Home » Personal Training » You’re in the Fitness Industry and DON’T Use Social Media?

March 23, 2017

Currently, on Instagram, there are 182,094,824 posts with the hashtag “fitness” and 91,720,969 posts with the hashtag “gym.” According to the PewResearchCenter, 79% of online adults use Facebook, and 68% use it. What’s more intriguing is that 76% of adults use Facebook daily, 51% check Instagram daily, and 42% check Twitter. With these statistics, wouldn’t it seem like a no-brainer to feature your services on social media, especially if it’s free? I must note that reaching a larger audience sometimes requires paid advertising services on social media, but to set up basic accounts and post, it’s 100% free.

So why do some fitness professionals opt out of using this great tool?

While I’m not saying it will ruin your career if you don’t, utilizing social media to promote your brand as a new fitness professional can help you grow your client list and increase other revenue sources. If you’re a personal trainer, consumers want to know that you live a healthy lifestyle and that they can invest in your services to help them reach their goals. If working at a gym, promoting your club’s amenities can help attract new members while also helping retain current ones. Right now, one of the top reasons a potential member joins a gym or health club is mainly the location. But if a gym a bit further away has amenities that the local gym doesn’t, how are they supposed to know? Social media provides a platform for consumers to find information about which gym to join and return to learn about different offerings such as group exercise and personal training.

Below are some essential functions you want to ensure you provide on your social media platform.

1. Include contact information (address, email, phone number, etc).

Most social media platforms make it easy and have big “Contact Us” buttons so consumers can easily inquire about business services. However, adding or updating your business information can help streamline the process. Also, keeping up to date with your business information keeps your brand circulating on “local” business algorithms. Most social media platforms list local businesses near you or businesses similar to the one you are currently viewing. Ensuring that your address and business type are up to date allows your business to be listed and, therefore, increase views.

2. Use hashtags.

The majority of social media platforms use hashtags. Using relevant hashtags is important for reaching different audiences searching for the same topics. For example, on Instagram, a hashtag is used to connect with a larger audience by making the image or video more visible to other Instagram users. When posting a picture about fitness motivation, the hashtag “#fitspo”, short for “fitness inspiration”, will place the post in a feed of people looking for inspiring fitness posts. Adding a location hashtag is a smart way to locate people in your target market. For example, hash-tagging the city where your health club is situated will put the post with others within the same city.

Another popular way to utilize hashtags is to create a unique one for your business. By starting a hashtag with the company name or for a promotion, you can track how many people use it and connect with them. For example, KIPS uses the hashtag “kipsonline” on Instagram and Twitter. If you search this hashtag, you will find others who have used it and their profile.

A great way to promote your business on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is to post videos or photos of your service. Therefore, potential clients can get an idea of what your business is like. A potential buyer wants to see that you or your gym is widespread and is in line with something they could see themselves doing. For example, a good photo to post could show you in front of an entire class of members. This would show how popular the class is and give a new member an idea of what they could expect on their first day.

3. Don’t Just Post to Post

The old saying “any advertising is good advertising” does not always apply. If you own a gym and are posting photos from your trip to a basketball game or your dog, your audience might get confused on what your business is about and look at other companies. If you want to showcase your personal brand/life, starting your own social media accounts is a good start. The idea is build a brand that a consumers want to invest in.

If you are using a business account, try to utilize software and websites that can allow you to schedule posts. This way you can keep your messages consistent and ensure you aren’t scrambling to create content. One such site is called Later.com. With Later, you can schedule Instagram posts for an entire month, and once a post is supposed to be deployed, you will get a notification sent to your phone. With technology these days, posting on social media has also become more accessible, and a photo on Instagram can be posted directly to Twitter and Facebook with one click of the share button. This ability makes posting on social media much easier and increases your reach across multiple platforms.

Conclusion

Creating an audience on social media takes time and effort, but it is a free marketing tool. When we look at how many consumers use social media daily, it becomes apparent why time and money should be invested in this area. As a personal trainer, you can reach across multiple states and even create networking opportunities that help generate various revenue streams. For example, when a company looks for brand ambassadors, it often looks for individuals who share a familiar audience and have followers who invest in its products. As a gym owner, promoting your club on social media can let your audience know the type of equipment and members that you have. Every potential consumer is looking for a gym they can feel comfortable attending and potentially help them reach their goals. If you have a group exercise class different from your competitors, social media can be a great way to let the public know and attract new members!

But don’t forget—if misused, social media can also hurt your brand. Your message across each platform can damage your reputation with one post. Make sure that you stay professional and consistent.