It’s so easy to get distracted by the likes, follows, and views on Instagram. It feels good when someone gives us a like, or watches a Reel but are those people becoming actual paying students? Here’s the thing, while Instagram is an amazing tool to reach new people and create brand awareness, but without a yoga community on Instagram, you won’t reap the rewards of your hard work. That’s why I’m sharing 5 secrets to grow an engaged tribe on Instagram.
What Is A Yoga Community On Instagram?
A community on Instagram is something that your audience will feel a part of; it’s meaningful connections and shared interests that come together in one place.
Why You Need An Instagram Community?
For anyone in your audience to buy from you, they need to feel connected to you, and your yoga brand. Social media (aka Instagram) is the handshake. This is the place where your audience gets to know, like, and trust you. These are the 3 basic steps that happen before a potential student will buy from you. So it’s your job as a yoga teacher and content creator to support them in this process. When they feel like they can trust you, they will choose you as their yoga teacher over and above the yoga teacher up the street, because you are connected on a deep level.
Here Are 5 Essentials To Help You Build A Yoga Community on Instagram
#1 Know Your Ideal Student
Building a community on Instagram starts with getting crystal clear on who you want to attract as a follower AND as a student. Creating content without that clarity is like searching for X on the treasure map with no map. I like to start by thinking about who these people are, how I want to interact with them, what I can do to support them in their life with yoga, what they value, and how they want to be spoken to.
From there, you can start creating content for them. Focus on creating content for your dream follower (who also happens to be your ideal student). Make your content really high quality, super engaging, and extremely valuable for your audience.
#2 Engage More Than You Post
Instead of focusing on the likes, follows, and views, like and comment on what your current followers have shared, respond to their Instagram stories, and start building a relationship on their feeds. On your account, make sure you’re responding to comments and direct messages and engaging with your most engaged users. Spend time nurturing relationships with the people who are already following you – that’s where the magic happens. Yup, this is a BIG puzzle piece to Instagram that alotta yoga teachers are missing and has a huge impact on turning followers into students.
#3 Find Your Tribe
Some of the best places to find your tribe on Instagram are in hashtags and through the account of other people in your yoga niche. Put yourself in your follower’s shoes and think about where they hang out on Instagram. Once you have that clarity then go and hang out and have conversations that direct them back to your content.
For example, if your ideal student loves to cook vegetarian food, go hangout on accounts that focus on that and leave meaningful comments on their posts. The more you do this the more your ideal student will see you and engage with you.
#4 Support One Another
Making people feel valued and heard are the bones for connection both in life and Instagram. If you see a piece of content that your audience would appreciate, a funny meme or an educational carousel, share it. Adding value and detaching yourself from the outcome is what shifts energy away from scarcity to abundance – when you share content from places other than yourself it shows your audience that you care about them and that makes them care about you.
#5 Express Gratitude
Show your community how much you value them. When you can truly be grateful for the small wins, the big ones will follow. They are giving up their precious time to consume your content, so follow that up by doing the same. Answer your comments, give them a shout-out in your stories, appreciate them, always.
You can have 10 000 followers, but a true engaged Instagram community is made up of actual people who care about what you are sharing with them. This is not always a quick process, but slow growth allows for strong roots. Create a 5 minute a day habit to engage with your audience and start building your tribe.
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