Introduction

Congratulations on your yoga workshop! Whether it’s still the seed of an idea of if you’re ready to launch – I’m here to help you promote it. 

There are lots of tools and ideas you can use on Instagram to get people interested and excited for your event. I’m here to help you create an engaging feed that not only attracts new followers but encourages them to purchase tickets as well! 

Here are seven ways I recommend using Instagram to promote your next yoga workshop:

1. Share behind the scenes teasers

Sharing sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes content is a great way to get your audience excited about your upcoming event. 

Try this:

• Upload photos of yourself packing goodie bags
• Share sneak previews of the venue location
• Post photos of what you’re working on (such as the timeline for your upcoming workshop). 
• Share any materials that will be used at the event (eg: workbooks) or anything else related! 
• Share any other people or businesses who will be involved (eg: caterers, the venue, and musicians). Be sure to tag any people you mention so they can reshare. 

It’s important that you show up with an authentic voice, so don’t be afraid to let your excitement shine through in your posts!

2. Announce each ticket that sells

Harness the power of FOMO to get your audience excited to join your event. 

There are a few ways to do this:

• Count down the number of spots left (eg: share a story with your excitement that 10 of 20 tickets are already sold!)
• If you have permission, share the names of people who got tickets and tag them so they can reshare. 
• Encourage buyers to share their excitement too – when you send them their ticket, ask them to tag you and share that they’re going!

3. Host a giveaway

Giveaways are an amazing way to build your audience and spread the word, fast. 

How to run it:

1. Choose your prize/s. Make it something worthwhile for your audience and something that relates to your workshop (eg: workshop ticket/s, yoga clothing, a self care kit…).
2. Decide the entry requirement/s. To maximise the reach of your competition, you can ask entrants to tag a friend, share on their stories or sign up via email. Just don’t make it so complicated that it stops people from entering!
3. Post your giveaway. Make sure you follow Instagram’s legal guidelines in your post. 
4. Promote the giveaway. Share it to your stories, mailing list, and any other channels. Remind your followers a few times as the entry deadline gets closer!
5. Choose and announce your winner! Be sure to tag them so they can repost it.

Giveaways are a tried-and-true method for boosting engagement, growing your following and promoting tickets all in one. 

4. Share a Q&A with your audience

Engage your audience and educate them about your workshop!

Drop a “question” sticker in your stories and encourage your followers to ask you anything about the workshop. Not only will this help address FAQ’s, it will also promote interaction among the members of your community, which can help build excitement for your event and encourage more signups.

Afraid you won’t receive any questions? Here’s a trick: you can add your own questions (simply enter them in the “question” box you’ve posted), and answer them yourself! That’s a great way to get the ball rolling and address some questions you want to include. And no one needs to know that you were the one who asked 😉

5. Share Testimonials From Your Past Events

Whether it’s testimonials for the same event or something completely different, they help build trust and ‘social proof’ that you’re a reliable and valuable service provider. 

If you have some positive feedback from past attendees along with their permission, definitely post it on your Instagram! Consider creating photo collages with quotes from happy participants – this gives potential registrants another opportunity to see how much fun they’ll have at one of your workshops before committing by purchasing tickets online.

6. Dive deep into specific details of your event

Here are some ideas to help you dive deeper into the details of your event:

• If attendees will learn something new, tell them what they’ll learn.
• Share a schedule of the day’s events. This can include both yoga classes and workshops, as well as meals and breaks in between.
• Tell about the venue, location, amenities (e.g., parking or bathrooms) that attendees can expect at your workshop location. This can be helpful if you’re hosting an outdoor event (e.g., a picnic or beachside yoga).
• Include a description of your workshop’s atmosphere/decor/setting—this is where you should share any photos that best illustrate what it’ll be like to attend!
• Touch on the content you’ll be covering in your workshop – give students a taste of what they can learn more about on the day!

By the time you’re done sharing all these details, it will feel like an unmissable event to your dream customers. 

7. Ask your affiliates, friends and customers to spread the word

Word of mouth isn’t dead, and it’s your best friend!

Here’s a few tips to help spread the word:

• Ask your affiliates (eg: the event venue, anyone who is joining you at the event, any brands or people you cross-promote with) to share your event on their social media.
• Ask your friends to share (especially anyone whose audience would be interested in your workshop).
• Tag customers in relevant stories and ask them when it’s relevant/useful for their followers to know about your workshop
• Tag suppliers and co-hosts so they can easily repost your content. 
• Try collaborative posts with any of the above who are a good fit!

Bonus tip: create a countdown timer!

You can also promote your workshop by creating a countdown timer!

You can create timers for the workshop itself, as well as price changes (eg: when early bird ends).

How to set it up in stories:

1. Create your story.
2. Tap the “stickers” button (it looks like a little smiley face with a folded corner).
3. Select “countdown” from the options.
4. Name your countdown and set the end date.
5. Post it to your story! 

You will be able to access the same countdown next time you post by doing steps 1-3, then choosing the countdown you’ve already created. 

You can encourage your followers to save your countdown and share it too! 

A few extra tips to get people interested in your yoga workshop and grow your Instagram following:

• Share your excitement! This is the most important part of creating content for Instagram and any other social media platform. You need to be excited about what you’re sharing and people will be able to tell if you’re not. Your followers want to know that they are learning from someone who is passionate about their craft, so sharing how much you love teaching can help build trust with your audience by showing them firsthand how dedicated and knowledgeable you are about yoga.
• Share regularly! It’s important that your followers see new content from you regularly as it shows them that they’re seeing fresh posts (and encourages them to keep coming back!) You may be tempted to post only once per week or once per month but remember: The more often people see something new from you, the more likely they are going to engage with that post because it feels new.
• Post behind-the-scenes photos/videos/etc… We all know how fun it is when we get sneak peeks into someone else’s life – especially when they lead such glamorous lives like yours 😉 Showing off some goofy pics might make people forget how busy things like travel schedules can get while still maintaining an air of professionalism around whatever brand image needs maintained (think yoga clothes companies).

Conclusion

Now that you’ve read through these ideas, it’s time to start planning! There are plenty of ways to promote your yoga workshops on Instagram, and I hope that these ideas have helped you get started. 

PS: I’ve created 9 gorgeous Canva templates for you to design your own IG story event graphics! You can grab them free here!