Increasing your position as a credible and reliable personal trainer requires time and patience. New media is changing rapidly and we live in an age where the types of content that you can create are endless. For now, content marketing is where it’s happening and 86% of marketers are using it. We’re here with information on some of the most popular content types to date.
There’s a lot of information out there, especially when it comes to content marketing, and if we’re being honest… it’s not all that good. The amount of content can be quite overwhelming, and the mediocre content tends to turn people away. However, it’s an opportunity for you to create some killer content and establish yourself as an expert.
The Rules
- Don’t create content just for the sake of creating content
- Don’t make the obvious seem profound
- Don’t spend time talking about something meaningless
- Don’t spend pages on something that takes one paragraph to explain
In other words…
Make it intelligent, useful and entertaining.
Written Content
Blogs
If you’re a passionate writer, go for blogs. You don’t have to be a novelist, but you need to know what you’re talking about. Avoid technical jargon, but don’t dumb it down. Remember: informative, useful and entertaining. Topics to write about include how to’s, a good old rant, book reviews, and product reviews. The list is endless, and so are the possibilities.
If you’re feeling a bit lost search for your favorite personal trainers’ content and analyze their work. But be careful not to copy their work, otherwise, you’ll end up publishing the same recycled ideas. To stand out, you need to be innovative and contribute with something that adds value. Use your favorite influencers as a base for creativity where you can brainstorm new ideas.
As far as personal training blogs go, Roman Fitness Systems is a great example. The owner, called Roman, started as a personal trainer and began blogging a couple of years later. The articles published on his website are both well written, informative, and entertaining!
Emails are very underrated. With over 3.9 billion accounts , you can build a huge audience! There’s a lot of potential for building long-term relationships here, and it’s mobile-friendly too. You can inform clients about up and coming competitions, your referral system , training plans, schedules, free health tips, and so on.
Start by collecting addresses in person and then with an email signup form on your website (if you don’t have one, it’s strongly recommended that you make one). Make the sheet short and visible. For the best results, place the signup at the bottom of every article published, and on the sidebar of your website homepage.
Make sure to keep emails consistent with their tone of voice, their frequency and the template used. Include social media buttons at the footer of the email, and a call to action (CTA). It’s a button that the user can click within the email taking them to a landing page where they’ll execute the action that you intended them to take, for example, a sign-up sheet for your personal training services.
Visual Marketing Material
Meme’s
First off, the pronunciation. Meme rhymes with team and isn’t pronounced ‘mimi’ like we’ve heard countless people say. Producing immediate reactions on social media, they’re attractive if you’re wanting more visibility, but it’s risky stuff. Some of your audience might not understand the humor in it, and there’s a possibility that this kind of super-casual visual marketing doesn’t fit your brand. So, whether you should use them really depends on what kind of clients and prospects you target. Be careful, it’s risky business because if it goes wrong, you’ll damage your brand.
Infographics
Infographics have become very popular, it’s a fun way for clients to digest their information. As it turns out, not that many personal trainers have utilized this yet. Yes, they tend to post third-party infographics, but as far as creating their own, there’s almost nothing. That’s your chance to get on it.
If you’re really interested in using infographics your content needs to be good. There’s a number of free websites that you can use:
- Canva, which you can use for brochures, presentations and much more.
- Piktochart , pre-loaded graphics and the option to upload your own images. Its three basic themes are free, and after that, you’ll be paying $169/year.
- Venngage , very simple and easy to use. They can also be animated!
Successful Video/Audio Content
YouTube
Youtube is used by many for online coaching. You can sell your services, and add some tips and tricks. It’s a large market and an even larger audience. If you create some really high-quality content, you even have the possibility to get some extra income. However, the time it takes to create and edit the videos will be quite consuming. So, only consider this if you have the resources.
If this is something you’re already doing, think about how you can optimize your videos for search engines . Take this a step further by creating an index on your website. You can call it your ‘Fitness Directory’ where you can link all of your videos to your workouts. For example, Virtuagym’s Exercise Library includes short-form workout video guides .
Podcasts
Podcasts, the last but not least. It’s the perfect media for your on the go clients and my personal favorite. Client’s can listen while they work out, when they drive to work, or when they’re cooking dinner. They can be created very easily and it’s great for brand awareness. A plus is that they don’t require as much effort as YouTube videos in terms of editing.
TheFitCast, started by Kevin Larrabee is the perfect example of fitness content marketing . Kevin couldn’t find a single podcast that caught his attention, and so he began his own. His podcast’s feature a lot of guests and covers a variety of topics from nutrition and fitness to mental health.
Conclusion
There are several types of content to choose from but only you know what suits your business best. Depending on your resources, you may even consider doing more than one. This way you’ll get better at creating content that’s informative, useful and entertaining. Just make sure to keep in mind that only quality content is really beneficial in an online world filled with plenty of mediocre output.
