Now more than ever, careers in yoga offer a variety of trajectories. With yoga at its core, those interested in making a profession out of yoga have more options aside from teaching or owning a studio. Perhaps one of the more lucrative ways to build and branch out a yoga career is through social media, specifically Instagram. Here are ways yoga personalities brand themselves on the platform.
The Personas
In starting a yoga presence online, it helps to think about personas and which one best fits you. This lets you focus and narrow your content. We mention some instagram accounts here as examples. Please note that their content might change over time. We reference them based on the content they have when this article was written.
The Educator
- Create videos and slideshows focused on tutorials, poses, and educational material.
- This strategy is geared towards students.
- You can supplement your Instagram with longer YouTube video tutorials, zoom classes, and global workshops. Moreover, this type of content gets you noticed by workout apps looking for teachers.
- This type of content doesn’t obsess too much on consistent filters and beauty shots but on showing capability. Currently, yoga teachers who have solid inversion practices, specifically handstands, dominate this space.
- Examples: @angelakukhahnyoga @miz.liz @kinoyoga
The Model
- These accounts focus on beautiful yoga images, with an emphasis on the body and angles.
- Content centers on still images and fewer videos. Branding requires choosing a consistent filter. Are you going for California sunshine? Boho look?
- Potential backlash includes exclusivity and your readers feeling disconnected. It’s easy to say accept your body unconditionally, when images are carefully curated and model-like.
- Examples: @robinmartinyoga @kate.amber.yoga @flow_yoga_journey
The Influencer and Story Teller
- Although the focus is on yoga, these accounts incorporate content about their lives and other interests.
- This is the least focused when it comes to content. As a result, it might be harder to build a community when starting off. Successful yogis/yoginis who end up in this category usually start off with specific content.
- These types of account consider optics, so filters matter.
- Examples: @mikiash @kaylalanielsen @aminataha
The Mavericks
- Let’s face it, even though we would like to think of yoga as inclusive, those that make it to the top influential status have certain qualities. To be a maverick, the account inspires by representing a group that the community overlooks.
- These qualities can include certain disabilities, body type, or race for instance.
- Examples: @mynameisjessamyn @stelasulzdorf
The Yoga Entrepreneur
- Once you have developed your own following, you can start teaching others how to grow their social media or yoga careers. This usually means that you have a proven track record of growing your audience as well.
- Audience will mostly focus on those who want to grow their own accounts and monetization.
- Examples: @janiceliou
Mixing and Matching Personas
Social media coaches will most likely recommend posting focused content in the beginning. Meaning, choose a type and stick to it for a while. This makes sense. Think about the accounts you follow on Instagram. You want to know what kind of content you’re getting by looking at their feed. We tend to follow people with clear purpose and messaging.
Hashtags, Reaching out to other influencers with similar interest and popularity, participating in challenges, commenting, all of these help. But in the end, nothing beats creating content that you believe in and that you yourself would want to see. These personas simply allow you to streamline the message.
