BUSINESS W

hether you are a personal trainer, gym instructor, or run your own fitness business, many of your clients are now using social media to interact with those around them. However,

are you interacting with them? Think back to how many clients you’ve received through word of mouth, using social media can be an extension of this, just on a bigger scale.

It used to be that if you wanted to have an online presence all you had to do was create a website. However, with the media-savvy world we live in today this is simply no longer the case. Social media can be a highly cost effective way to engage with your customers and will really help get the most out of your business and clients. Whilst you may be familiar with using the likes of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for personal use, the rapid growth in using social media for professional purposes may leave others daunted as to how to begin marketing their business ‘socially’.

If you are thinking social media is just a huge drain of your time, with little benefit, then you couldn’t be more wrong. If done well social media can be a game changer in establishing your expertise, brand, and reach, and therefore your income.

One recent example of the effectiveness of a social media campaign comes from Domino’s. Their initiative saw them attract customers through a unique campaign on Twitter utilising the simple hashtag #letsdolunch. Each time the hashtag was mentioned, the price of their pizza dropped. Starting the day at £15.99, Domino’s Pepperoni Passion® was available that lunch-time at £7.74, resulting in a significant sales increase.

Whilst Twitter is great way to have that direct relationship with clients, YouTube is also another fantastic tool to engage with your client base. As an exercise professional YouTube can really highlight your skills and expertise within the field and allows for potential clients to get to know your personality. Perhaps try posting a few videos offering your expert advice on new routines or demonstrations. Why social media is key to your business and how it can help! Here are our top three reasons as to why social media can be great for you.

Engagement This is the most important aspect of social media. As many companies do, it’s easy to fall into the trap of only using your profiles as a broadcasting tool – simply posting links to your website, advertising your products and not actually engaging with the conversation or the audience, which is a huge mistake! Social media is all about conversations, relationships and engagement. By engaging with both potential and existing clients, you are able to build relationships and to better understand the needs of your clients. It is also a great way to retain existing clients and contact old clients who may have fallen off the radar otherwise.

Website visitors Social media platforms are a great way to drive fans and followers to your website or blog. As long as you post intriguing and engaging content, then those interested will click on the links that resonate with them. It’s important to remember that an increase in traffic to your website will also really help your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and search rankings. In case you’re wondering SEO is the activity of ensuring a website can be found in search engines for words and phrases relevant to what the site is offering. In many respects it is simply quality control for websites.

22 The REPs Journal 2014;29(January):22-23 Are you with your clients ou