Social Media for Wellness Practitioners in 2023
Here we are, it’s 2023 and social media is still keeping us on our toes.
There will never be an easy way to stay on top of social media trends, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
Today’s social media is all about personality and authenticity. People want to see the face behind the brands that they interact with.
As an entrepreneur and wellness practitioner, this shouldn’t be a problem. Your clients already know you personally, which impacts how they view your business and brand.
So how can you keep your clients engaged, even when you aren’t treating them? And how can you find new clients through organic and paid social media?
We have already shared our thoughts on growing your wellness business, and now it's time to focus on growing your follower list and like counts!
Let’s talk about it.
Quality > Quantity
It’s hard to worry about social media as a wellness solopreneur.
You only have so many hours in the day, and there will be many other tasks to take up your time.
Conventional social media wisdom says that you need to stay active to stay relevant, otherwise the dreaded “algorithm” will forget you.
But don’t let this convince you that you need to put out more content than you have good ideas.
Quality matters over quantity every time. One authentic, personal post is better than ten generic ones.
The Takeover of Tik Tok / Short Form Video
The buzz surrounding TikTok and other short form video (Instagram and Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts) is showing no sign of slowing down.
In fact, we don’t see it as something that you “should” have in your social media strategy. It’s not something to do if you have time – it is something that you MUST do or risk getting left in the dust.
TikTok isn’t just about catchy dances or comedy anymore. It is turning into the go-to for all kinds of information, including health and wellness.
As this kind of media consumption becomes more popular, we are also seeing it take over one generation at a time after finding its foothold with the Gen Z audience.
Teach Your Followers Something New
Last year, a study from Google showed that 40% of Gen Z uses TikTok and Instagram for searches instead of Google Search.
These online search habits will eventually spread to other generations too, and it fundamentally changes how you should be thinking about short form video.
In addition to making your audience laugh, you should be answering their questions – and you should do so in a way that makes you appear credible and trustworthy.
The second point is especially important since platforms like TikTok have a reputation for spreading misinformation.
Unfortunately, it's often not enough to position yourself as informed and knowledgeabe, you need to actively show why you should be trusted instead of other accounts.
Leverage Your Community
This section could easily be titled “collaborate with local micro-influencers”, but something wouldn’t feel quite right.
You have probably heard about the importance of working with influential people on social media before. You also likely know that this opportunity comes with a significant cost.
Even local influencers will charge a minimum of hundreds of dollars for collaborations, and this comes with a guarantee of awareness, which doesn’t necessarily translate to new clients.
As an entrepreneur and wellness practitioner, it’s pretty tough to justify this kind of expense, even if you are established. But there is still something you can leverage for much cheaper – your community.
We just published our article about how community builds better entrepreneurs, and just like how you can reach out to your network to learn new skills and find talent, you can also work together to expand your social media presence.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Experience someone else’s treatment, and offer your own in exchange. Post about your experiences, and use a feature like Instagram’s Collab Post to tap into each other’s followers.
- Collaborate on a giveaway with one or several of your community members. For example, run a social media contest (where followers tag their friends) and offer the winner an exclusive co-branded prize.
- Make it personal. Film yourself doing a fun activity with a community member, like a fitness challenge. It doesn’t even have to relate to the kind of services you offer, but it does have to show off both your personalities.
Show Off Your Instagram Successes
When you finally strike gold with a story on Instagram, it’s a shame to watch it fall further down your feed until it is nothing but a memory.
Use the highlights feature to capitalize on popular archived Instagram stories, and sort them into categories like testimonials, common questions from clients, or collaborations with other brands.
This is a low-effort tactic with a big impact. It is essentially a way to get new followers up to speed with what your business is all about.
If you don’t utilize highlights, new followers will scroll through your feed. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if your feed is filled with experimental posts where you are trying to find out what works best, it may not be the best thing to see first.
Treat it Like an Experiment
Your business is your lab. Let it be an experiment.
In a recent interview on the Bring Your Dreams Alive podcast, our co-founder Celeste mentioned that this was some of the best advice she received while starting out as an entrepreneur.
So what does this mean for social media? Part of having an effective strategy is knowing what data to look into, and setting reasonable expectations for what your business can accomplish.
But most importantly, it’s about not being afraid to try things.
Be creative. Keep an eye on your community and competitors. Be willing to put yourself out there.
Once you have data from real-world experimentation, you can act on it quickly and move on.
We hope to see you on our social media feeds soon! Keep an eye on the Knowledge Hub for more practical wellness entrepreneur business insights soon.
