Best Fitness Management Software 2021

Grow Your Fitness Business with Content Marketing

While there are many different ways to effectively market your fitness business, content marketing stands out as a powerful and cost-effective strategy to reach an engaged audience and grow your gym.

As a small business owner, it's important to constantly attract new customers and retain your existing ones. The health and fitness industry is becoming an increasingly competitive marketplace, which makes it crucial to have a well-rounded marketing strategy to differentiate yourself, so that prospective customers will ultimately choose your fitness business, rather than your competition.

While there are many different ways to effectively market your fitness business, content marketing stands out as a powerful and cost-effective strategy to reach an engaged audience and grow your gym.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is strategically creating content to attract, retain and engage a clearly defined audience. By consistently delivering valuable information that answers your customers’ questions and helps solve their problems, you can turn prospects into new clients.

Whereas traditional marketing is geared towards selling a particular product or service, the goal of content marketing is to provide informational content for readers in an effort to establish yourself as an authority, and increase awareness of your brand[symbol:mdash]all without explicitly promoting your fitness business.

Content marketing can come in a range of different forms, ranging from blog posts, emails and podcasts to infographics and videos. As long as the content is educational, entertaining or informative and not overtly ‘salesy,’ content marketing can be a highly efficient way of demonstrating your expertise and establishing yourself as a leader in the fitness industry.

Benefits of content marketing for your fitness business

Below, we'll explore the benefits of content marketing for your fitness business.

Attract prospective clients to your website

Content marketing is a powerful way to increase traffic to your website through SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This means that prospective clients can discover your website when they search for a query, and your results show up on the search page.

For example, if you write an article about exercises for those with lower back pain, when someone searches for "exercises for lower back pain", they may come across your article, and land on your website. If they're curious, they may start browsing your website and learning more about you and your brand. If you provide a service or sell a product that piques the reader's interest, they may ultimately become a customer.

Establish yourself as an authority

Trust is the basis of any relationship. When consumers trust you and your brand, they feel more confident in the value of your services. Fitness businesses can foster trust and build authority among prospects by sharing industry knowledge, unique opinions and showcase personality in a meaningful way.

Creating thought-provoking articles on subjects surrounding your business can immediately establish authority and indicate a high degree of expertise. Sharing content that demonstrates your brand’s values is an equally powerful way to establish trust and authority. Once readers view you as an authority, they're more likely to want to purchase your services, as they'll view your business with high regards.

Save money compared to traditional marketing techniques

As a small business owner, marketing costs can quickly add up. Traditional advertising such as magazine placements, television and brochures can be costly and are not nearly as effective as they once were. Content marketing provides an effective solution to engage with a targeted audience for a fraction of the cost.

The only investment you'll need to make with content marketing is your time, since it takes a substantial amount of time to create original, thought-provoking content Set aside a few hours each week to create a useful piece of content for your audience, which can help you achieve results without breaking the bank. As an example, you could send a free weekly workout to your subscribers, create instructional posts on how to use different equipment, or even post motivational quotes to keep your members engaged.

A nice benefit of content marketing is that any content you post on your website will be online forever. This means that once you've created an engaging piece of content and posted it on your site, it will constantly be attracting readers to your site, even if you don't spend anymore time creating new content. This makes content marketing an incredibly efficient way to grow your fitness business.

Stay engaged with clients

Customer retention is one of the most important aspects of running a gym. By remaining engaged with clients, you'll improve your relationship with them, and make them more likely to become repeat customers. Tools like newsletters and instructional videos can be powerful ways to stay top of mind with your customers, and increase their customer loyalty.

Advice for getting started with content marketing

Understand your audience

Before you start creating any content, think about who your audience is, and the types of content they will be interested in reading. The more defined your audience, the higher likelihood you have of creating content that meets their needs. For example, if you run a boutique gym, you may want to create content that is relevant to local readers, since they are the only ones who could realistically become customers.

If you understand what types of articles your audience wants to read, you can create content to satisfy their needs. You can also leverage SEO software, such as Moz to identify important topics to target.

Keep a consistent publishing schedule

When it comes to content marketing, consistency is paramount. Your content should be consistent in voice, style, strategy, and even your posting schedule.

Before you start creating content, decide on the tone of voice and overall message you want to portray. An editorial calendar can help you stay organized and achieve your goals. As an example, you may commit to three blog posts per week, two Instagram posts and a daily Facebook update. Creating a bank of topic ideas and original photography can also be helpful.

Make sure your schedule is attainable so that you can stick to it and develop a sense of accountability. Not only will your readers know what to expect, but with time they'll also be eager for your next post.

Repurpose and reuse existing content

Another way to simplify the content creation process is to repurpose what you have. Think about how your content can be adapted to suit different platforms and expand your reach. For example, if you recently posted a workout on YouTube, reuse the video material by translating it into text for a blog post, or break the workout down into small Instagram-sized snippets. One piece of content can be re-used in many different ways, ensuring you get the most of your efforts.

You can also repurpose content by dipping into your archives and updating your old posts. As an example, if you have a library of blog posts on a particular topic it may be a good idea to update and package these into a useful guide or e-book for your audience. Not only do current readers appreciate a compiled resource of your best advice, but it can allow you to reinforce your message and help you reach a new audience.

Motivate and inspire

Motivation plays a vital role in retaining memberships. Your clients are in the process of making lifestyle changes that demand discipline. You can motivate your clients when they’re in your facility, but, how do you continue to inspire once they have left? And how can you keep them motivated to come back for more?

Content marketing can be used to empower your clients to keep training and pushing the boundaries. Show your clients exactly what they can accomplish, what it takes to succeed and support them on their journey. As an example, you could share before-and-after photos, relatable memes and inspiration videos that spread positivity.

An excellent way to get members involved is to offer competitions and set up challenges through social media, which can increase interaction among members and build an internal network of support. For example, create a challenge that encourages clients to drink a green smoothie every day, or set up a team competition to see which group can collectively accumulate the most steps over the course of a week. These activities can help keep clients engaged, and foster a sense of community.

Start Small And Watch Your Fitness Business Grow

Content marketing can deliver substantial benefits for your fitness business. To get started, it’s essential to have a strategy in place, monitor your results and adjust as needed. Start small, focus on consistency and quality, and you’ll start to reap all of the rewards that content marketing provides.

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