20 great marketing ideas for career coaches

You’ve started your career coaching business now what? It’s time to get the word out! Any successful career coach will tell you that having an effective marketing plan to obtain, retain and attract clients is essential to running a profitable business. Here’s 20 marketing tips that will help you grow your brand.

1. Social Media

Get your “handles” together and create social media accounts where your audience may frequent. Tailor your content to fit each platform, based on the audience. For example, do not create the same post for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The object is to provide helpful, information that your audience will find useful, like interview and resume tips.

2. Pinterest

While Pinterest is known for helping users to decide which hue of blue to paint their baby’s nursery, the latest meal plan trends, or fitness fad, it is also a social media platform that is underused by entrepreneurs. Buyers look to Pinterest to make buying decisions on products, food, clothing, accessories, interior design, you name it! This means that there aren’t very many business owners, utilizing the space to market their brand. Who exactly is turning to Pinterest? Millennials! 80% of millennial Pinterest users say that the platform helps them decide what they should buy. (CoSchedule Blog, 2018)

3. Twitter

Twitter is a great space to have live conversations without having to craft posts as you would on Facebook or Instagram. There are 369 million monthly active Twitter users as of 2018. (Statista, 2018). If you’re looking to expand your reach across the pond, here’s something to consider, Twitter has nearly four times as many users internationally as in the U.S. (Pew Research Center, 2016) Twitter users are more incline to converse making it easier to connect with followers. A “Retweet” goes a long way. How often do you see a tweet get posted/retweeted? Perhaps your valuable insightful tweets will do the same!

4. Instagram (LIVE)

“Is my target audience really on Instagram?” Yes! Instagram hit 1 billion monthly users in June 2018, after hitting 800 million monthly users in September. (TechCrunch, 2018). “How can I use Instagram to market my business”? Instagram has a variety of options for Career Coaches to use the platform in various ways, from Instagram Live, Instagram TV to creating multiple posts/text. Instagram launched the IGTV app in 2018 which allows creators to upload one-hour long videos. (TechCrunch, 2018)

Switch it up a bit: When you don’t want to craft a post, share a link and or an article.

Here’s a tip: Create a “mini course” via Instagram Live or host a Live Q&A.

5. Facebook (LIVE)

Go “Live” with it! Why? Well according to Hubspot, after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online. (Forbes, 2017). Use Facebook Live to create “mock interviews”, tips for choosing a career path, or how to deal with a difficult team member.

6. Instagram Ads

Instagram Ads can be an effective tool for marketing your brand. Ads are a feature that allows entrepreneurs the ability to expand their brands by reaching an audience that’s either local, or in other locations. Instagram Ads puts your brand in front of its 300 million monthly users (well not all of them but a large majority of their users). You can run ads for as little as $5.00, in the location/area of choice.

7. Facebook Ads

Much like Instagram, Ads can be used as an additional tool to marketing your brand via social media. I’ve heard mixed reviews in terms of how effective the ads were. My take on it, try and see how the platform performs for your business using ads. I think it’s worth a try and if you don’t receive the results you desire, then move on to other marketing methods.

8. Job Fairs

Job Fairs attract both job seekers as well as companies who are looking to hire employees. I’d say that’s the perfect opportunity to network and build your brand with both customers and employers. Set up a booth offering free resume scans on sight. Network with HR personnel to see if there are opportunities to collaborate in the near future.

9. Career Summits

Organizations such as local churches, programs centered around community-based initiatives and other city wide programs host career summits. A Career summit puts your brand in front of an audience you may not have access to. It’s the perfect opportunity to network with your industry peers as well.

10. Host workshops

Host your own workshop. Hosting an event puts you in complete control of your time, content, and resources. Use social media to promote your workshop. Invite local staffing agencies, talent acquisition specialists, HR professionals, local churches and other community based programs. If you don’t have an office or a space to host your event, a Co-working space, or peerspace.com offers rental spaces for a reasonable price.

11. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an employment platform that most business owners overlook when it comes to marketing their brand. The platform currently has 562 million members. (LinkedIn, 2018)

LinkedIn can be used to highlight your services as well as engage with potential clients, including HR professionals. Think about it, most people utilize the platform to seek employment opportunities. It makes sense to promote your business on the site.

12. You Tube

You Tube is a “blank canvas” for building your brand. About 5 billion YouTube videos are viewed on average every day. (Omnicore, 2018) Create videos with tips for interviewing, networking, and any other information pertaining to how to navigate the corporate arena. If you’re wondering whether or not your target audience is on the video sharing platform, in an average month, eight out of ten 18-to-49-year-olds watch YouTube videos. (Google, 2016)

13. Podcast

Monthly podcast listeners grew from 24% of Americans to 26% year over year. (Edison Research, 2018) Podcasts are trending and for good reason. It gives creatives the ability to curate content for a specific audience without the restrictions that comes with social media platforms. No algorithm issues, which means your audience can listen to your podcasts right away instead of days later, or whenever your posts appear on sites like Instagram. You are in complete control of your content, not necessarily having to follow “community guidelines”.

14. Blogging

If you prefer to “write out” your thoughts then a blog might be a better option. From a business standpoint, it makes sense to include blogging into your marketing strategy. 55% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority. (HubSpot, 2018)

Create content about industry trends, best hiring practices, tips for climbing the corporate ladder, email etiquette, how to ask for more responsibilities, how to deal with a difficult co-worker, tips for first day hires. This may seem like a bit much, however, according to a content marketing study conducted by Hubspot, companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got almost 3.5 times more traffic than companies that published zero to four monthly posts. (HubSpot, 2015)

15. Website

Having an online presence is essential to marketing and growing your business. A website showcases your work. Websites makes it easy for customers to access your products, services and resources. Here’s a few more reasons for having an online presence:

72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles. (Wordstream, 2016)

Google drives 96% of mobile search traffic. (Jody Nimetz Co., 2018).

Over 51% of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product while conducting a search on their smartphone. (Google, 2018)

16. Email Marketing

I’m sure you’ve read this statement before in my previous blog posts however, email marketing is a “top of the mind conscious” marketing strategy. It requires more than simply sending promotional offers, but finding ways to connect with your subscriber list. What is the most effective way to use email marketing? According to, Hubspot, The ability to segment email lists and individualize email campaign messaging are the most effective personalization tactics for 51% and 50% of marketing influencers respectively. (Ascend2, 2016). In essence, your subscriber list should be broken down into categories. Each category should contain content specifically designed for new customers, existing customers, and potential customers, thus, “segmenting” and “personalizing” your marketing strategy.

17. Partnering with Staffing Agencies

Who better to partner with than staffing agencies? They’re in the business of selecting, screening and placing candidates in the right positions. With your services as a Career Coach, you can assist in offering career advice, which can be helpful to candidates looking to advance within the company.

18. Offer free “quick resume scans”

Costco does a great job at offering shoppers samples, enticing them to purchase products in their store. So why not use that same method in your own business? “Resume scans” are an opportunity to provide valuable feedback to your potential customer, while simultaneously, establishing you as an expert in your field.

19. Local Community Colleges and Universities

Companies are always recruiting college students on campus. As a Career Coach, you can not only help them land the job of their dreams, but assist college grads with navigating through the corporate world.

20. Choose a Niche Market

A niche market can give you an advantage over your competitors. Having first-hand experience working in a specific industry, can help you better prepare your clients for growth within their respective positions.

There are so many ways that you can market your Career Coaching business. You can leverage social media, to grow your brand by choosing the right platform. Tailor each platform based on your audience to get the best results. Partner with industry professionals to maximize your marketing efforts. Get a website to increase your brand’s exposure. I hope that these tips will help you with both your online and offline marketing strategies