There are 4.96 billion total social media users across all platforms. Nearly 75% of the world’s population aged 13 and up uses social media, and worldwide, people spend an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes per day on various social media sites.
All this means that social media is most likely a common part of your client’s everyday lives, so by using the platforms to market your business, you can meet them where they are and share content that encourages them to buy from you.
You can use social media to attract new clients, establish your expertise as a trainer, and reinforce again and again how you can solve your client’s problems.
A good presence on socials can help sway your prospect’s buying decisions and help you grow your business faster than you ever thought possible.
But there’s a lot of social media sites. Which one should you use?
Each platform has its pros and cons and no one platform reigns supreme as a marketing tool. We’ll walk through the basics of the most popular sites and give you some tips for deciding which one is right for your personal training business.
Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents:
- Chapter 1: Types of Social Media
- Chapter 2: Best Social Media Platforms For Fitness
- Chapter 3: How To Choose The Right Platform For You
- Chapter 4: Getting Started With Social Media Marketing
Types of Social Media
Instagram, Facebook, TikTok – the list goes on. There are many different social media sites and all of them grew in popularity for the unique features they bring to the table. Many social media users visit more than one of these sites daily. In fact, the average user has eight accounts and spends up to two and half hours of each day on socials.
Business owners quickly realized the value of social media and have been using it as a marketing tool with great success. And the most successful business owners understand the intricacies among each platform and know how to make their online content perform in a variety of formats.
To do this for your fitness business, we’ll start by classifying social media into two different types: search based and network based.
Search based social media is powered by user inquiries. Think about someone looking for a 20 min workout; they’d most likely go to YouTube. Or someone that wants to get advice on starting a fitness plan – you might find them searching on Reddit. Search based social media is all about longer form content. It can be easier to get discovered, but hard to build community.
Whereas, network based social media is all about community! The content here is often more bite sized, engaging, and easily shareable. You might be most familiar with this type of social media due to personal usage. Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook all fall within this category.
Best Social Media Platforms For Fitness
We’ve touched on the different types of social media. Let’s briefly cover four of the best platforms that fitness creators can use.
Instagram has roughly two billion active users worldwide and is the 6th most visited website in the world. Instagram marketing for personal trainers can be incredibly successful.
Instagram has robust features that personal trainers can utilize to market their business. On the site you can share images, stories, Reels (short videos), and even go Live to connect with followers.
Instagram has established itself as a leader in social media and there’s no denying its impact and reach. Personal trainers that know how to make the most of this platform can grow their accounts exponentially and create memorable and successful brands.
Facebook is the largest social media site with 2.9 billion active users and 73% of U.S. adults visit Facebook every day, making it a popular choice for many businesses when it comes to marketing.
Facebook has great community features like Facebook groups and some of the most robust paid ad and targeting capabilities.
TikTok
TikTok hit the scene and quickly exploded in popularity. The app’s 1 billion active users love the user-generated content and creative freedom inside the platform.
On TikTok, you can choose to record a 15 second, 60 second, or 3 minute clip. TikTok will also allow you to upload a video that’s as long as 10 minutes. Videos can be personalized with stickers, graphics, popular music, and more.
If you’ve ever used the app, you know how easily minutes can slip away as you scroll through the engaging and ever-changing feed. TikTok is entertaining for sure, and it is also increasingly being used as a powerful marketing tool for businesses of every shape and size.
YouTube
YouTube reached 2.5 billion active users in 2021, making it one of the most popular apps in the world, behind only Google and Facebook in total usage. And unlike Instagram and Facebook, it’s much easier for creators to get discovered on YouTube.
Plus, video content is the perfect format for fitness businesses. Personal trainers can take advantage of the fact that plenty of people are searching for workout classes, exercise demos, healthy meal tutorials, and more.
How To Choose The Right Platform For You
Every business is different, so while one trainer may have the most success with Instagram, another may find that TikTok brings them the most clients.
There are a few considerations that can help you decide which platform you’ll have the best results with.
