Your Instagram feed is one of the best tools for advertising, and it can help or hurt your business, depending on what you post.
Can I tell you about one of my pet-peeves? Seeing a social media post advertising a beginner Yoga class with a picture of the teacher in an advanced Yoga pose. These two things do not align. It’s confusing. It would be fair for a student to assume a pose that is on the post advertising the class would be included in the class. They may be immediately turned off by thinking…“if that is beginner yoga there is no way I can do it”. So why is the teacher using that photo? Probably because it’s gorgeous and esthetically pleasing! But is it actually helping drive business or connect them with the right students? Now, what if your whole Instagram feed is a series of BEAUTIFUL advanced yoga poses, and your offerings are beginner yoga classes. (No judgment, I did this! This is what I thought I was supposed to do as a yoga teacher on Instagram) What if you’re posting about your personal meditation practice and how beneficial you believe meditation is, but not offering any meditation practices? What if you never post yourself doing handstands and then suddenly post an offering for a handstand workshop?
How would this be good for business???
There are literally thousands of yoga teachers in the world and on Instagram. But there is only one YOU. I, as a yoga student, can go to 2 classes which consist of the exact same sequence of poses, taught by two different teachers. I will have two completely different experiences because of who the teachers are. One may enjoy being lighthearted and cracking jokes, and one may encourage you to focus inward and use more silence than words when guiding you through poses. You may enjoy them both for different reasons, or one style may not be for you (side note: this is why you should not discount Yoga as a whole if you have one negative experience…try another style of class or teacher). You are likely going to remember your experience and next time you want a class, think about which experience you would like to have. What if you went back to the lighthearted teacher only to find that they are now teaching in a totally different style. You would likely not return if your experience wasn’t what you were expecting. You wouldn’t feel like you could trust what you would get if you returned another time.
If you are a teacher who is not truly being yourself and is simply trying to emulate what you think a Yoga teacher should be, in person or online, then you are not going to attract those long-term relationships with students. I always say, I am not the best yoga teacher out there, but I have very loyal students because I have cultivated relationships with them. I know their stories, I know what they enjoy doing in classes, they know what to expect from my classes, they trust me, and they know a bit about my life and are understanding if I am a bit off my game one class because my one year old didn’t sleep well the night before. You do not need to be perfect or project perfection online to work as a yoga teacher or wellness provider. You need to be genuine, qualified, deliver what you promise, and be willing to say “oops I made a mistake and said Left instead of Right”. Most people don’t want the curated perfection that often what shows up on the Instagram explore page, they want someone real who they can connect with. That begins with your marketing (ie. Social media) and needs to line up with your offering and delivery.
