How Social Networking Can Help You Find A Coach When it comes to coaching, don't let the noise drown out experience.
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We are not talking about "Coach Carter', "Hoosiers', "Glory Road', "Million Dollar Baby', and "Money Ball' where the primary focus is on the coach who direct, educate and train their players, students and athletes.
Though they were movies, it taught us many significant life-lessons which probably we can't discover on our own. In real life, we won't find Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) who will try to help you out in your hurdles, guide you when needed and holds your back when you fall. So, how are you going to find such mentor or coach? It's not that easy that you do ASO for mobile apps, and be famous.
As per the Cambridge Dictionary, mentor is "a trusted an experienced person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advice over a period of time to help them grow in their work".
Yes, a coach or a mentor or a trainer is equally important as the team or an individual. Let's get back on track to the talk "What help will social networks provide to finding the best mentor?' Are you aware about the fact that there are 500+ variety of social media platforms? Wooo, That's a lot. But you don't need to go anywhere to seek a wise man. Before embarking into the "finding' process, ask a few questions to yourself:
- What is the purpose of you being on social media?
- What do you want to learn (product/service)?
- Which social media is appropriate for you?
- What, When and Where should you be saying on my social networks?
- How much time should I be spending on social media?
- What are you trying to accomplish through social networking? (Reach or Revenue)
- What is the better way to find out which is the best training course, program, or classes?
- What to especially look for in any Social Media Platform?
Do you have answer to these questions? If Yes, then you are racing to the right direction and you'll have a much brighter picture of social media's value to you. Still many naysayer speaks "Social Media Can't Replace a Trusted Coach'. This seems a stereotype, right? Yes, it's like every entrepreneur wants to be James Bond. Why? Because, today there is almost nothing social media can't do.
The endeavor of getting a coach might be different: some people wants life coach, some wishes to have a guide to start a small scale business, few desires to be an expert in a specific field, few others require training and preparation in specific disciplines, and the rest just hopes for inspiration to propel ahead in their respective line of work. Whatever the case or occupation, one way or another, today or tomorrow, we take advice from an expert who is also experienced; thus we make them our mentor.
Your goal is to reach to the most pertinent people as possible. We all know that social media can either be time wasting or valuable tool in your arsenal. What better way to do that than via social media? Social Media is the way to the future. If you crave for an exceptional mentor, you will have to jump into the ocean of virtual communications and harness its power to benefit you.
Let's consider the same from the "Coach' point of view. Some Social media allows you to do research while some takes you to know about the latest changes in the industry. An online community built around your coaching practice, courses, and beliefs will enable you to spread that message far and wide. The larger your community, the more "power" you wield. The more eyeballs that see your message and the more often they see it, the more opportunity there is for them to hear you and get engaged.
Here are some essential social media analytics:
- 90% people (Age - 19 to 29) currently use social media
- Twitter is used by 25% adults everyday
- Facebook receives 9 billion photos (uploaded) every month
- 20% of adults use Twitter on a daily basis
- 65% of the users on Facebook are over 35 (55% female and 45% male)
- 72% of Twitter users are between 18 and 49 (55% female)
- 300 million people use G+ (70% male and 30% female)
Surprised? Well, fun facts apart, the vitality of the virtual networking is increasing. Let's go step by step. We know about the trending and everybody's favorite networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. To be concise, the Jack-of-all social networks. Let's find out why:
- LinkedIn, a social media platform where professionals are tooting their own horns, is one of the best platforms to use for your coaching service. Many successful coaching bloggers, such as Lolly Daskal, Zig Ziglar, and Daniel Goleman post on LinkedIn regularly.
- Facebook or Twitter involve easiest account creation, while Reddit or Tumblr involve a steep learning curve (time-consuming). These are targeted for different audiences. Also Instagram and Pinterest that rely on visual appeal may be harder for you to break into than text-based platforms (Facebook, Digg, Twitter, Reddit, etc.)
- You want a social media platform that will help you extend your reach as far as possible. Some social media platforms (like Facebook or Twitter) offer access to a much broader audience, while others (like Reddit or Pinterest) provide access to a targeted demographic.
How do you do it?
Target your coach. Their post timings. When and to whom they respond. Schedule the posts, tailor it to your audience, be interesting, keep your voice consistent. This will not only encourage engagement but will put you into an insightful conversation and that my friend, is what makes you seen distinctive.
This way you have established a reputation by raising your profile. Now, it's time to add quality content (post, image, news, video)- anything that will make your "Targeted Coach' like, share, retweet or reply to it. There you go. Just one step to the destination. Though, it might not be super-fast as mobile apps getting thousands downloads overnight.
Entertain, Inform and Execute that describes you as an "expert" in your field. You want to build a reputation , but you also want to build credibility in your various groups. You are now eligible to text, or approach your coach directly. Undoubtedly, the coach will reply.
Which Social Media will be the most beneficial?
That is totally depending up to how you approached and how you are responded.
If you are going for a coach from nearby mutual's friends' friend or colleague, Facebook and Google groups is the best. Twitter is a good scatter gun but here you won't be knowing your followers but you definitely get a filtered people. LinkedIn is a good place to gain corporate clients. Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest can boost to your professional brand and niche, differentiate yourself from others and helps you achieve what you really wanted. This ultimately takes your former brand profile higher and so later is your catalyst.