Marketing without social media is possible
It’s true: social proof is essential for large, small, and micro businesses.
But social media isn’t the only kind of social proof. Press, Interviews, Guest Lectures, Course Development, Testimonials, Referrals, High ratings, Raving Reviews, and Client Success Stories are all ways to build your social proof in business.
Plus, relying on social media for client acquisition isn’t ideal for all businesses —especially transformational service providers like Coaches, Healers, Helpers, or Consultants.
Social media companies earn income based on client attention —and on guiding that attention to the content they want to show. That content is monetized and optimized. The higher your social buzz, audience size, and advertising budget, the higher you rank. That doesn’t bode well for independent, small or micro-businesses—like most Coaches, Healers, Helpers and Consultants.
Social media presence and social media advertising are different.
If your business is looking for new leads, paid social media ads are one way to acquire clients who are searching for the solution you’re selling. Paid social ads don’t require a huge following, but they do require investing in an expert (or spending a good chunk of time and resources to DIY it) plus the actual fees for advertising.
With a large enough following, your consistent and relevant social media presence may be enough to bring potential clients to your digital (or actual) doors…
…but you’ll need to spend resources (your own time, a strategic hire’s time, or advertising dollars) to gain that following.
If you don’t have a large social media presence yet, strategic social media advertising can help you reach more of your ideal clients. Targeted ads that drive those interested clients to your valuable, relevant free (or paid) products or services are the aim —and those ads are often effective but require time, testing, and resources.
What if you don’t have a large social media following, a big advertising budget, or a desire to engage on the socials at all?
While you’re growing your following or building your advertising budget, go back to basics! Build or scale your business the time-tested way: and remember that vanity metrics like social media followers are rarely indicative of actual income.
Here are 25 creative ways to build, grow, or scale your business without social media (plus a few that DO require social, but take a stress-less approach).
I used these exact strategies to build my unknown yoga therapy and wellness coaching studio in a small town back in 2008 when social media was a thing… but not a huge thing for business. Those same strategies allowed me to pivot into location-independent yoga teacher training after I closed my studio to spend more time with my little one. And I used these strategies again when I deleted all my social media back in 2019 (I’m back now, but…you get the picture!). Get the full list here.
Plus, here are 20 more ways to grow your business without relying on a large social media presence or paid social media advertisements:
Offer memberships or discounted rates to local firefighters, police officers, or other first responders to show appreciation for their service.
Partner with a local sports team, special interest group or league to offer training, massage therapy, mindset coaching, or photography sessions to their members. Think: Yoga for Knitters, Mindfulness Training for Golfers, Tai Chi for Bowlers.
Host a "Lunch and Learn" events for community organizations, local businesses, or trade organizations. Network before and afterward with business cards, brochures, or the perfect elevator pitch.
Offer mobile services or corporate packages to busy professionals who can't make it to your studio or local business.
Attend local trade shows, conferences, or expos related to your niche and network with attendees and other vendors.
Host a live webinar, workshop or talk to showcase your expertise and offer a special promotion for attendees. You don’t need fancy equipment and can stream Live on YouTube with nothing more than your smartphone.
Offer specialized training, series courses, packages, or classes for specific populations in your niche that deliver a specific, singular solution. Examples: Prenatal Cooking Classes, Meditation for Legal Professionals, Wellness Coaching for WFH Parents.
Partner with local non-profit organizations and donate a portion of your profits to their cause! Usually, they’ll offer to feature your business or promote you in their outreach materials. (You’re doing it out of the goodness of your heart, but the extra shout-out is nice).
Offer a trial period for new clients to try out your services at a discounted rate, and follow up with them to encourage them to continue working with you once the trial period ends with a special package only available at that time (Pro tip: add value, rather than reduce cost).
Create a customer loyalty program that rewards clients for repeat business or for referring new clients. People like to refer people they know and are more eager to do so if you have a system in place.
Host a free seminar or workshop on a topic related to your niche and invite your local community to attend. Bonus: invite “sister service providers” and turn it into a Panel where you all build interest and promote one another’s transformational services. More clients book with you, more clients book with them, and everyone benefits. Win-Win-Win.
Develop a Talk Show, Podcast or Video Blog, featuring your work and services. Regularly provide valuable content and promote your services at the end of each show or in the show notes. Discuss topics that your ideal clients are interested in, problems they’re already asking about, and showcase how your services or products provide a solution to those problems.
Develop a customized corporate package and pitch your local businesses with more than 50 employees. Use this as a way to build your referral network or create a collective to provide services on-location.
Create an online course or e-book and offer it for sale on your website or at trade shows and events.
Collaborate with influencers and thought leaders in your niche to promote your business with an event, challenge, or contest.
Host a Continuing Education or professional development training for a trade organization in your industry to share your expertise and build your corporate consulting opportunities.
Use search engine optimization (SEO) tactics to improve your website's ranking on search engines and attract more traffic. Develop lead magnets for your best SEO ranked content and grow your email list at the same time.
Host a contest or giveaway to engage with potential clients and build your brand.
Develop a mobile app to make it easy for clients to book appointments and stay connected with your business. Or use one of the integrated apps that comes with course creation membership sites like Passion.io, Thinkific, and AttractWell.
Start a Membership site using software (like this or this or this) to grow your community and monetize your creative content at the same time. Substack or Patreon offer email marketing and social sharing options that allow you to market your business and earn income at the same time.
I’d love to know—what are your tried-and-true client attraction strategies that don’t rely on social media?
Join the conversation in the Kula!
And if you missed KULA CONVERSATIONS with Kristina Molnar, Hypnotherapist + Coach yesterday, catch the replay right here.
We talk neurodivergence, WFHmom-life, designing your business around your body-mind-heart needs (instead of sacrificing your core needs for a broken business model). And Kristina shares a mind-shifting tip to support you (and your clients) in making big changes in life. Hint: it’s word magic! Head here to catch the replay (for 2 weeks).
See you in the Kula!
~Kellie Adkins, MS, C-IAYT, Business Coach + Yoga Therapist
Founder | Wisdom Method School of Yoga
