So you’ve taken the initiative to move your fitness business online. Maybe you’re starting to livestream workout classes via your app or perhaps you’re giving instruction videos from your social media accounts.
In this essential article, we’ll explore how to promote these new aspects of your business on social media and answer questions like, “How do I advertise my fitness class?”
Whatever method you’re using to create and distribute your online offering, the main thing is that you’re reaching the right people.
You could have a workout video that would give Jane Fonda a run for her legwarmers, but if nobody sees it then it will fail to help you and your business grow.
So, how do I advertise my online fitness class?
When used well, online workouts can help engage your clients and members, increase the capacity of your classes and they can help grow your audience. The beauty of posting livestream classes and workout videos online is that they can reach people from just about anywhere - be that five minutes from your studio, or five hundred miles from it.
Curious to learn how to market your fitness classes online? Read our 7 tips to promote your business on social media:
Reach out to your current contact base
Start at home. That means reaching out to all of your current members and clients and explaining exactly what you can offer them while they work out from home. You can promote your online classes simply through the channels that use already utilize to keep in touch with your community.
For most, this would mean sending out emails to your contact list, advertising your new offering of online fitness classes. These emails could include things like class schedules and a summary of your new virtual classes.
If you’re a smaller business it may also mean sending out very personalised messages via Whatsapp. You can also use a community feature built into your own personalised branded app ( read more here ) - this is a great way to encourage people participating in your workouts to share their thoughts and progress.
This is the first step you can take to market your online fitness classes to your existing community.
Use your class booking schedule to provide a link for members
By putting livestream classes or workout video links into your regular booking schedule (in your app and on your website), you’ll provide easy access for anyone that would like to give them a go. Update your pre-pandemic schedule to include all of your new online offerings.
Learn more about the integration with Zoom, YouTube and your Virtuagym App
[caption id=“attachment_11422” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”]
Jacob Lund || Shutterstock[/caption]
Create (or repurpose) content around it
People are looking for information right now. They want to know how to stay fit at home and how to back-up the livestream classes they are taking with nutritional guidance and fitness advice.
If you have a blog or social media pages, now is the time to get creative. Create videos in which you share your daily routine or best nutrition advice during lockdown and then be sure to promote your online offering when you do.
This is also a great strategy to promote your gym online, as prospects can immediately interact with your content and brand.
Promote your online offering on social media
Of course, this had to make the list! Every personal trainer and their grandma know that if you want to effectively advertise your fitness classes, you have to have a strong online presence. That means, creating and developing an account on sites such as Instagram or Facebook.
These virtual spaces can not only be used to upload and distribute workout videos but can also be used to promote them and your gym. This promotion could come in the form of graphics that trailer the videos or Instagram stories that direct people to a link at the right time of day. Think creatively about how you can use social media to appeal to your unique audience, and market your online fitness classes to them.
Try running a fitness challenge
Social media sites can also be used to run fitness challenges online . This is a tried and tested strategy to promote your gym or studio. Are you a yoga instructor running a live streaming headstand course? Encourage your followers to send before and after pictures. Share these online to encourage more and more class participation.
You could also run a fitness challenge via your app itself. Apps like Virtuagym have a community feature that can be used to track progress and run challenges . You can award members virtual awards and keep them motivated and engaged by growing a sense of competitiveness with other class participants.
Offer rewards
Try offering rewards for a certain amount of class completions. This doesn’t have to be expensive and could come in the form of 1-1 sessions or additional nutritional or fitness advice. Try considering the ways you could create some additional incentive to keep members coming back to your online classes.
You could also encourage current members to market your live streaming classes and online workout videos to their contacts too. A referral program is a great way to keep current members engaged AND attract new customers.
Ensure your business is visible online
Finally, you should make sure that your fitness business is easy to find on Google or other search engines. This is essential for marketing your online classes and promoting your gym or studio online. Now that you have a virtual offering, it’s more important than ever to be seen this way. After all, you wouldn’t open up a studio in the middle of a field with no flyers pointing in your direction.
Try developing your website and optimize it (as well as your social media pages) for Google. That means integrating the search terms that you think prospective class members will be looking for and ensuring that everything is complete (including all contact details) and makes sense.
SEO can be a little complicated, so invest some time into understanding the processes. You can use this time in lockdown to develop your digital marketing skills too.
