Discover the potential of social media for fitness trainers! Learn how to establish a strong online presence and expand your reach with effective strategies. Connect with potential clients through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to enhance your impact and grow your fitness business.
Marketing isn’t new, and neither is the idea that every business needs forethought marketing strategies.
However, a lot has changed since social media first entered the marketing scene. Today, the world’s largest social media networks can do things no one could have even imagined 10 years ago. Sell products via chatbot, have a 360-degree view of the business and customers, or even serve as a top news source.
Consumers are always online and on the go. And you want to connect to them in any way possible, to observe their behavior and purchasing patterns. But this ever-changing digital landscape can easily become overwhelming for fitness trainers. With countless responsibilities and tasks that you need to do, how can you efficiently create a fine tune and agile marketing strategy for your fitness studio?
After the Covid pandemic, as more and more people are investing in their health, the fitness industry is booming globally. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the online fitness industry is the fastest-growing segment.
Research conducted by Parks & Rec Business shows that the fitness industry is expected to grow from 172% to 435% billion by 2028. In contrast, the online fitness market is expected to grow around $80 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 49.12%.
After knowing all this, is it correct to assume a major part of your marketing strategy today is digital? Probably.
What Is Digital Marketing?
Now that we’re on the topic, let’s first discuss what digital marketing is and its benefits for gym trainers. To remain competitive, you must embrace digital marketing strategies for your health and fitness studio. There’s no one factor to make your customers stay. For instance, after a few classes, they can drop the sessions for a myriad of reasons or maybe in search of better deals. On top of that, it’s not easy to convince them to ditch their couch, eat healthily, and work out too. Despite what most people believe, establishing an online presence for any business is not a walk in the park. And digital marketing is a major driving force behind a comprehensive plan.
But what is a digital marketing strategy?
When starting any new business, you always start with a plan. Target audience, products, offers, and how to run it. Likewise, digital marketing works the same way.
A digital marketing strategy helps businesses achieve their goals via online marketing channels, including paid, earned, or owned media.
Most businesses believe that digital marketing is assigning one person to handle the activities on their Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts. This is nothing but winging it and reducing your chances of success. However, in a sector where scope and uptake vary widely, the possible opportunities and challenges have created an uneven playing field.
Challenges Faced in Fitness Industry
Sharing and collaboration are commonplace in today’s media-driven world, but the challenges are more driven than you can imagine. From securing funds or finding the right location, there are many hurdles to handle to find success in the field. Let’s discuss a few common problems gym owners face and how to address them.
One-Way Approach
Social media is the perfect platform to find like-minded people. This is brilliant because no matter what interest you’re looking for, you’ll find a community of people who share and support your passion. But these platforms can also have unintended side effects of polarising people. And it could easily be prevalent in the area of fitness, health, and beauty. There’s no one size fits all workout, and being a fitness professional, you’re aware that the truth is entirely different from all the Keto or Paleo diets.
Misinformation
The internet can share some incredibly useful fitness information - but at times, it spreads some woefully bad advice. And it can be hard for people to discern what’s helpful and what's not. With plenty of information spread over the internet and social media, an average person doesn’t have the same level of knowledge. This often means they’re happy to jump on the latest fitness bandwagon, even if it’s unsuitable.
Ritzy Attitude
Fitness trainers should be within reach of everyone. But unknowingly, some gyms are becoming unwelcoming places for new beginners. A worrying trend rising in the fitness industry that is dividing the people who ‘know’ fitness and those who don’t. It gives a false sense of moral superiority that does nothing for anyone. This culture could discourage newbies from dipping their toes into the fitness world.
Lack of Support
People start working out or going to the gym because they’re attracted to an idea. The idea could be to get shredded for summer, build strength, weight loss, or increase physical activity. They leave as soon as they join because they're unfulfilled. The idea or dream hasn’t lived up to their expectations. When customer motivation starts to dwindle, so does your business progress. And soon, they’ll be on their way to cancel the membership. No matter what stage they’re in, all they need is support from your team to keep going. Therefore, try to hire the best and certified personal trainers.
Not all social media platforms have equal value. And spending your time and resources on the right one can help your business grow. For instance, as a personal trainer, there’s nothing wrong with posting a 30-minute-long video on YouTube but doing the same on Instagram cannot benefit your business. So to ensure you don’t make these mistakes, make informed decisions and pick platforms that work best for fitness brands.
Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, or TikTok. Pick any platform, identify your online needs, and develop a plan accordingly to reach social media content and management. Where Facebook and Instagram are the top choices for any business, both go hand in hand when establishing dominance in the digital stratosphere. In addition to sharing fine photos and engaging videos, you can also make informational podcasts and instructional tutorials. And that’s where YouTube comes into the picture. Even though the online world is in constant flux, these channels are a great place for fitness marketers to make a name for themselves.
