4 Tips for Fitness Professionals Using Social Media

Lately, I’ve been observing several clever fitness professionals (personal trainers, yoga teachers, dance instructors, etc.) leveraging Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media to position themselves as experts. Here are a couple of tips for these pros who dedicate their lives to keeping the rest of us looking and feeling good…

1) Know Your Target and Stay On Target: don’t just say “yoga is for everyone!” That might be the case but you’ll get a more dedicated and rabid following if you are specific: for example, decide to target women who are preparing for childbirth or runners who want to improve their long distance performance, or seniors who want to improve their mobility. Decide who you want to help and then go after them. Be a specialist and attract the clients you truly want. Don’t post photos of weightlifters on your Facebook page if you want to attract ballerinas!

2) Do Some YouTube videos: you are in a business that stresses movement and mobility. Show off your skills, but more importantly, show off your ability to teach. Do short instructional videos that appeal to your ideal client and optimize them on YouTube so you can be discovered.

3) Sell a Philosophy: you are in an industry where people expect you to motivate them even when they are feeling less than impressive. You might know everything about downward dogs, zumba, squat jumps, or whatever but you’ll gain more followers if people feel they can trust you, if they like you, and if you make them feel good about themselves and optimistic about life in general. People looking to improve their health and willing to put their faith in a fitness professional are likely already looking for this sort of thing, so give it to them! And that doesn’t mean just tweeting motivational quotes everyday. Selling a philosophy is much more than that. Think about being a motivator in every aspect of your social media presence: the writing style you take on in your blog, how you look in your Instagram photos, your tone in your YouTube videos… all of it.

4) It’s Like Working Out: Okay, this is where I get smug. 😉 Fitness people have crazy schedules and I often hear them complain that they just don’t have the time to maintain a social media campaign. Just remember, it truly is like working out: it’s a small investment of your time but it has to be done regularly if you want to see results. Like going to the gym!

Get my free ebook, “How to Blog Like an Entrepreneur” now – CLICK HERE!