How to get more clients for free: Easy social media marketing for dog trainers

If you feel like you’re scrabbling around for clients or working super hard to sell your signature offer, then this is for you.

Perhaps you want to grow your dog training business, or maybe you’d like to target more of your ideal clients in place of those who aren’t a great fit.

With a few tweaks to your social media profiles and your content, you can be well on your way to getting more dog training clients… for free!

Learn to optimise your profiles and write content that converts with our guide to easy social media marketing for dog trainers.

The digital path to getting more dog training clients

I imagine you’ve been using social media for your dog training business already.

You’ve got into a nice little swing of sharing your upcoming classes and posting pictures of the dogs you work with and maybe telling their stories.

With these digital techniques, you will learn how to write copy that speaks to your ideal clients so you can really harvest a connection with them.

But first, we need to revisit your profiles and give them a little refresh, so they convey exactly how great you are.

This will work best for you if you already have a signature program. You can read more about developing yours here.

Easy marketing for dog trainers: Optimise your social media profiles

Your social media profile is your shop window, so we want to give it a polish so it immediately gives the impression that you’re worth a step inside to look around.

We want people who land on your profile to immediately know what you do, who you do it for, and how.

That sounds like a lot to achieve, but you can do it with ease with this winning formula!

Choosing a cover image for your social media profiles

You need a strong cover image that’s high resolution, fits perfectly within the frame for both desktop and mobile, and that gives a warm first impression.

You can use Canva to whizz up a great Facebook cover image. Ignore the preset Facebook dimensions and set them to 828 x 465 so that your image shows up perfectly on both desktops and mobile.

On desktop, the window is smaller, so ensure you choose an image that can afford to be cut off a bit at the top and bottom for desktop view. Make sure any text, logos, or focal points of the image are within the centre of your image, and you’ll be grand.

Ideally, use a photo that has you and a dog in it, extra brownie points if you’re looking lovingly at each other.

In Canva, you can add your logo and some text which explains succinctly what you do and who you do it for.

Choosing a Facebook Profile Photo for your business

Long gone are the days where you were encouraged to use your logo for your profile photo. People want to see the face behind the brand. When you do this, you begin building a connection from the get-go.

Marketing is all about building know, like, and trust. When you show up and are visible, you start building those solid foundations for a trusting relationship with your audience.

You need a welcome post.

Yes, even if you’ve been at this a long while, a welcome post is a must!

Your welcome post is either a video or an image coupled with copy that introduces you to your audience.

This might feel counterintuitive if you have a bunch of followers already and your engagement is solid.

But I promise you this; not everybody following you knows who you are, what your superskills are, and how you help your clients.

They might like your content, but that doesn’t mean that they have a crystal clear understanding of your offer.

Do not fill this with your credentials.

We all know us dog trainers like a merit badge, but this is not what speaks to your clients. Think about what makes you different or special. What would your superfan clients say about their experience working with you? What’s the extra mile that makes you stand out?

And if you’re struggling to pinpoint your stand-out superskill, then ask a client or a friend. You can tell them I sent you!

Once you’ve created your awesome welcome post that allows your audience to discover the essence of your what, why, who, and how….. Pin it!

When you pin your welcome post to the top of your feed, it will work in tandem with your shiny new profile and cover picture to paint a vivid picture for anyone who lands there.

Social proof and credibility

Once you’ve optimised your social media profiles, it’s on to creating content that delivers social proof and credibility.

We’ve laid the foundations which tell, now we want to show off what you do.

These are your posts that show your audience what you do, how you do it, and the results you deliver.

You can share testimonials, videos, and images of you at work, stories of the journey you have travelled with a client, and where they are now. Share your befores, afters, and everything in between.

This allows your audience to trust that you are good at what you do and to visualise their own journey should they choose to work with you.

Show it. Don’t just tell it!

Writing copy that converts

The way you structure your copy in your marketing makes a BIG difference. And there are simple formulas you can use to nail this without being filled with blank page horror.

I will cover two types of posts for you; launch posts and unique selling proposition posts.

Launch copy for social media

If you have a class or course that you want to sell or an upcoming new service, then you need to use this launch copy formula.

I see ‘buy my stuff’ posts all the time. A well-written launch post is not a ‘here’s the thing, this is how much it is, and here’s the button to buy it.’

Your launch copy doesn’t need to be epically long, but it needs to include these 5 elements in this order.

