The Wodify Guest Blog Series is part of our initiative to open our doors to the Wodify fitness community around the world, so they may share their experience, news, and advice.
PJ Taei is the founder and president of Uscreen, an all-in-one video monetization and media streaming platform that empowers video entrepreneurs and creators to monetize their content and build thriving businesses around their videos.
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In the last few years, a phenomenon has taken place; one that every fitness business needs to get in on in 2020: Video Marketing.
On social media, video has become a prioritized content form. In fact, it’s so engaging, it generates as much as 8 billion views per day on Facebook and over 2 billion on Twitter.
It’s also versatile. You can use it to to expand your business beyond the boundaries of your brick and mortar gym, or to create a more holistic experience for your members, like providing information on equipment, diets, and supplements, for example.
In this blog post, I’ll share some of the most effective tips on how to leverage video for your business. We’ll cover everything from strategy to social media to promoting your videos.
Video is like all other forms of marketing. It must tie into your larger marketing strategy to really reap the rewards. While this may seem a little complex, the idea isn’t far from many other marketing initiatives at work today.
Brands often use more than one channel to position their products and services, and you can too. You just need to know how video supports your larger marketing and business goals before you hit record.
The great news is that video is versatile. You can use it to attract more prospects, educate them about the benefits of joining your gym, and convert them into members.
For example, do you want to promote your business to generate more sign-ups? Tout your personal training services? Highlight your in-gym retail products? It’s all possible! Once you know what your goals are, you can begin to create videos designed for specific results.
Today, brands all around the world are waking up to the power of customer demographics. This intimate understanding of who you market and sell your products to makes it easier to position your fitness business as a true solutions provider.
If you haven’t yet, take the time to develop your very own customer persona. A persona is a mock-up of your ideal customer. It’s a document that identifies the values, interests, needs, wants, and desires of your perfect customer.
To get started, download a free version of the customer avatar template from DigitalMarketer. It includes all you need to develop a well-rounded customer persona.
People want more out of their fitness experience, be it more energy, flexibility, strength or confidence. While most fitness businesses sell access to facilities, you shouldn’t. Instead, sell transformations.
Create videos that tell a story about what your customers can achieve and how they can get there. This will attract your ideal customer and separate your videos from the pack.
Email is a powerful and cost-effective tool. It’s also one of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your videos. So start planning email marketing campaigns with video in mind. And get creative with GIFs and images that contain play buttons, because they work to drive click-through rates to your videos.
Take your existing social media accounts and turn them into a more engaging marketing platform by sharing videos regularly.
Studies show that people spend 2 hours 22 minutes on social media each day, which means it’s an ideal, inexpensive forum to showcase your video content.
YouTube has over 2 billion users worldwide - a third of the internet. Its users span all sorts of niches, including health and fitness, so if your gym doesn’t own a YouTube channel yet, create one.
Promote your videos to generate a following, gain traction for your brand, and sell memberships, programming, and merchandise.
Many business owners are often averse to the idea of paying for online ads. They fear that they’ll end up losing money.
Here’s the thing: Paid media allows you to get in front of your ideal customer faster than organic content. It’s also effective. Research shows that millennials prefer video ads to other forms of content. This means you have a better chance of grabbing your audience's attention with video rather than with text or static images.
Thumbnails are like previews of your videos. The more engaging and attractive, the more clicks you can generate. Create some with graphics and others with people and gauge the response.
On YouTube, hero shots of people with text are common. Give that format a try and see what results you’re able to produce.
A Call to Action (CTA) is meant to prompt a decision and get your viewer one step closer to purchasing a product or service. “Learn more”, “Getting Started is Easy”, and “Your First Class is Free” are just a few examples of CTAs that can drive viewers to your website.
As you create your CTA, think about the benefit your audience stands to gain. Often, a CTA will get lost toward the end of a marketing message because it’s irrelevant or doesn’t stand out.
By including a benefit that a viewer will gain by taking action, you provide context. You show your viewer that it’s worth their time to click on a button or fill out a form. You also position your business for growth.
While there are many other elements that influence how effective a video can be, the way you position your video matters most. Much like having an engaging thumbnail, creating a powerful, eye-catching title is crucial.
The right words can help get you more clicks and position your video higher in local search engine rankings.
To best position your brand, here are two tips on how to create effective titles:
Research and incorporate keywords that your audience is searching for online to optimize your titles. Ubersuggest is a powerful and free-to-use tool that will show you your keyword search volume.
The 4 U’s formula is a method that many marketer’s use to draw in an audience. Aim to include at least two-to-three of the 4 U’s (urgent, unique, useful, and ultra-specific) to catch your viewer’s attention.
Video is an essential component for 2020 marketing success, as it can open up your business to a world of possibilities that generate more revenue in fitness.
Think strategically about which video applications you can apply to your marketing strategy and what your goals are. Leverage proven tactics like paid advertising to promote your videos as well as more organic channels like social media, YouTube and email marketing.
