The single most important habit for creating an online fitness brand is consistency. Below are 3 tips to simplify your workflow to start building an audience on Instagram that feels true to you.
Tip #1 – Embrace the Content Calendar
It’s easy to fall behind on posting if you don’t have a good content strategy in place.
This is why almost every fitness creator we’ve talked to follows a content calendar to take the guesswork out of their weekly content strategy.
Nali of Supernova Fitness follows a “value, value, sell” sequence for her instagram calendar. For example Post A (Motivational lifestyle post), Post B (Educational post), Post C (CTA post) and repeat.
Content calendars help you stay on track and post more without overthinking. Additionally, Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes creators who post on a consistent basis (whether it be reels, stories, posts, or IG LIVE). The more content you create, the more conversation you generate, which results in the best engagement and discoverability!
Tip #2 – Brainstorm ideas in a Google doc
It’s difficult to come up with Instagram posts on the spot. That’s why April from Smalletics recommends keeping a list of Instagram post ideas.
April says… “the key to growing an authentic community that wants to buy from you is knowing your audience/niche, connecting with them using true personal stories and anecdotes, and creating products that help solve a problem they can rally around and get excited about.”
April continues, “…once you’ve figured out your audience and the problems they face, it’s much easier to brainstorm and create content that can help provide a solution, comedic relief, or communal support that it’s more common than they might think.”
Here are some proven methods to make generating ideas easier:
- Refer to our list of free content ideas and hashtags. Feel free to copy these lists into your own google doc!
- Add your own ideas for different themes in the content calendar above. Think about your ideal customer and what they might want to see.
- Consumers have short attention spans, so try to keep it simple and don’t overthink it! You’ll always learn something new.
When you’re excited about some of the ideas you’ve listed out, feel free to add more detail with a brief caption or summary. Writing is a great way to help you refine your key message, which makes it easier to come up with a visual to accompany your post (pic, video, IG live, reel, story, or carousel).
Lastly, don’t forget to go through and favorite photos or videos that you have on file and use those in future posts – e.g., screenshots of text messages or before/after photos from clients, a flattering selfie, or a funny meme that you like.
Tip #3 – Writing (and posting) clear CTAs
Writing a clear CTA (call to action) is crucial if you want to promote yourself. Each piece of content you post is a digital billboard that can be used to drive more conversation, follows, giveaways, or sales.
Adriana Blanc recently launched her $25 a month workout and coaching app, We Are Capable. Adriana shared with us that she created several CTA posts and Instagram stories leading up to her launch. Her goal with her pre-launch posts were to increase the chances that one of her existing followers/superfans would sign-up.
Adriana says… “my audience really appreciates how I keep it real, so I made sure to just keep my regular, informal and friendly tone of voice as I shared my new offering & product!”
Here are some simple ideas for adding CTAs to your content:
- Ask a question at the end of your instagram post or story.
- Offer a poll to screenshot and repost replies to engage followers.
- Share an instagram post to your instagram story.
- Create a clear link in bio for next steps.
Before you post, we recommend the following pieces of advice.
If you haven’t already, make your IG a business or creator account. You can study trends, metrics, analyze your content and understand your consumer better.
Select the best times to post. For weekdays, 11-1 pm EST is best. For weekends, later in the day or evening on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday is also good.
For giving your post that special touch, download a photo editing app so that all of your posts look the same.
Select 15-20 hashtags you want to use. This should be a mixture of what your ideal client could be looking up such as: #fatloss, #weightloss #onlinecoach. We’ve heard of fitness creators finding good hashtags by searching Pinterest! We also provided a free blog post with some hashtags to start!
After you post, reply to all comments! Replying increases engagement and develops relationships.
Repost your new post to your Instagram story. Write a caption to highlight why someone should click into your post. If you’re candidly speaking on IG stories directly, writing captions or subtitles helps drive engagement, too.
Answer all DMs that are business related.
And lastly, don’t get discouraged if some posts don’t get a lot of likes. Consistency is the biggest factor in whether someone will succeed or not in the long-run. With your content calendar, and brainstorm doc, you’ll be able to refine your post strategy with ease!
Ask fellow creators to share your posts or for feedback if you want an outside opinion. It’s always best to keep your eye on the long game.
Want free post ideas?
Visit our “Free Content Ideas and Hashtags for Fitness Creators” to see a full list of post ideas and hashtags. Below are a few ideas for creating content on Instagram.
