Pivot Your Practice and BulletProof Your Future - How to Use Facebook Events to Have Some Fun with Your Clients and Prospects
Sorry, folks. I'm going to talk business and marketing again! I know we tend not to like those concepts very much as practitioners. I saw them as necessary evils for years! But actually they can be a lot more fun and use a lot more creativity than you might believe right now. I have learnt to really enjoy them. Here's a way to get started.
Getting back to business basics: You must market your business to your target audience or they won’t know you exist. Fact.
And when it comes to marketing, why not use every tool available to you? When marketing on Facebook, one tool that is often overlooked is the Facebook Events tool. It’s a great way to get extra publicity for your business; however, it takes some planning to get it just right. So grab your calendar and your brainstorming notebook and let’s get creative.
Getting Started with Facebook Events
Begin with your reasons for holding an event. What is the goal of the event? If you’re just opening your coaching doors, then a “Grand Opening” makes sense. Even if you’ve been coaching for a while, host a “Client Appreciation” event for your current clients or a “Celebrating 10 Years in Business” event where you reintroduce yourself to the public in hopes of attracting prospects. Did you just write a book? Host a “Book Launch” event. Want to start networking with local business owners in your community? Host a “Get to Know You” event. You’ll get the most interest in your events if there is a clear reason for hosting. Now has that got your creative juices going?
Now think about where you want to hold this event. If you have a physical location, your physical address is the best place to hold a Grand Opening. People will naturally wander into your business to meet you. If you work from home and don’t want to disrupt your family’s routine, find a small but intimate restaurant or pub that has a room you can rent out. Consider it a Meet and Greet party with light finger foods.
But of course, the world has changed so much that really we need to be thinking about the Event being held online. And you can still create an event but direct them instead to your business page at a certain time for a live video or direct them to a webinar room. In both of these instances, you’ll need to plan what you’ll say and present – just like a webinar – because you can’t rely on small talk as you would if you met people in real life. But that is OK. Because you have time to practice, to set up your office with some props to reflect the Event and ask some of your 3F's to join in with you to get a bit of atmosphere going.
Don't remember who the 3 F's are? .... Friends, Family and Fools :D
Before publishing you event, pop over to Canva (free version is fine for this) and create a social media post that accurately portrays your event and that grabs people’s attention. Facebook event photos should be 1920x1080 pixels. Publish your event and then resize your image (there is a function in Canva that allows you to do this; look for the custom option when you create something new. With that you can preset the size you need and then drag and drop your image into it and adjust.)
Cross Promoting Your Event
Promoting your event via social media is the easiest way to reach a large number of people, so use all your platforms to cross promote. However, only use those platforms that you use on a regular basis; do not think this is the best strategy to build a Twitter following. Promote to those who already follow you for the best results.
You can even have a go at making a Facebook Ad. They are a tremendous way to expand your reach to attract new people to your event. You can easily set the demographics of your target market as well as a budget and the duration for which the ads should run. Plan your ads and promotions so you can build buzz and anticipation but also send reminder ads as the event date gets closer.
Lastly, enjoy your event! You worked hard and deserve to have some fun. After you recover from the event, write down notes about what went well or not so well and create a checklist so you know exactly what needs to happen in which order when you plan your next event. It doesn't matter if you have just a few people attend the first time. This is a great way for you to gain confidence online, have a play around with the new tech and just learn to relax when you are on camera. Recording it is very helpful too as you can repurpose the recording or just re-watch and learn.
Have fun!
______________________________________________________
This is a series for coaches and therapists who are passionate about their work and their clients but struggling to find a way to make things work post-Covid as clients melt away and money becomes an issue for most people.
This is a time when most of us are scared. Nothing is known or predictable and many of us are dithering about what to do. In fact, this indecision is paralysing us and that is something that will derail the success of any practice. Therapists and coaches who are successful are people who have learned to do two things.
One is be flexible enough to pivot their business to what will work now - and the other is to break through enough of the fear barriers to get productive again.
Need More Happiness, Freedom and Success? Join My Free Webinars…
If you want quick and easy steps to setting yourself up for a safe and happy future doing the work you love, join me for my free webinars. I usually give at least 5 tips for moving forward and implementing in ways that will move you forward in all of my webinars. Each is about a certain angle on the issue. They, on their own will have an immediate effect on your mood and your outlook on life with your business. Get off the hamster wheel and take some time for yourself with my webinars, learn and act, learn and act – that’s the way to start flourishing.
Join my list and be the first to know when I'm live online. https://forms.aweber.com/form/76/1704509576.htm
"Just imagine if the next 5 years is like the last 5 years? How are you keeping yourself financially secure, happy and living your life of purpose by helping other people people succeed?"
Elizabeth specializes in helping you Get Your Coaching or Therapy Practice Back On Track. Sign up for her highly-acclaimed free challenges and webinars to find out how to Pivot that Practice to FutureProof Yourself.
"Yes please, I’d love to find out more ….."