What makes social media great? It’s always on. You can count on getting the most up-to-date information on local and world news, friends, and family via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Being a 24/7 provider for news and media definitely has its perks – as many of the like-minded fitness providers know.
Your social media accounts should be no different. There are no summer vacations in the social media world. To keep your current members and prospects engaged, you need to continue posting during the summer months. There might not be as much foot traffic, but that is no excuse for going silent on your accounts. Posting on a regular basis should actually do the opposite. By sharing timely, appealing and newsworthy content, more people will be interested in your gym – which will result in more leads and opportunities for you to add memberships.
Need a seasonal tune-up on your social media practices? Here are four easy ways to stay social this summer:
Show your in-club community. A great way to humanize your club is on social media. Members will love seeing their smiling faces on your club’s pages. This also increases the probability that your members will comment and share your content, especially if they’re featured it in. By showing the relationships between members and your club staff, people will see what makes your gym a welcoming, fun place where individuals accomplish their fitness goals.
Share video content. Posts that solely have text are so last year (or last decade, rather). There are plenty of action-packed moments for you to capture every day; you do run a gym, after all. Videos typically perform better for engagement on social media. It could be a personal trainer running a boot camp or a member knocking out a personal-record time on the treadmill. Any great visuals that are worth capturing should be done as a video. Still images are great, but if there is action, try to get it on video.
Highlight current specials. What is your summer campaign? Do you have a seasonal offer to get prospects to sign up? Call it out on social media. You can even do special social media-based offers. For example: “Like” us on Facebook and receive a free week pass.
Get out in the community. What community events are you involved in? Document your involvement on social media. Tease your events to followers in the weeks leading up to the event so they know you’ll be there. Mention any giveaways or special incentives for event attendees who stop by. This shows that you value the community as a whole, which is always a key selling point in working to sign on prospects.
Don’t let your social media suffer this summer. Follow those simple tips and watch as your likes, favorites and followers start to heat up your pages.
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Hayley Schnell is a communications manager at Lift Brands. She can be reached at hschnell@liftbrands.com.