Importance of Online Presence for Fitness Trainers
Being a new physical fitness brand in the industry, using online methods might initially seem difficult. And with the social media landscape changing constantly, it’s tough to stay on top. Where enterprise businesses have the luxury of dedicated time and resources, the fitness business industry needs to be more agile, nimble, and creative. You can’t just invest your money in a problem and hope for the best. You must be smart about how you’re using social media to reach your target clientele. Let’s double down on a few pointers if you’re serious about growing your fitness brand.
- Video content
- Influencer marketing
- Share educational video content
- Identifiable brand voice
- Share reviews and testimonials
- Use the right tools
Since we’re on to choosing the right tools to build your online presence, it’s worth mentioning our in-house developed and loved tool, Picktime.
Picktime is a simplified cloud-based fitness appointment scheduling software. Finding the right and qualified personal trainer, handling clients, schedules, and payments could be a straining process. Try Picktime today for free and streamline your workflow. It has an easy-to-use and powerful interface to leave a positive impact on your clients. With Picktime, you’ll be free to customize your business page with different themes according to your business needs. With 24/7 email support, you can manage all appointments and services in one place. Not only this, you can access the secured customer database at multiple locations.
Be it one-on-one or group sessions, in different time zones, or with different language preferences, using Picktime you can manage this all in a few clicks. Not only this, but you can also integrate with other business tools - PayPal, Stripe, Google Meet, MS Teams, GoToMeeting, Zoom, WordPress, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, Facebook, Google Maps, Mailchimp, and the list goes on. Using Picktime, you can show the real-time slot availability to clients while allowing them to book an appointment. Automatic reminders, unlimited appointments, merge contacts, timezone conversion, approve bookings, unlimited locations & classes. You name the requirement, and Picktime will have the solution for you.
Start using Picktime today for free and elevate your career as a fitness trainer or health coach.
Benefits of Online Presence for the Fitness Industry
With 5.16 billion people using the internet worldwide, business organizations have found digital marketing an excellent advertising tool. Whether you want to target teens on TikTok or establish your name on Twitter, success lies in developing the best social media strategies. If social media isn't already part of your plan, you could miss out on reaching more people, generating conversions, and nurturing greater customer satisfaction. Let’s check out a few noteworthy impacts social media can have on your fitness business.
Brand Loyalty
Every business owner strives to reach a state where customers choose them over competitors. Engaging and advertising more about your fitness studio can help you develop a loyal customer base. It allows connecting with your target clientele and develop meaningful relationships. As a result, you’ll receive more brand recognition shaping an honest relationship with the consumers.
Faster, Easier Communication
Thanks to social media, customers can contact a customer service representative faster and easier now than ever before. Customers can share and communicate feedback in real-time, something businesses have strived to achieve for a long time. Depending on different industries and grievances, there are still challenges, but the line of communication that was once impossible to establish can be easier to do so.
Social Media Makes Your Brand More Relatable
It’s human instinct to take care and lean on one another, and what better option you’ll have than social media to lean on to advertise your fitness business? One of the most significant qualities of social media is its ability to humanize the brands people use daily. An online presence can give your business more likeliness and vibe, making it more relatable to consumer needs.
Networking & Partnerships
Building and maintaining healthy relations is part of everything we do as humans. Maintaining meaningful contact with a large number of individuals can be challenging. From friendships, partnerships, business, or jobs, social media has made it easier to maintain and develop new relations every day.
Easy Word of Mouth
One of the most untapped and inexpensive marketing channels is word of mouth. It’s the best marketing tool that can be helpful when you give a service to such an extent that they tell their friends about you. Online presence and social media marketing can spread the word about any business quickly and effectively. Being a personal trainer and having a reputable online presence makes it easy for consumers to discover you.
Higher Conversion Rates
An online presence can help your fitness business generate faster conversions. In fact, in a survey conducted in 2020, more than 20% of people stated that they found a new brand or product through social media. Advertising platforms such as Facebook Ads Manager or LinkedIn Campaign Manager ensure your social media ads are reaching the targeted audience. The simplest thing to understand on social media is to be social - create engaging and relevant content for your audience.
Each business has different goals and ways to measure success. Building your online presence and social media strategies can help you achieve those goals. Social media for fitness trainers is constantly changing, unless you’re digitally savvy and social media is part of your daily routine, we would suggest you spend less time here and start working on building your online presence to give the best fitness trainers to your clients.