Developing a clever marketing strategy may sound like an overwhelming task these days, however, there are some new tried and true solutions that make marketing for fitness simple and effective. A marketing strategy can be planned out a lot like a budget to help keep your current goals in mind, stay focused on what avenues will generate the highest returns, and prioritize plans. The majority of your new clients will come from the internet and social media, so spend most if your time and energy generating leads online. Sites like Google, Facebook, and Yahoo are the most effective. Facebook recently passed Google to become the number one platform for business advertisements.
How to generate good buzz about your health-club or gym on Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Instagram, and other Social Media Outlets:
- Create the accounts. Start by creating a Facebook fan page, YouTube channel, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ account for your gym. These accounts will be the foundations of your marketing platform, and where your clients will meet you and your business for the first time! Familiarize yourself with each platform to ensure you can apply the most relevant content to each outlet.
- Create visual interest. Display interesting, motivational images and consider applying filters to the images to create ads that look similar to what your friends and followers are posting on their own feeds. Post 3-4 times a day. A few introductory posts, interviews, testimonials, and images will ensure your followers trust you.
- Utilize Viral Marketing. Let others spread the word about how great your programs are, and humanize your ads by using people who are current members in your pictures, and posts. Ask clients if they mind having their picture taken to motivate others, then tag them in the post so they can share it with their friends and followers. Viral marketing greatly expands your exposure; tagging them will mean the post is shared to their friends, and will be put in timelines you didn’t have access to before. New leads will click on topics that motivate and inspire them, great before and after stories, and images of amazing results.
- Generate ads. Now that you have fans and friends, it’s time to run video ads. Don’t rely on the same people or set of actors, familiar settings, or even the same videographers. Keep the perspectives shifting to attract new attention every time your ads play. Photograph a trainer demonstrating a plank, crossfit in motion, competitions, results, older clients, younger clients, people just starting out, adventures outside of your facility, or events you support and sponsor.
- Run-time. If you run video-ads for Facebook, make sure they are no longer than 15 seconds. How-to videos for YouTube can be longer, but should still achieve the goal as quickly as possible.
- Promotional programs. Offer promotional short-term programs, like a 7 day slim down, in exchange for email addresses. Then get these people in the door and turn them into members. Run contests to keep people visiting your sites, liking your posts, and fueling the conversations about your content.
- Commitment. The power of the social media machine is a force to be reckoned with, however, it requires a high-level of commitment to be effective. Post images at least a few times a day, never run ads longer than a couple of weeks, like and comment on other pages, and always respond to comments (negative or positive in nature). Negative comments will be scary at first, however, these negative commenters are outspoken people, and can be used to your advantage. Don’t shy away from them and use their feedback to fuel conversations that will eventually win them over, and get them spreading the word about your gym, programs, and facilities.
Social media and the internet are the most powerful tools in your marketing strategy, contact us today to learn how to turn leads into clients, increase your membership, and improve your bottom-line profitability.
