Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow you to reach thousands of people in just a few seconds. If used correctly, they can also make a big difference in the success of your fitness business. We tend to trust the recommendations and thoughts of people like ourselves more than advertising. Having a social media account generates interest and makes people talk about your gym.
Social networks can become an additional communication channel with you for existing or potential gym members. Your social media presence increases the number of clicks to your page and helps you generate leads.
What management tools will bring more customers: high-quality permanent content on social networks or targeted advertising? Is it important that staff are also involved in this work?
Fitness is a service industry, and there are a lot of fitness gyms in every city. Therefore, there is a headache for owners: you need to prove that you are the best, that the client reaches results much faster with you, and that it is more comfortable and reputable to do sports in your gym.
When maintaining a social media account and promoting their services, fitness coaches should consider the following factors.
There are a lot of them in big cities. Firstly, in large fitness clubs, even colleagues can be considered competitors. It makes sense that if one specialist’s schedule is so packed that there is no time for a day off, and the other has several sessions a day, then something goes wrong in the latter’s work. And secondly, when there are a lot of fitness clubs in the city, you have to compete for the attention of customers twice as actively.
Fitness is a very broad concept. Tell the clients what you do:
But at the same time, some branches have appeared relatively recently, or they are not familiar to everyone in principle: step aerobics, pilates, space yoga, TRX, pole sport, and so on. The fitness coach needs to explain to their target audience what exactly they do. Saying something like “Come to me for pilates, and you will lose weight” to a person not familiar with the concept of pilates will sound like an invitation to an unknown ritual. So, the client may choose the trainer-competitor if they better explain their fitness program.
There are universal personal trainers, and there are specialists who have identified a specific category of clients for themselves: young mothers, teenagers, women, men, professional sportsmen, and so on. Also, they have different training intensities depending on the goals that clients set for themselves: some need active loads and choose “rigid” coaches, while others prefer to work out for pleasure and they choose loyal coaches.
Social media marketing content needs to be prepared specifically for your existing and potential customers. For example, if the trainer does not work with teenagers, it makes no sense to regularly write about the diet or the features of exercises for this age group.
Mostly, the trainer’s target audience includes people who live or work near the place where they exercise. This should be considered when promoting rather than maintaining an account (that is, it is important if the personal trainer sets up targeting or orders ads in more promoted accounts).
Logically, showing an ad to those who live far from this area is a drain on the budget. But there are fitness coaches with whom clients even go to another city. And if you are unlucky with the location, you need to focus on building a personal brand, so that subscribers see the page of a professional and follow you.
The coach’s task sounds simple: to show that they are cool and worth training with.
And this can be done competently with the help of thoughtful content.
Social media marketing can fuel interest in your gym’s workout programs. Start by creating Facebook groups for different communities in your gym, such as weight loss programs or bootcamp programs. Try to do everything possible to make your gym members feel like a single community. Once you’ve generated enough interest, you can turn training programs into events and use social media and Facebook groups to engage active or potential club members who show interest. Such social engagement will help increase fitness club memberships by building a sense of responsibility among community members. The social aspect of the program will keep gym members motivated and engaged outside the training.
Use these social media marketing ideas to increase the value and impact of your fitness club’s social media presence.
There are so many social networks these days: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Pinterest, just to name a few. Sometimes it can be difficult to decide which one to give your time and energy to. Choose two or three social networks that are most popular among your gym members, and focus your efforts on them. It is not necessary to be active on all existing social media platforms. It is better to focus and take a few targeted shots instead of firing indiscriminately.
Set realistic goals for your social media profiles: they must be achievable, measurable, and time-bound. For example, if your fitness club gained 500 Facebook followers last year, it would be unrealistic to set a target of 50,000 followers next year. Instead, break your big goal down into smaller, achievable goals, like increasing your subscriber count by 10% every month. This way, you can analyze your progress monthly and change your approach to achieve or even exceed your goal if necessary.
Keep a social media content calendar for each social network and plan to post the content that will be most valuable and helpful to your followers. Set up a schedule, such as posting workout tips on Mondays, midweek nutrition tips, and Friday motivation tips. Once you’ve determined what content you’ll be posting on social media, you can schedule your posts in advance, saving you a lot of time.
Are you not sure what to post on social media pages? There is a lot of quality content that can be used on your gym page. Analyze content from top fitness industry experts like IHRSA, Men’s Fitness, and fitness equipment manufacturers. Think about what you would like to see on the page as a customer that would interest you? Look for pages of fitness bloggers and famous trainers or even fitness coaches from your gym. You can repost the content of your visitors if your gym is tagged in it.
Consider using paid advertising. Social networking sites offer the opportunity to promote or “push” your posts. By promoting content that encourages engagement and sharing with your brand, you can increase your reach, gain new followers, and increase the engagement of existing ones. Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn’t advertise exclusively for offers and discounts all the time, as this will cause your target audience to ignore them.