The Launch copy formula

ATTENTION: A headline that grabs attention and sparks curiosity

PROBLEM: The problem or pain point your product or service solves

PROMISE: The result your product or service will deliver

CALL TO ACTION: A clear and specific action you’d like your reader to take

So, let’s dig into each in more detail.

Writing an attention-grabbing headline

Your headline could be a question, a statement, or a statistic.

Its job is to grab the attention of the reader and spark curiosity. You can use ‘power words’ to add emotion and evoke a response. Power words like ‘Imagine,’ ‘Discover,’ ‘Sneak-Peak’ all ignite interest and visualisation from your reader.

You can use AM Institute to analyse your headline. Play around with it in there and see if you can get your headline score to 30% or above.

<link to https://aminstitute.com/>

Exploring the problem

Your program or service solves a problem. What is it?

We want to paint a picture that the reader identifies with, so they read it and think, ‘yes, that’s me.’

This means the problem or pain point needs to be framed from the client’s perspective, not a dog trainer’s point of view!

For example, If every dog walk fills you with dread, worried about how your dog is going to react, who you’re going to meet and whether you’re going to be able to keep him under control, then this is for you.

Revealing the promise

Your promise is the result the client could achieve at the end of their course with you.

Now, I know this bit might fill you with dread as none of us can guarantee results, there are so many variables at play.

You can manage those expectations further on in your process. At this point, we want to express what’s possible. What result can your program or service deliver that will move your client to take action?

Call to Action

Your call to action is where you guide your reader to what you’d like them to do next. This needs to be clear and specific. It needs to be easy for the reader to do and clear how they do it.

Your call to action could be ‘sign up here today’ or ‘DM me to secure your space.’

The specifics are important. ‘Get in touch’ or ‘reach out’ don’t work unless you explicitly tell them how and where.

People are watching your feed and paying attention right now and they are one call to action away from making a move.

Unique Selling Proposition Copy for social media

A UVP or USP is generally a longer post that explores the emotional journey for a client in more detail.

The USP copy formula

ATTENTION: A headline that grabs attention and sparks curiosity

PAIN: The pain the person is experiencing right now

PIVOT: The thing/realisation that will make a difference to the person’s current reality

SOLUTION: The answer to their problem

CALL TO ACTION: A clear and specific action you’d like your reader to take

Gaining your reader’s attention

As above, your attention-grabbing headline needs to be crafted to stop the reader in their tracks.

Can you put an interesting or unique spin on something that’s been talked about in the same way over and over again?

Experiment with different headline formulas. It’s often easier to write the headline after you’ve written the rest of the post, as you’ve moved into the headspace of the person you’re targeting.

What does the problem look like for the client?

By speaking into the pain your target audience is feeling, you show up with empathy and understanding. Your client feels seen and realise they have found someone who gets the world they are living in right now.

What is going to help the client see change is possible?

The pivot is the realisation or lightbulb moment your client needs to see there is a way out of their current situation.

What’s the ‘aha’ that will shift them from where they are to taking action?

This is the paradigm shift from believing one thing, and therefore having this crappy existence with all these pain points to suddenly realising ‘this isn’t good enough, I need some help.’

The solution: don’t be scared of giving too much away

When you show up with generosity and value, you built trust and belief in what you do.

It isn’t the case that if you share valuable tips and advice that nobody will ever buy from you. In fact, the opposite is true.

Perhaps you helped them solve a smaller problem, and so when they’re ready to take the next step, they’re going to come back to you. Or maybe they’ve seen enough to know that they like the way you work and communicate, and now they’re convinced you’re a good fit for them.

So outline a solution to the unique problem you’ve just explored with your reader.

People need support and accountability. They’ll almost always have further questions they want to explore.

By not keeping everything behind a paywall, you help your audience feel supported before they even begin working with you, which sets an incredible foundation for your work together.

When you go into your solution, help your reader envision what life looks like now their problem is solved. What are the benefits they are reaping for having put the work in with their dog?

Call to Action

Lastly, we finish with a clear and specific call to action for the reader to take.

A really effective call to action for a USP post is:

‘If you're struggling with this, shoot me a DM, and we can arrange a free one-to-one where you can tell me everything that's going on for you, and we can explore solutions to help you.’

In conclusion

Social media is a fantastic tool to help you grow your dog training business. Begin with optimising your profile, and once that’s polished and shining, you can start creating content that resonates with your audience.

Once you have your social media bringing in clients, you’ll need a stellar process for converting those leads into bums on seats on your program.

Check out our easy sales process without the sleaze here so that you can nail the next step with ease.