Five Marketing Tips for Personal Trainers
The Internet changes fast and personal trainers interested in harnessing its power for marketing purposes need to keep up. The landscape has changed. Simple websites that act as a static business card are no longer enough. People expect rich content delivered to them in different forms of media. And they expect to be able to participate with businesses and engage with them in an online conversation. This is where the term “Web 2.0” comes from. It is the new Internet: One where millions upon millions of people worldwide- and in your own backyard – are having online conversations sharing information and holding businesses more accountable.
The following five tips will help any personal trainer interested in making “Web 2.0” part of their marketing plan:
Blogging
Static websites are extinct. Personal trainers that are just now setting up their simple website are several steps behind their competition using dynamic blogs. Word press blogs are the gold-standard.
Not only do the search engines love blogs, but so do Internet users. They allow for people to get involved in the conversation online. They allow your prospects to follow along with the very latest developments in your business and the results your clients are getting.
Social Bookmarking Sites
Social book marking sites allow you to share with an entire online community the content you are finding useful and entertaining. And while you can social book mark your own content to receive more exposure online, you need to be very careful. A good rule of thumb is to bookmark six other sites and content you are enjoying for every social book mark of your own.
While Digg.com seems to be the most well-known, fitness internet marketers have found Stumbleupon.com to be the most used social bookmarking site for people interested in fitness information.
Youtube.com
Yes, YouTube has been around for awhile now, but personal trainers are still ignoring this incredibly powerful marketing tool. Not only can you upload incredibly enticing videos of your training and boot camps, but YouTube also allows you to include keywords that will help people in your local area easily find you and your personal training business.
Many business owners fail to see the value of Facebook. It’s more than just a silly way to reconnect with friends from high school and college. For business purposes it is an absurdly powerful way to show your prospects and customers you are a real person with a real family. It is a way for people to get to know you. And people like to do business with those they know, like and trust.
Like Facebook, Twitter is an incredibly powerful way to build relationships online. It is a “micro-blogging” site that allows you to frequently post what you and your business are currently working on. And it is a way to drive traffic to your blog or Facebook page so people can get to know you, like you and trust you.
Lastly, Twitter has an advanced search feature that allows you to connect with local people on Twitter; People that very well may become personal training clients or joint venture partners. Simply put, Twitter cannot be ignored.
Jim Labadie is a fitness entrepreneur, sales expert and speaker. To discover the four things you MUST know about running profitable fitness boot camps please visit:
http://www.howtoprofitwithbootcamps.com
