and message, and turn it into an effective user experience. You can even analyze visitor activity to determine what your visitors are interested in, and where you can improve.
The complexity and depth of content will depend on your business, but at a minimum, it should let visitors know who you are, what’s in it for them, and how to move forward with you.
It’s for this reason that 83% of business owners with websites claim to have a competitive advantage over businesses without websites. But don’t just stop at getting a website – consider your holistic online presence.
Would you like to know more about working with my team and me? Book a free 30 minute strategy call here.
