This month we sat down with Bri Sexton, the chief product officer at BLAST with two locations in Atlanta, Georgia, to discuss virtual fitness.
What are best practices for offering virtual classes?
Keep the moves simple, make it easy to access, use familiar platforms and vary the format often.
Describe your virtual fitness offerings — what can consumers participate in virtually?
We have five formats: Full Body, Cardio BLAST, Double Floor, Upper Body & Cardio and Lower Body & Core. Plus, we hold weekly challenges and educational workshops led by our trainers. The virtual library has almost 300 workouts that can be accessed at any time or place and is included with any active membership.
What type of technologies/setup do you need to support virtual services?
We are using a private Facebook group because we can control access, the moderator approves all members, and it is a platform everyone is already fluent in. This made it instantly consumable to our clients when we had to pivot so quickly to virtual.
What are tips for live streaming classes?
1. Promote the time in advance so people can plan their day, tag clients for accountability, ask for feedback during the class and follow up on any comments made afterwards. Interaction is key to a live class. Make them feel as though you “see” them and they are with you.
2. Set the scene. Make sure you have light shining on you, that it’s not dark or blurry, with no variations of light across the screen. Have a background and make sure branding is clearly visible.
3. Remember this can be watched a year from now on another day of the week when making comments. If you are going to make the content, make it timeless.
4. Connect with your target audience. Ask for comments on how they did and respond to any posted comments. Create and keep the personal connection, even if it’s not tangible.
Can virtual fitness be a good source of revenue?
I am sure it can, but we are not charging extra for our virtual access. We are using it as a value-add to keep our memberships active when they can’t come or don’t feel comfortable coming into the studio.
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Taylor Gabhart is the editor of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at taylor@peakemedia.com.
