Building Your Social Media Presence as a Pilates Instructor: What I've Learned

When I first started studying my Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science, I wasn’t completely sure where I wanted my career to take me. I knew I loved movement, health and wellness, but throughout my degree I found myself exploring different avenues and trying to figure out what I was genuinely passionate about.

Then I found Pilates.

I fell in love with it almost immediately. I loved the movement itself, but I also loved the environment, the people and the connection that comes with teaching. What started as something I was exploring alongside my degree quickly became something I could genuinely see myself building a career around.

At the time, though, I viewed being a Pilates instructor in quite a traditional way: you become qualified, teach classes, gain experience and gradually build your timetable.

Social media completely changed my perspective on what a career as an instructor could look like.

Showing who you are beyond the studio

One of the biggest things I’ve learnt through content creation is just how powerful social media can be in showcasing who you are, what you do and, most importantly, what you value.

As instructors, so much of what makes us unique goes beyond our qualifications. It’s the way we teach, how we connect with our clients, how we get creative with our flows and the things we’re passionate about outside the studio.

Social media gives you the opportunity to showcase all of that.

I started sharing more of my Pilates journey online with different flows I was creating and snippets of my life as an instructor. As I became more comfortable sharing online, I started bringing more of my personality into my content too, including my interests in wellness, lifestyle and fashion.

Over time, my page became almost like a portfolio of who I am, both as an instructor and outside of Pilates. As my career as an instructor has grown, my content has naturally grown and changed alongside it.

Someone can come across my page without ever having taken one of my classes and still get a feel for my teaching style, the type of content I enjoy creating, the brands I genuinely love and the things that are important to me.

That’s what I’ve found so valuable about social media. It gives people the chance to get to know you and what you’re about before you’ve even had the opportunity to meet them.

The opportunities can extend far beyond teaching classes

One of the most exciting parts of sharing my journey online has been seeing where it has taken me. Through content creation, I’ve been lucky enough to work with brands across Pilates, activewear and wellness on different collaborations and campaigns. I’ve had opportunities to be involved in photoshoots and wellness events, host community events and work with brands that genuinely align with me and what I love.

My Pilates career has also taken me outside Australia. Last year, I had the opportunity to teach at KX Pilates in Bangkok and run workshops for their instructors while I was there. This was something I never imagined I would get to do when I first became an instructor, and it really opened my eyes to how many different directions a career in Pilates can take you.

More recently, I’ve also become involved in creating and teaching at larger community events. This is something I’ve really grown to love. I love being able to use Pilates as a way of bringing people together and creating an experience that goes beyond just the class itself. Bringing together movement, wellness, community and brands I love has become something I’m really passionate about.

Even writing this blog is an example of an opportunity that has come from sharing myself and my work online.

At the end of the day, I still absolutely love teaching my regular classes and that will always be such a big part of what I do. Social media has just shown me that being an instructor can open the door to so many other opportunities too.

@celineflow_ on Instagram

Finding what feels natural to you

If you’re an instructor wanting to start creating content, I think one of the most important things is figuring out what you actually enjoy sharing and what you want people to know you for. There really isn’t one right way to create content as a Pilates instructor, and I think that’s what makes it so fun.

We all have different strengths, interests and things that naturally come across in the way we teach. For some instructors, that might be education. If you love anatomy, breaking down exercises or explaining the reasoning behind certain movements, sharing that knowledge might come really naturally to you. For others, it might be sharing more of your everyday life as an instructor and bringing people along to classes, events or the little things you do outside the studio.

For me, I’ve always loved the creative side of Pilates, so sharing different flows and movement ideas became a big part of my content. As I became more comfortable online, I started sharing more of my life outside of teaching too, which allowed more of my personality and other interests to come through. I think allowing those different sides of myself to come through has helped my content feel much more like me.

You also don’t have to put yourself into one category. Your content can be a mix of different things, and it will probably change as you do.

The biggest thing I’ve learnt is not to create something just because you’ve seen it work for somebody else. Take inspiration from other instructors and creators, but find a way to make it your own. If you genuinely enjoy what you’re sharing, I think people can feel that.

There are so many instructors creating content now, but we can all teach the same method and still bring something completely different to the way we teach and create. That’s ultimately what gives people a reason to connect with you and keep coming back to your content.

Don’t wait until everything is perfect

It can be really easy to look at other creators and feel like you need a huge following, perfect videos or everything figured out before you start putting yourself out there. But you really don’t.

Your content doesn’t need to be overly complicated either. Sometimes it can be as simple as sharing a flow you enjoyed teaching that week, something from your day as an instructor or a little behind the scenes of what your life actually looks like.

For me, a lot of it has been trial and error. I’ve tried different styles of content and over time I’ve learnt what I enjoy creating, what feels most natural to me and what my audience enjoys seeing from me too. I think that’s something you only really figure out by starting and allowing your content to evolve with you.

I also don’t think consistency means you have to put pressure on yourself to post every single day. It’s more about continuing to show up and share the things that are important to you. Over time, people start to recognise you for those things and get a better understanding of who you are.

And just as important as what you post is how you connect with the people following you. Reply to comments, answer questions and have conversations with your audience. The more you do that, the more you start to build a genuine community of people who actually want to follow along and see what you do next.

Your following isn’t the most important number

It’s really easy to get caught up in follower numbers, especially on social media. But something I’ve learnt is that you don’t need a huge following to start creating opportunities for yourself.

What matters more is having a community that genuinely connects with what you share and wants to engage with you. Whether you have 500 followers, 5k or 50k, there is still so much value in building an audience that trusts you and enjoys following along with what you do.

You also never really know who might come across your content. It could be a studio owner looking for an instructor, a brand that feels like you would be a great fit for them, another instructor wanting to collaborate or even someone who ends up coming along to one of your classes.

If I could give any advice to an instructor wanting to start creating content, it would be to just start and let yourself figure it out along the way. Share the things you genuinely enjoy, try different things and pay attention to what feels most natural to you. Your content doesn’t need to be perfect, and it will continue to change as you grow and your career evolves.

For me, social media has never been about trying to become an influencer. It has simply become another way for me to share what I love, connect with people and create opportunities that I never imagined would come from becoming a Pilates instructor.

I started out thinking my career would simply be teaching classes and building my timetable. Now, Pilates has given me opportunities to work with brands, travel, teach other instructors, create content, host events and build a community of my own.

And I still feel like I’m only at the beginning of where it could take me.

30 Blogs in 30 Days

Throughout October, we’re sharing one new blog every day, bringing together studio owners, instructors and industry experts to share their experiences, knowledge and perspectives on the Pilates industry.

Day 5 of 30, come back tomorrow for the next blog.