What are you good at?
Social media content creation can be really time consuming. When you’re first starting out, it can be helpful to stick with a type of content you are more familiar with to not only save time, but to ensure that you are putting out the best content possible.
Think about your strengths and what you enjoy doing.
Are you good with video?
Great. Video has a lot of engagement and is recommended on many types of platforms. If you’re comfortable with the video format, consider starting out on Youtube. Be sure to check out our blog, 9 Tips for Starting a Fitness YouTube Channel, to help you get started.
You might also choose to start with short videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels. Both can be a really great way to reach a lot of people fast and gain popularity.
Maybe writing is more your thing? Use your strengths for great Instagram or Facebook posts. You can also write a fitness blog that you can pull snippets from for various social media sites.
How much time are you ready to spend on creating content?
If you pick a content type that you are more familiar with, it will likely take you less time. And time is a precious resource so it’s important to consider how much of it you are willing to spend to create your content.
More than likely, creating Instagram and Facebook posts and stories are the quickest. Once you get familiar with TikTok and Reels, you’ll get faster and produce those as well. You may also consider which sites connect to scheduling tools, so that you can batch content creation and plan out a calendar in advance. This will ultimately save you a ton of time.
Remember, to see results on social media you have to be consistent for a long period of time, so that this time commitment isn’t temporary. Think about how much time you have and how it would be best spent on socials.
Who’s your ideal client?
Another thing to think about when deciding which platform to use is where your ideal client is most likely to hang out. Younger generations tend to spend more time on Instagram and TikTok, while you may find that older demographics flock to Facebook.
Think about who you work with and what kind of fitness questions they have as well. Are they looking for workout videos on YouTube? Or the support of a community through Facebook groups?
Let your ideal client guide you toward picking the right platform for your business.
Getting Started With Social Media Marketing
When it comes to growing your business on social media, it can be helpful to start with the site you are most comfortable with. If you are more experienced in a certain platform for personal use, start there. Each site has a learning curve, so if you’re already familiar with the features of one over the other, you’re one step ahead.
Once you’ve gotten in the groove of sharing content on one site, add another type of social media. Add search based if you started with network based and vice versa.
The good news is you do not have to create different types of content for every site. Create once and post everywhere with minor tweaks. You might shorten a caption for Twitter, or add a couple of different points for your LinkedIn audience. Repurpose and recycle your content to get the most bang for your buck!
One day, you may even be able to outsource social media to a professional. This can help you maintain a presence on all the platforms with much less work on your end.
However you take on social media and whichever site you choose, consistency and patience will lead to some pretty powerful results.
Now get out there and get social!
For more tips, check out our Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing for Personal Trainers.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is social media important for personal trainers?
Social media helps personal trainers reach a wider audience, build their brand, engage with potential clients, and showcase their expertise through content like workout tips, client success stories, and live sessions. It’s an essential tool for growing a fitness business in the digital age.
2. Is TikTok a viable platform for personal trainers to reach potential clients?
Yes, TikTok’s popularity among younger audiences makes it a great platform to create short, engaging, and viral fitness content. Trainers can share quick tips, challenges, and entertaining workout videos to build their following and drive engagement.
3. What are the common mistakes personal trainers make on social media?
- Posting irregularly or without a strategy
- Over-promoting services without providing value
- Ignoring follower interactions or comments
- Using low-quality visuals
- Neglecting platform-specific trends (e.g., Reels on Instagram or challenges on TikTok)
4. How do I choose the right social media platform for my personal training business?
Identify your target audience and goals. For example:
- If you want to reach millennials and Gen Z, focus on Instagram and TikTok.
- For building long-term content, YouTube is better.
- For local clients or private groups, Facebook works well.
Test platforms to see where your audience is most responsive and focus your efforts there.
5. What are the advantages of using Facebook for a personal training business?
Facebook offers a mix of tools, such as business pages, targeted ads, and groups, to connect with both local and global audiences. Trainers can build communities, post educational content, and run marketing campaigns to generate leads.