Social Media Tips to Grow Your Fitness Business

Are you starting your own personal training business? How are you planning to grow your client base?

There are a several ways to get your name out into the local community, none of which require you to drop flyers in letterboxes. Social media is your answer. Reach a bigger audience and inspire them with your fitness training solutions!

The world of social media can be daunting to those who aren’t tech savvy, so we asked a few of our star graduates, who have used social media to sky rocket their fitness businesses, for their top tips.

Plan your posts

Think of your brand as a person, and consider how he or she would talk, write and think.

Luke Slobin from Chocolate Box Training says it’s easy to overlook the potential meaning of a post when you have adults 30 years and above using social media. “You are now using it with purpose”, he says, “so look at your target market and plan your objectives accordingly.”

Be clear about what you want to say, to ensure that the message is reflective of your beliefs and values. For example, if you want to inspire people to eat healthy or get active, you can’t post about how you enjoyed pizza last night.

Be unique

In a social media saturated industry like health and fitness, aim to carve a niche for yourself. All three of our graduates suggest narrowing down your audience, as it will infinitely strengthen your brand. “Don’t be afraid to pick a strong niche,” says Bottoms Up founder Libby Babet. “You need to be awesome to a small group of people, rather than average to a big group.”

This is why it’s important to clearly identify your target market. The more information you have about your market, the better you can tailor your products to suit that demographic.

Be authentic

“Never buy followers,” says Fitness in the City’s Lee Sutherland. While it may take longer, growing a genuine tribe will be worth it. “Start by following people you admire, then connect and share with them. Think about guest blogging for similar sites, or collaborating with similar trainers. Post consistently, and with a few relevant hashtags the rest will follow!”

Making use of relevant hashtags, especially on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, as this will help you to gain recognition among those looking specific content.

Select the right social platform

It’s best not to stick to one social media platform. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are most effective when used both specifically and collaboratively. Find out what social media your target demographic is engaging with. Libby says that Instagram works best for her young female oriented business, however Chocolate Box Training’s Luke places Facebook at the top of his social media hit list due to its high usage. Use whatever is most frequented by your target audience – the more platforms, the better.

Respond to comments

No, you don’t need to spend hours on social media responding to each and every comment. Pick particularly insightful or meaningful comments, and respond to those. Sometimes, you might receive offensive feedback. If it’s spam you should remove it, but if someone posts constructive criticism engage with it. In fact, publicly replying to a potential client’s post and aiming to resolve a query or criticism is powerful, because it reflects your brand’s dedication to customer service. Prospective clients reading the conversation may become your customers, depending on how you handle comments.

Post at the right time

There are some standard times which most people agree are the most effective parts of the day to post online. These times include 8am, 12pm, 6pm and 9pm. Take into consideration factors such as time zone and location. If you’re marketing to people in different time zones, ensure you’re posting at the right times for your market. If your market are stay at home mums, then posting at midnight or 2am isn’t going to work well. Many platforms also have scheduled post options, so you don’t have to actively communicate with your audience at what may be inconvenient times of the day.

Be consistent

Whether you choose to be on on a single platform or use several in conjunction, it’s vital that you are consistent. If you choose to be on numerous sites, be sure to upload content to each one at regular intervals. You may have followers on one site and not the others, but if you don’t pay attention to all of your accounts you may miss out on potential clients. You should also make sure that elements of your brand such as the logo and brand colours remain consistent across the platforms you’re using. This allows people to recognise your brand easily.

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AIF

The Australian Institute of Fitness

The Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF) is the largest and longest established fitness training organisation in Australia, with dynamic training methods and expert course coaches nationwide - spanning fitness, massage and nutrition. The AIF qualifies more fitness professionals than any other provider in Australia, as well as offering a broad range of continuing education courses (CEC), upskilling resources and partnership programs for existing industry.