How Social Is Your Fitness Business?
How Social Is Your Fitness Business?
Why do I keep talking about doing social media promotion for your fitness business? To give a short and simple answer: because everyone else in the fitness world does it. But you deserve better than that, you deserve some actual proof that being socially active on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter is good for your business. So, I’ve dug up some statistics and they say something along these lines:
84% of people who stumble upon a local business on the social media get in touch with it by phone or email within the next 24 hours
50% of gym-goers search for a good place to exercise
23% of the time people spend on the internet is dedicated to the social media
These are powerful enough reasons to accept this basic fact of business: either you are on the social media with your business, or you are not in business for long. So, how can you know whether you are social enough?
There are various metrics, data and percentages you can look up on your analytics page, but the fact is that being social is all about interactions. You share interesting content and people like and share it, spreading awareness for your business. You use Facebook advertising and YouTube video ads and you reach more potential clients.
So, how do you get social?
1. Spend Some Time Getting to Know the Game
Before you jump in, find out what social media interaction is all about. Join Facebook groups, like pages, follow Twitter accounts and YouTube channels. After a time, you will learn the mechanics of social media sharing and engagement. Once you find out what others are doing, what people enjoy reading, watching and sharing, you can find your own voice.
2. Advertise Smartly
Advertising is still your best bet for finding new customers. Only the way you advertise has changed, from the traditional large outdoor billboards to Facebook advertising, Twitter and LinkedIn ads.
Advertising on the social media has various scopes, so it is not always about closing a direct sale. For starters, you want to bring people on your fitness business social media page. So, one of your first purposes in advertising is getting more fans for your Facebook page.
3. Don’t Spread Out Too Much
It sounds tempting to be active on all social media platforms, but it is not efficient. You have to maintain a constant supply of new posts, interesting content, and even engaging items such as polls and contests. And all these take a lot of time.
The best bet is on 3 social media channels. You will need Facebook for the engagement opportunities and Facebook advertising. Your will need YouTube to share and promote your videos. As for the third network, you can choose between Twitter and Instagram – they are both wildly popular, with lots of daily unique users and engagement opportunities.
4. Be Relevant for Your Target Audience
Every fitness business has a specific target audience, and so must you. Decide what your strongest point is: getting middle-aged, busy CEOs in shape, or helping new mums lose the baby fat? Are you promoting a diet alongside your routine, or are you relying simply on a certain training technique? The secret in building your content mix and your Facebook advertising materials is to know what type of audience you are addressing and be constant in sharing materials which are relevant, helpful and interesting to them.
You cannot be everything to everyone – so decide who your ideal customer is and speak out to him or her in a compelling tone of voice. This is what other fitness pros do, and how they built their image, their business and their social media blueprint.
Being social is far more than just posting your videos and targeting people with Facebook advertising. It is the essence of the statement: “this is who I am and that is what I can do for you”.
Coach Hare