Sporty through the net: Web 2.0 has long since arrived in the fitness industry. Social media is one of the most effective tools for acquiring new customers. But how can operators take advantage of Web 2.0? Many vacillate between "nice gimmick" and "total waste of time". In his three-part series "Fit in Web 2.0", agency manager Thomas Kilian shows how the Internet facilitates customer loyalty.
When researching the use of social media in the fitness industry, two things stand out: Very few fitness providers use the new services such as facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube, blogs, podcasts and wikis and if they do, they often do not fully exploit the potential of these services.
Active participation instead of passive consumption
First of all, you may be asking yourself what "Web 2.0" is all about. It is a collective term for various Internet applications that thrive on user activity. They are dialog-oriented and encourage participation. This is why the new Internet generation is also referred to as the "participatory web".
In contrast to the information-driven Web 1.0, the social web has become more sociable - like a marketplace that invites users to exchange ideas, talk shop and publish their own thoughts.
A number of parallels can be drawn here with the target group of the fitness industry. The days of "couch potatoes" are also over on the Internet. Today, what counts is your own contribution, which can be posted online without any programming knowledge or previous experience. Fitness enthusiasts are active, they are mobile (smartphones, tablet PCs) and they are looking to interact with each other - in other words, a very grateful target group for social media applications.
For good reason, there are numerous apps that are specially tailored to the needs of athletes. Practical helpers such as "runtastic", "Bauchmuskeltraining", "Nike+Running" and many others count steps or calories, measure and document distances, boost motivation, remind people of their training goals and encourage them to make appointments with like-minded people.
Success factors in Web 2.0
If you really want to be successful in Web 2.0, you should not blindly follow every trend, but first define for yourself what you want to achieve. It is important - also with regard to Internet marketing - to set clear and motivating goals. These could be, for example, networking with the members of a fitness studio, attracting new interested athletes, gaining a professional reputation for a particular training program or publicizing a new trend sport.
The tools, methods and specific measures will also vary depending on the objective.
It has been found that three factors are decisive for success on the Internet:
- Profiling
- visibility
- Continuity
These three aspects are interlinked and ensure that you will achieve your goals in the long term and sustainably.
1. profiling
The first step is to ask yourself a few questions about your own profile:
- Who am I?
- What do I offer?
- What am I particularly good at?
- What do I do differently from others?
- Why should new customers hire me?
- What reasons are there for customers to stay with us?
- (...)
Even if you can answer these questions clearly and unambiguously for yourself, take a critical look at whether the answers are just as obvious for visitors to your website, for users of your training app or for the desired target group of your new online offering.
Sharpening your own profile is the most important basis for successful action.
Here is an example to illustrate this:
The provider LuckyFitness.de from Dessau operates a facebook page with currently around 5,000 fans (as of December 2013). The cover picture, the information page and a video on the company's homepage clearly communicate its special profile:
- No admission fee
- No service or trainer fees
- Affordable monthly fee
- Contracts can be terminated monthly
Prospective customers can see at a glance what sets this provider apart from other fitness studios: It is defined above all by its low price and low entry barriers (no admission fee). Regardless of the evaluation of the content of such a profile, LuckyFitness communicates its unique selling points very consistently, easily understandable and clearly on all channels.
Individual & authentic
Before you get the idea of simply focusing on low prices, please consider the following: Copying a profile will not make you successful. You need to "develop" an independent profile that you and your customers can identify with. It is about authenticity and a truly unique position based on your particular strengths.
Many companies have already developed such a profile. They just don't communicate it clearly enough yet. Horace once said: "Repeated for the tenth time, it will please." This applies not only to exercises on the weight bench, but also to your profiling. Repeat your unique selling points until you can hear them! Write, title, set to music and publish your profile over and over again.
Follow the KISS principle: "Keep it short and simple!" So make it short, concise and, above all, easy for your target group to understand you. This will give you an important foundation for success on the Internet.
But the best profiling is useless if it is not visible enough. In the second part of this series, you can read how to increase the visibility of your online offering in order to reach your target group in the best possible way. <<
Thomas Kilian
Source: F&G
Fitness market on Facebook
Published on: 21 August 2014