Photo by: Emily Roth
When people think of branding, many think of huge organizations with recognizable colors, slogans, and logos. But branding is much more than that, and as a new yoga teacher, branding matters.
By being consistent and engaging with your students/followers online, you may start to see class numbers increase and other teaching opportunities arise. So, in order to get those follower and students interested in what you offer, there are a few tactics you can use when it comes to developing your brand as a new yoga teacher.
I recently had a conversation with Emily Roth, the Marketing Manager at Namaste Yoga + Wellness Center in Oakland, CA. She’s been in the yoga business for several years and offers the following branding tips for new yoga teachers:
1. Embrace Your Story
Every yoga teacher is unique (yes, even you!) Do you have other interests outside of yoga? Travel often and have met incredible people? Are you a doctor by day and a teacher by night? Share it and let your students in on your life.* When people are able to connect with you a deeper level they start to look at you beyond “my yoga teacher.” When they feel this connection they are much more likely to advertise your classes for you by telling their friends! #Winning. To start: write down or say aloud to yourself why you love teaching and why you decided to become a yoga teacher. Think of it as creating your personal brand’s “About” page. What was the catalyst that led you to teaching? How has your life changed since becoming certified? Remember, you are a living, breathing advertisement for your own product (your class), your content (your own practice and what you do off the mat), and your brand (your teachings). Streamline this story so it becomes easily digestible, succinct, and highlights what makes you unique.
*Only share what you are comfortable with your students knowing about.
2. Connect and Cross Promote
Once you have connected with other teachers, share your experiences. Post photos of you attending their class, share status updates about hanging out with others in the community, and share event invites for workshops being taught by other teachers. These types of social media posts are attractive to students because they get to know what you do outside of classes, and many enjoy seeing your engagement with the yoga community. Additionally, by syncing with more established teachers who the students already trust, they may be more willing to try your classes, too.
3. Believe You’re a Star
The internet is filled with tools to help you start your personal brand – take advantage of them! Set up a Facebook Page (not a personal page) as a public figure, create an Instagram account dedicated to your yoga practice and teachings, create a website and make sure to list all of your classes, your bio, and any upcoming workshops. There are several great website services such as Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress that all make it easy (and cheap) to create beautiful sites with minimal technical experience. It is also worth hiring a professional photographer to take a variety of photos that you can repurpose across all of these platforms. Is a professional photographer out of your budget? iPhone and Android phones have great cameras and work just as well as professional cameras.
To read more tips from Emily, click here.
Have you successfully used social media to build up your classes and brand? If so, what’s worked for you?
