1. They hide behind the business. I had a client last week who asked for help re-writing her website homepage. She is a personal trainer who sells customized workout and eating programs online. The first thing I noticed about her website is that it always mentioned her business name, but never HER name.
People are more interested in connecting with people rather than companies. Even something as simple as your e-mail address should reflect a personable atmosphere for your company. It should never be info@yourbusiness.com but rather sarah@yourbusiness.com.
On your website and social media sites, use photos of yourself or your team. Write messages and sign them as yourself. You will find that people are much more attracted to real people, but will hesitate to connect with a business where real people never make an appearance.
2. They don’t know where their target clients are. In today’s world, there are so many marketing channels that it is important to discover where your target audience is, and then place a strong focus there. Are your potential customers “Googling” you? Are they on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare or Pinterest? Every social media platform offers a different target audience, so it’s important to figure out where yours is. For most gyms, the target audience is the average person within a certain zip code. When this is the case, Facebook is probably your number one resource.
Is your target audience also friends of current customers? Probably. This is also an important piece of information to know when targeting promotions on Facebook and choosing marketing channels.
3. They don’t know how to use the digital marketing process effectively. Let’s say you have a website, a blog, an electronic newsletter, an app and a Facebook page. How do you optimize all of these platforms so that you get a ROI? Remember, you should never just have all of these things just to have them. If they aren’t generating customers for you, you’re not doing it right!
In a nutshell, if everything is done right, social media is the tool that attracts new leads for you. Your blog, social media promotions, website and e-newsletter; take these leads and convert them into customers. Then we go full-circle and your social media pages and app keep the current customers engaged and coming back.
Sarah Barrett is a communications expert for business leaders. She has ghost-written articles, blogs, presentations, curriculum, health programs and an e-book for many clients including two NY Times best-selling authors, medical doctors, various business, health and fitness leaders, and an internationally-renowned fitness brand. Sarah blogs and writes as herself under the brand Social Media Sarah. She can be contacted at sarah@blbusinessconsulting.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/socialmediasarah.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
