Have you been trying to grow your Instagram audience and find new leads for your fitness services with little success? Not to worry. Understandably, you'd like to tap into the over 2 billion monthly active Instagram users as a personal trainer.
We've published an article in the past with 7 Instagram hacks you can try to boost your follower base. If you'd like to find some ideas on how and what type of content to publish, you can also check out 15 Fitness Experts on Instagram to get some inspiration.
In this article, we'll look at how to create your Instagram bio so it grabs attention, aligns with your brand and helps grow your audience.
The ultimate goal is to reach as many people in your niche as you can, so when they're ready to reach out for help, you'll be the first on their mind.
When landing on your Insta profile, the first thing people see is your bio. Your bio should invite visitors to take their next logical step so they can check out your content.
So, here are 9 steps to write your bio to get new clients from Instagram.
Many personal trainers use their personal Instagram accounts for posting business content. That, in itself, isn't necessarily a mistake if your fitness brand is built around you and your name.
You might still want to convert your account into a business Instagram account, though, so you can get access to more in-depth stats about your Instagram performance.
However, if your online personal training services are launched under a brand different from your name, the best approach is to create an Instagram account with your brand's exact name and account handle.
Ensure that your Instagram profile fits in withthe rest of your online marketing activity by using consistent branding acrossall platforms.
This should include things like your display name (which shouldbe your business name), the tone of your description an,d the nature of theimages thu use
Often people think the profile photo needs to be something super specific, creative or fancy. That's not true. You'd like people to recognise you or your business straight away.
Profile pictures aren't displayed in massive size, so you might want to focus on a professional-looking portrait of yourself of up to 200x200 pixels in dimension. The point is to use the same image across all your marketing channels, including a Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, website and so on. Doing so will keep your brand message consistent.
Adding a category that best describes what you're doing is ideal so people landing on your Instagram account will know straight away if they're in the right place.
You can find the most fitting one from a pre-made list by searching for your keywords.
You can update the category anytime if you end up pivoting your business. Some of the most fitting ones for an online personal trainer could be "fitness trainer", "sports & fitness instruction", "coach", or "sports & recreation".
If you own a facility, you might want to choose "Gym/Physical Fitness Center".
Think of the screen when you're checking out an Instagram account. There isn't much space to fit a lot of words in without having to scroll, so Instagram limits the length of your bio to 150 characters.
Think SMS text message length when it counted or Twitter post lengths or less. You want to find a few unique and powerful keywords that describe what you do, who you do it for and what problems you can solve.
Many of the most effective Instagram descriptions use line breaks to make the text easier to read and emojis to save words and help with signposting.
While your whole bio is crucial, this description part is where people look to learn if you're the right fitness professional for them. So make sure you have this section nailed.
Hashtags are the engine of social media. That particularly applies to Instagram. As much as you'd like to focus on keywords in your bio, you should also consider including a few significant hashtags or account tags with which you're associated.
If you have a specific product with an Instagram account, ensure you link to that from your bio. The same goes for any professional partnerships with brands and facilities.
In terms of hashtags, if you've built one or two through your Instagram posts, feel free to add them to your description as well. This way, followers can head straight to those relevant posts through your bio.
Both are optional but we strongly recommended you have them set up. You can link your Instagram Business account to your Facebook Page, which means you'll be able to interact with your followers via either or both platforms.
This means you can turn on posting so your Instagram posts go onto your Facebook Page and the other way around. You'll also be able to handle enquiries on an integrated web platform.
You can add any URL to the website section. Many personal trainers use Linktree to allow multiple options for their followers because that is the only link that will work.
You probably already know that if you add a URL into the caption of an Instagram post, it won't become a hyperlink, so people won't be able to jump to that web page.
The website link in your bio is the only link people can click. So, you want to add a link there that will encourage people to move on to the next step on their buyer's journey.
So, if you often post about your new articles, it might be worth adding your blog's link there and referring to the "link in bio" in each of those posts. You can also add a Linktree which will contain multiple buttons to a range of actions your followers can take:
If you have a website, you could create a hidden page with all those links to keep it all branded.
The call to action is an essential part of your bio. It will encourage your followers to take action towards their fitness goals. The link already mentioned can serve as a pathway to that, but Instagram also has a feature where you can add an Action Button to your profile.
Probably the most relevant option here for personal trainers is booking an appointment or a link to your website homepage if that has a good call to action. You can even integrate your booking software to make the client journey one smooth process.
If you use Instagram Stories then you’ll know that this content only stays on your profile for 24 hours. However utilizing the Story Highlights feature means that you can keep the content permanently.
Even better, you can organize it into categories to showcase different aspects of your business, for example you could set up Highlights for events, reviews, motivational tips or healthy recipes – whatever type of categorization is most relevant to your fitness business.
This feature not only makes your profile more visually appealing, but it also helps your followers find the content that they are most interested in and demonstrates your professionalism. For more detail see MixBloom’s How to createInstagram story highlights.
If you haven’t already got a business account, this should be your first step.Instagram business accounts are free to set up and offer specific additional features aimed at helping you achieve your business goals.
One of the main benefits is access to Instagram Insights, an analytics tools that enables you to gauge what content performs best and gives information about your audience demographics
Just like your bio on your website or Facebook, it has an essential role on Instagram to generate more leads and eventually get new clients for your personal training business.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2022 and has been updated to give you up-to-date information.
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