One of the biggest problems I see with most struggling fitness business owners is their marketing. Specifically, they focus on tactics rather than strategy. In fact, they often don’t even have a strategy.
Let’s take an example of a marketing tactic: posting on social media thrice a day.
If you think about it, when it comes to fitness, there are a gazillion things you can post about on social media. But what should you post? How do you select just three out of an infinite number of possible posts, which can get you new followers, more engagement and ultimately loads of new clients?
A stellar strategy is the key to helping you answer these important questions.
A strategy is the brains behind your marketing.
Without a solid strategy, you’re simply doing busy work, getting you mediocre (at best) results.
Here’s a challenge for you: take a look at the social media accounts for some of the successful fitness businesses you know of. Some of them may be your competitors.
What do you notice?
They’re not posting 100 times a day, for one thing. They’re also posting at the same 2-3 times of day that millions of other struggling fitness businesses are posting.
So what’s their secret? Why do they get more followers, more engagement and more clients through social media than their competitors?
One thing’s for sure: it’s not about the number of times you post, or even the time of day you post.
It’s something deeper, but not at all complicated. It’s the secret sauce that sets the successful fitness businesses apart from the unsuccessful ones.
That secret sauce is having a solid strategy – especially from Day One, so you don’t waste time, effort or money.
Without a solid strategy none of these tactics, whether social media, email or webinars, will bring you results. Without a good strategy, the end result is fitness business owners jumping from one new and shiny tactic to the next, hoping that one of them will somehow magically stick and produce results.
For example, many fitness business owners will first try posting on Facebook multiple times a day. When that doesn’t work out, they assume it’s because their circumstances are “unique” – they’ll say, “well, I guess Facebook just isn’t for me.”
From there they go on to try another tactic, whether it be a webinar, Facebook ad, or email autoresponder sequence. In the end, they’ll get the same results. Or rather, lack of results.
“Alright, I can see I need a strategy,” you might be saying right now. “Good to know. But how do I create a strategy that works? What does that look like?”
Good question. I figured you’d ask.
A solid strategy comes with three components. Each of these components build on each other. In that sense, you can think of them as steps.
These 3 steps are as follows:
- First, find the right niche – one that will give you the highest ROI on your marketing efforts.
- Next, find a stellar unique selling proposition that will convince prospects in your niche to work with you instead of your competitors.
- And finally, understand the prospects in your niche deeply by developing an ideal client profile so that all of your marketing messages will connect with readers both logically and emotionally.
When you nail down these 3 steps your marketing will start racking up exponential results, including the following:
- Instead of creating content for everyone, you’ll create content for a few premium people, bringing you a higher return on the time and money you invest in marketing. This will allow you to grow faster in a shorter time.
- Every offer you publish will have many takers because you have something to offer that none of your competitors do.
- You’ll quickly develop the “know, like and trust” factor because you’ll be speaking to your prospects on a deeper, more personal level.
Where do I go from here?
We’ve just scratched the tip of the iceberg.
You understand by now that a strategy is important, and there are three key steps to a successful strategy: a niche, a unique selling proposition, and an ideal client profile.
Each of these three steps build on each other and come with important details you need to be aware of in order to make sure you get your marketing right.
Without these three steps, done in the right way and in the right order, it’ll be far more difficult to find success.
With that in mind, I’ve covered each of these critical steps in separate articles of their own – each one in depth and detail (including with examples) so you will be able to confidently move forward with marketing your fitness business and start getting real results.
We’ll be going on a deeper dive starting with Step #1, How to figure out a niche for your fitness business.
Once you’ve figured out the perfect niche, you’re ready to identify a unique selling proposition to help you stand out from the crowd and attract ideal prospective clients.
The final step is getting into the heads of your ideal clients and understanding their hopes, dreams and worries. In the process, you’ll develop an ideal client profile to help you create marketing messages that speak their language and resonate on a personal and emotional level.
These 3 steps, when followed correctly, lead to a win-win outcome: not only will your marketing and your business success, but you will transform the lives of your clients forever.
Ready to start by figuring out your perfect niche? Start reading here.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is having a marketing strategy important for my fitness business?
A well-defined marketing strategy serves as the foundation of your promotional efforts, guiding your actions and ensuring consistency. Without a strategy, marketing activities may become disjointed and ineffective, leading to suboptimal results.
2. How do I identify the right niche for my fitness business?
Identifying the right niche involves understanding the specific needs and preferences of a targeted segment of the market. By focusing on a particular group, you can tailor your services and marketing messages to resonate more deeply, enhancing client acquisition and retention.
3. What role does content play in a fitness marketing strategy?
Content is pivotal in educating, engaging, and building trust with your audience. By providing valuable information through blogs, videos, and social media posts, you position yourself as an authority and foster deeper connections with potential clients.
4. How can I measure the effectiveness of my marketing strategy?
Utilize analytics tools to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, social media engagement, email open rates, and conversion rates. Regular analysis helps identify successful tactics and areas needing improvement.