Over the years, you’ve probably been told or read about the importance of having a blog on your health club’s website. But have you ever thought to yourself, why?
According to Jessica Isle, the marketing manager for Active Wellness, the benefits are two-fold. “A well-curated blog with timely fitness and wellness advice can keep your fitness center both top-of-mind and at the top of search results as a trusted resource,” she explained.
In other words, a blog is a vital tool in increasing search engine optimization (SEO), which ultimately leads to more online guest pass redemptions, club visits and membership conversions.
“The next time you type a search term into your browser, consider how you expect only the most relevant and informative answers to top your feed, cutting through the clutter to save time,” explained Isle. “That’s SEO working for you.”
A well-crafted blog can also be an asset to your club’s member retention and engagement strategy. “We want to be our members’ first resource on fitness and wellness,” said Isle. “In fact, we’ll often post resources that members can use specifically when they’re away from their club, like hotel workouts to stay active while traveling, outdoor workouts for families, and easy ways to increase movement throughout the day.”
According to Isle, blogs are a great place to highlight your club’s existing community by sharing member workout challenges and results. This can appeal to FOMO, or “Fear of Missing Out,” that many of your members are influenced by. “A little FOMO can drive greater participation for your next challenge,” she added.
From an operations perspective, the best way to manage a blog for your health club is to create a posting schedule. “I recommend a schedule mostly for internal accountability, to make sure it’s included in your packed priority list,” said Isle.
If you’re not a great writer, don’t fret. Isle said to follow an easy template of writing an introduction, three to five main points, followed by a conclusion. And lean on your staff to help with contributions.
“Definitely tap into your wealth of fitness and wellness experts for contributions,” said Isle. “This prevents one person from becoming overwhelmed by trying to write every month, and also keeps your blog more varied and interesting.”
In her own words, Isle shares tips for running a top-notch blog:
- Consider including videos in your blog posts. These can be filmed on a smart phone — ideally by somebody else rather than a selfie — and be as short as 30 to 60 seconds. With a headline and descriptive copy including your keywords, videos are often a great way to garner clicks and visits, therefore a healthy SEO.
- Just like after a club tour, be sure to end your blog article with an offer for a guest pass or another call to action.
- Keep your eyes and ears open to the interactions between members and your team. The best blog content is pulled from those conversations taking place every day within your club’s walls.
- Have a list of keywords on hand that you can reference for blog posts. Be sure to review the keyword list on a quarterly basis to ensure your keywords are competitive to your offerings.
