TECHNOLOGY
British Military Fitness uses Facebook to answer questions from existing and potential members
ing agency Double Art, explains how Facebook is helping British Military Fitness ensure it’s seen as a fun and non-intimidating brand. British Military Fitness (BMF) was founded over 10 years ago as an alternative to gyms and leisure clubs, and is now the largest outdoor fi tness company in the UK. All classes are led by serving or ex-armed forces physical training instructors, and BMF is all about creating a moti- vating environment and maximising team spirit in the great outdoors. BMF now has over 20,000 mem- bers training in 105 parks across the UK. Over the last decade, BMF has grown largely through word of mouth. Members love it, and tell peo- ple about it. There is a strong social aspect to the experience – with mem- bers and instructors becoming friends and enjoying parties, social evenings and further fi tness challenges together away from the classes in the parks. Critical to success in this word
P
of mouth acquisition is the way in which the individual advocating BMF can allay the concerns of prospec- tive members, who are often worried about how physically challenging BMF will be, and are nervous that the instructors might be intimidating. For BMF, this is where social media is becoming a hugely important acquisi- tion and retention channel.
36
eter Blackman, owner of design and market-
CASE STUDY FOUR BRITISH
MILITARY FITNESS
Over the last 12
months, working with the digital team at design and market-
ing agency Double Art, BMF has expanded
and organised its pres- ence on Facebook and Twitter. Where once it
had a myriad of diverse groups and park pages, it now has an offi cial BMF Facebook Fan page with nearly 6,000 users, and a Facebook Fan page for every single one of its local parks. At all times, the intention has been to demonstrate to potential members the fun, friendly and sociable nature of BMF, and to draw together ‘central’ and ‘local’ aspects of the BMF brand so that members feel a part of their group and of something bigger. Local park/city pages essentially ‘belong’ to the local BMF park man- ager. This gives them ownership over their own micro community, and ena- bles them to stay in touch and to involve and inform members about what’s happening locally. Rather than attempt to get members to constantly visit the offi cial website, BMF can stay in touch and build a local per- sonal relationship with its members on a digital platform where the member feels comfortable and which they use on a day-to-day basis. Members are also encouraged to become a fan of
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital
the offi cial BMF page so that they can keep up-to-date with the regular offers and news items that the central BMF brand and PR team post on that page. In terms of new member acquisition, the fact that fan pages get internal pro- motion on Facebook is very important to BMF. Facebook page updates show up on BMF fans’ page feed, and page additions appear on all fans’ live feeds. So awareness of BMF spreads beyond members if a friend visits their page. The high level of interactivity on the BMF pages is down to extensive social media training of all park managers. The training deals with how to set up a local event through to suggested updates to encourage interaction between the fans. The BMF park man- agers also monitor the fan pages and respond to any questions that the members may have about classes, social events or training tips.
Visitors to the BMF pages can see
that the brand is approachable and interactive. If a member asks a ques- tion or makes a comment, BMF responds. If a non-member asks a question then more often than not a member will answer before BMF can! As these questions are generally simi- lar to those put by friends to members, social media can be seen to be acting as a media where ‘virtual friends’ can help to encourage potential members.
www.doubleart.co.uk
ISSUE 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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