Social media

for fitness professionals

In our November ezine survey we asked you whether you had too many, too few, or just enough clients to keep you happy. More than sixty per cent of you replied that you could handle more clients. This article is the first in a series which will show you how you could use social networking tools to achieve this, regardless of whether it is for you as an individual, on behalf of your club, or both. Not only can you use these tools to grow your client base but you can also significantly increase the satisfaction (and therefore retention) of your current clients.

14 By Tor Davies

This first article aims to put things in context and give you a brief overview of how and why social networking might work specifically for you as a fitness professional. In each journal after this we will focus on one or two specific projects giving you a step-by-step guide on how to bring that particular campaign to life. We could give you hundreds of ideas, but it’s better to do a little often and make sure you keep it going, rather than trying to do everything in one go.

If you get going and want more ideas, or you’re already using social media tools in this capacity, visit my blog (http://sportextor.wordpress. com) and click on the Marketing you and your business category.

Dispelling the myths of the dark arts Depending on how comfortable you are using the Internet the phrase ‘using social media to market yourself’ might sound complicated and intimidating, but really it isn’t. All you need to focus on is ‘sharing’ and how sharing through the extended networks that social media creates could help bring you customers.

First of all, what is social media? In its simplest definition it is information which has been designed to be shared through the Internet and the growing number of web-based tools or ‘social networks’.

What is a social network? It is simply a group of individuals that are connected by a common interest. They share and communicate using social media tools (see next page for more details). There are hundreds of new social platforms being launched every day but they are all based around the same principle of groups with shared interests using tools designed to help you network with other people. Perhaps a better name for them would be ‘sharing’ networks, as this is fundamentally what they are all about.

It all starts with you! It all starts with you and a group of people around you, a so-called ‘social network’. Because this new form of media was born and initially developed within a social context these networks have generally been organised around groups of friends, but don’t let that put you off. Increasingly they are forming around work

The REPs Journal 2010;16(March):14-15