Joining the fitness industry typically means that you’re passionate about helping people.
It doesn’t always mean that you’re a digital marketing genius.
Whether you’re the best personal trainer, group trainer and/or gym owner, you must be able to get the word out about your facilities, services and skills. Otherwise, your fitness business is only going to go so far.
Especially when you’re already contending against the natural industry trend of high turnover. About 50 percent of all new gym members quit going within six months.
So, while you’re honing your fitness expertise and becoming the best trainer you can be, take note of these six things every fitness professional should know about digital marketing. Embracing any or all of these tips will only strengthen your fitness business.
Know your target audience
This recommendation expands far beyond just fitness professionals marketing themselves and/or their gym.
It’s imperative for successful digital marketing on any medium and with any campaign.
The obvious temptation when it comes to answering the question, “Who are you trying to reach?” leads to the answer: “Everyone.”
Resist this temptation.
Striving to reach (and appeal to) everyone is generic and will yield lackluster results. When you’re trying to engage everyone, you might as well reach no one.
Why? A few reasons.
- You likely already have a specific niche within your own fitness expertise.
- Potential customers want to feel like you’re speaking directly to them and the problems they’re looking to solve. If your message is more of a broad stroke than a targeted bullseye, you won’t stand out from the noise they’re exposed to daily.
- No one converts “everyone.” So, step out of that mindset. You’ll find more success targeting a specific group of people.
Now that we’ve addressed the “everyone” temptation, you need to ask yourself: “Who am I really trying to reach?” If that’s a difficult question to answer, then ask yourself: “Who is my ideal client?”
Of course, the characteristics could cover age, gender, average income, geographic location, whether they have children or any other lifestyle demographics. If you already have an existing client database, dive in to find out more about who already is paying you. If you’re about to launch your fitness business, think about what makes your services stand out and go from there.
Knowing your target audience for your fitness marketing also will save you time and money because you’ll only invest resources in the methods and mediums that make sense for who you’re trying to reach and convert.
Embrace social media
Whether you like it, love it, hate it or can simply co-exist with it, social media is a must for fitness professionals. Millennials and Gen Z now make up about 80 percent of gym goers worldwide.
That’s right.
And not surprisingly, most social media users also are Millennials and Gen Z.
So, if you’ve been lagging on your social media presence, now is the time to recommit.
Of course, there are a number of social media platforms. Instagram and Facebook are obvious choices to focus on. If you need help deciding where to start, check out our guide.
But no matter what platform you focus on, quality content rules. It’s your personality, authenticity and expertise that will set you apart from the noise.
Plan out your content ideas in advance, using a content calendar if possible to stay organized. Ideas can include fitness tips (keep it simple yet visual), exercise or workout ideas, Live broadcasts, AMAs (Ask Me Anything posts), behind the scenes content and so on.
Social media is truly the space where you can project your expertise and set yourself up as an industry thought leader.
But the most important aspect of your content is that it reflects you. People can’t connect with you if you’re hiding behind a brand or pretending to be anything other than who you are.
Then, commit to a publishing frequency that works for you. You can also increase it if needed.
Yes, email marketing is a thing
Assuming that email is a marketing tool of the past? Think again.
In fact, we have 48 email marketing statistics that show this method is alive and well. Plus, the benefits are undeniable. Email marketing is affordable, easy to do and measurable.
Whether you’re creating and sending out a weekly email newsletter with fitness content or something else, you can start collecting email addresses even without a website (although a website can be very helpful).
If you do have a website, check out our 12 strategies to capture more email leads without annoying your visitors.
Remember that you want to offer value in every email you send. That could be educational content or even promotional content (such as a limited-time discount).
See the anatomy of an effective marketing email so that you can make an impact from the start.
Consider offering premium content
While it might seem counterintuitive to offer premium content for free, it’s a fantastic way to generate client leads and establish yourself as an expert in the fitness industry.
Premium content can include ebooks, whitepapers and so on. It typically features a deeper dive into a topic and is of high value to your target audience.
Offering a 30-day nutritional challenge ebook, for example, can be appealing to your target audience, and giving it away as a free download can capture more email leads that you can follow up with.
No matter what, it will only boost your brand’s value.
Feature your credentials
The fitness industry is a crowded field with a lot of competition. Reminding your audience of your certifications and credentials as often as possible will help you stand out.
You’re not just another Instagram face in the crowd. You have real expertise through any number of certifications that you’ve worked hard for. And this knowledge can better help your clients achieve their goals.
Of course, your website can help feature those credentials, but you also can include relevant mentions in your social media content and social media bios.
Get creative! Your expertise (and the perception of which) is built on that foundation.
Have a fitness marketing strategy
Posting inconsistently without a thought-out plan is not going to help you achieve your fitness business goals.
It’s important to sit down and think through:
- Who am I trying to reach?
- What platforms are they using?
Then, think about what type of content they’ll find engaging (images, videos, articles, etc.) and what problems or needs you can serve with your content.
Start off slow and simple with your plan and measure everything along the way. What’s working? What’s not? Then, you can use those insights from the data to further inform your plan and overall strategy.
As you get more comfortable, you can add in more frequent content and additional platforms if you like.
As you’re exploring digital marketing for your fitness business, check out our Digital Marketing 101 Guide for Beginners.
Then, consider the strength of your digital marketing process. Is it everything you want it to be? DailyStory features automation capabilities, dynamic audience segmentation and more. Schedule your free demo with us today.