On Facebook, companies and individuals can create events and invite their followers to participate. It’s a great way to market and generate interest for upcoming events and activities, such as a new program series, nutrition classes, or your fitness club’s anniversary celebration. Use Facebook Events as a place to update stakeholders on event details and answer questions.
Publications. To maintain the regularity of social media marketing publications, you can use a content plan with a publication schedule.
Examples. The coach should give examples not only of successes but also of failures.
Measures and changes. When describing the causes and consequences of failure, the coach should describe the measures taken, as well as the conclusions and changes made to prevent this from happening in the future.
Frequency of publications. The trainer should post regularly, at least 3 times a week. Preferably daily. The fitness coach needs to warn clients in advance on social networks about important changes, adjustments, and gym work. It is necessary to inform clients about a vacation or other period without training at least 7 days in advance.
Type and composition of publications. A coach should publish information about their professional experience, successes, achievements, opinions on various topics, analysis of the latest research, discoveries, news from the world of sports and health industry, and useful information. It is also recommended to publish information about promotions and events in the life of the gym.
Content plan. It is recommended to alternate the topics and composition of publications (educational, selling, communicative, news, and entertaining). For the purposes of alternation and full-fledged planning of publications, you can use the content plan.
Self-promotion. The trainer should not make direct statements about their own success and effectiveness. Posting customer reviews is encouraged. If the testimonial contains the client’s personal data, the fitness coach must first obtain the client’s permission to post the testimonial. Information about success, achievements, results, and problems solved should be published. Trainers should not create too many posts about themselves.
Plagiarism. The coach should not copy the posts and content of other instructors or bloggers. You are allowed to borrow information from different sources and publish them after processing and creating unique material, but you must use references; otherwise, it can be considered plagiarism. Fully or partially borrowed information should be published with reference to the original source. The personal trainer should not repost third-party publications more than once a day without adding their own significant comment.
While it may take you some time and effort to navigate the world of social media marketing, connecting with active and potential customers on your fitness club’s social media pages will help your fitness business keep up with the times.
The presence of interesting posts with high-quality and relevant photos, feedback from subscribers, regular stories, and live broadcasts – each type of posted content contributes to the promotion of a sports coach’s profile. Use statistics to keep track of the most popular topics and posts.
A knowledgeable fitness trainer does not begin work with a client without understanding their potential. They give test exercises, analyze the body’s constitution, identify strengths and weaknesses, and only then draw up a training program. A well-designed training program is the main component of the work of a fitness trainer.
Most people now use social networks not only to communicate but also to promote their own services. A large audience is one of the main advantages of using social media, as well as its convenience. Therefore, most trainers use social media to build a reputation and promote their services online. It also helps you get more clients.
Do you find that deciding what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, and how much exercise you need each day is overwhelming? If so, don't give up since you're not the only one. When faced with so...
For those who decide to start their own business, a yoga studio can be a good line of work. It is always difficult to start something because challenges are everywhere - the lack of information makes itself felt and the...
Are you a beginner fitness trainer? Or do you already have enough experience and regular clients, but you can't find the perfect way to communicate with them? Then you should certainly read our article. We realize how important it is...
A health & wellness coach helps customers achieve their healthy living goals by coaching and supporting them. A wellness life coach is involved in the health and fitness industries and has degrees in nourishment, health science, and fitness coaching. It...
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow you to reach thousands of people in just a few seconds. If used correctly, they can also make a big difference in the success of your fitness business. We tend...
With the start of strength training, you may ask yourself: "How to understand how much weight a client needs to lift and when to raise it?". It's a pertinent question, as weight changes are a must to increase strength and...
A healthy lifestyle is back in fashion. The increased demand for a qualified fitness instructor makes people consider this profession. But can you become a personnel trainer without certifications? You can train on your own without supporting documents, but this...
Metabolic problems and their associated symptoms develop when normal metabolic processes are disturbed. Usually, food is broken down by the body into its simpler components (proteins into amino acids, fats into fatty acids, and carbohydrates into simple sugars) in a...
Endurance of the body is a property of every person. By maintaining activity, a person can fully live and develop. Adherence to the rules related to a healthy lifestyle will help improve stamina. Good habits help to strengthen the body....
Surely many coaches have heard from their clients the phrase "your training is expensive" at least once in their lives. Of course, this phrase can upset any trainer because this means you are likely to lose a client and, accordingly,...
Probably everyone at least once in their lives has faced psychological issues or problems that are difficult to solve on their own. What do people usually do in such cases? Do they go to specialists? Unfortunately, as Statista Corporation shows...
First, proper nutrition when doing sports implies compliance with the regimen. Before a workout, the body needs carbohydrates - an energy source for muscles, but after it, proteins for mass gain and the right fats for recovery. Proper nutrition for...
