23 Social Media Tips for Personal Trainers & Health Coaches

Boost Your Fitness Brand Now

These social media tips are going to come at you rapid fire. Be ready! Choose a few you need and aren't doing. You don't have to do them all! Do decide, do, then measure your progress. These are based on the past three weeks of sitting on two panels, actually emceeing one, and presenting 3 times on social media tips that are working right now. 

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1. Pick the platform your BEST customer is on and OWN it first before you spread yourself thin elsewhere. Already on “all the sites” let them go dark and post that you’ve posted X to your first priority site (e.g. a new video on YouTube or a live on Facebook) regularly. 

2. 2. Schedule your posts based on when your customer is using a platform.Create the schedule and stick to it. For instance if the majority of your fans are on at 4, 5, and 6pm in your time zone and it’s fairly even but Tuesday and Wednesday are the biggest days that tells you a lot about when to post key material, right?
3. Post organically in real time when possible.It’s showing a bigger reach than scheduled posts across most platforms for influencers. YOU can plan your post and have them cued up and ready to go but have someone or you post in real time. 

4. Use your insights every week.They should dictate what you post, what you don’t, the medium of your post (long text, short text, image and what kind of image, or video) They also tell you if you’re reaching and growing to the audience you’re targeting.
5. There IS a #hashtag strategy and should you use it.On Instagram 11-29 hashtags that are relevant to the post! If you post a recipe your tags should reflect food, healthy food, recipes, etc. If you’re “done” you don’t need more hashtags to do better. Choose the best hashtags and leave it alone.
6. Put hashtags on Instagram posts in the first commentafter you post, not on the post itself. Don’t weave them into your post, which makes it difficult to read. 

7. Research hashtags with low, moderate, and heavy use.You’re going to get lost choosing #fitness #fitnessmotivation with millions and millions of posts. But you may get found and grow if you use #fitnessforwomen #womenwholift #womenwhorun #athomefitness and you can create and use your own. Be sure you tell your audience, hey, use this! The smaller you are the more you use those lesser-used ones. Think of it as a long-tail key word phrase. You’ll get fewer people overall but more of the right people.
8. Don’t forget your content bank.You’ve already created videos and articles. They can become images and lists that become infographics or compilations. Long videos can become multiple teasers for your programs or long content. Are you reinventing the wheel constantly when you post? Go back to the posts that have done well. Don’t only focus on more material like that, but on repurposing that same content. There are new people all the time coming to your site and pages. Show them the same posts they otherwise wouldn’t see. It can be a trip down memory lane for your loyal fans and an introduction to you for your new followers.
9. Introduce yourself regularly.Use a season or an event (e.g. anniversary, threshold of fans) as an excuse to reintroduce yourself on your platforms. Don’t assume they know what you stand for already. Share your mission, your why, and let them get to know you better with a longer description of you. Break it up with emojis and space.
10. Choose your titles wisely.This is definitely true for video content either loaded to Facebook natively or to YouTube. It’s also true of your blogs or podcasts. (as it is your subject lines in emails)!

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7. Make more than one unique content-sharing posts. An image of a guest you’ve interviewed for example will do better than the same podcast cover or a logo. It’s new and fresh every time. Once people are used to seeing your cover image they’ll skim over it and miss that it’s new content. As a part of Social 365 system I teach how to create 6 slices of juicy social posts from any one piece of content.
8. Short and long posts, videos, work for different reasons.Short posts work for short attention spans and may grow your following. Short videos are seen for a greater percent of time: important on Facebook and YouTube uploaded videos. Long videos get viewed for more minutes – important on YouTube for showing up in recommended videos to more of the people who watch. Keep doing both. Short ones may gain you ability to reach more people when you’re launching program/product specific content. Long ones will target those really interested or more analytical. 

13. Follow to mimic only those people who have your model of monetizing!That said –you’re mimicking only their strategy, not their brand uniqueness. If someone else is an influencerand make money from advertisers and sponsors, and you want to sell your services, what they do will not be a direct success track for you!

Key: unless you know someone is making money you don’t know that winning the popularity contest online is generating revenue. Is it a hobby, or is it a business and life you want to create? 500 engaged buyers who follow you may be more lucrative than 500 or 50,000 fans who “like” you.

14. Have a back end.You don’t start with social unless you first are just testing and listening and adjusting to find what demand exists for products you’ll create. You start with already knowing what you want them to do next. Ultimately what do you want them to do next? Click to buy (may not be the best first date idea) or click to get a free “quick win” you’ve created to solve their problem or satisfy that greatest desire are options. Answer a question, tag a friend, or scroll are actions. Before you post, know. You want to have some kind of call to action. You’re training them to engage and get rewarded for it.
15. Respect the platform.At the end of the day any platform wants viewers to stay on the platform. Don’t take them off with every post. (Somewhere between 25-75% of the time channels are finding work for them). That’s the rate you include end cards that link to your website. Have viewers like, comment, or share by engaging with them (beyond just askingfor a like, comment, or share). Have them watch another related video or a playlist. Ask for response to a poll. Allow the platform to choose the best for viewer (YouTube). The longer you keep someone on the platform the more the platform may show you some love!
16. Use live video. Video at all is the best way to be seen and shared. Live video on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and LinkedIn (new). Boost your lives, especially those that are lead or sale generating.
17. Use comments when you Live stream on YT, FB, and on IG. Add link to your promotion in the comments not in the text.
18. Post better not more content.Experiment. What used to be true about 10-14 times on Twitter or 4 times a day on Facebook just isn’t any more. It’s overwhelming viewers. Post better quality less often.
19. Partner with othersso you’ve got twice as many audience members to share with. Invite guests to do live FB with you or live streaming on YouTube.
20. Multitask by creating lives across your platforms. Go live everywhere (With a third device you can record for IGTV.) You can create an “I see you everywhere!”response from your customers and fans.
21. Ask your customers. When in doubt about where to be, or at least where to be first, ask you customers. They choose, not you. The advice given is often, “choose one platform and own it first.” It’s your customer that should choose. Do your homework. Who is your target? The one person who represents all those you want, and where do they hang out? Where they are and how they like to consume information should dictate what, where, and when you post.
22. Use tools wisely.TubeBuddy for YouTube supports that platform.You’ll get custom key word strategies, go through systematic ways to take care of all the things that matter and make your videos rise to the top. It’s both a reminder and a research tool.  Not all tools are created equally. You can plan and post ahead of time but it may not always be best. Keep asking about the difference between set-it-and-forget-it and posting in real time.
23. Use Playlists. Add videos to playlists in YouTube which encourages people to view the video they see then roll right into the next, keeping them on the platform, your channel specifically, and increases your view time. Playlists on your Facebook page can help viewers return to content you’ve created and organize it in a way they will continue to engage with too.

Overwhelmed? Need Coaching?

Social media tips without action? Just a time drain. Connect for a Special Coaching offer that will get you in the habit of creating content that you can monetize. You can do or delegate knowing it works.

Stop the madness of posting without a next step or trying to post flyers and schedules, or posting sales that turn platforms against you and alienate fans.

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Speak to sell fitness by creating a presentation that inspires and educates. I’m not talking about your power point. The best presentations to those groups like Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, and corporations don’t use power point. They use heart. I speak to sell fitness opportunity must have the emotional factor. If you don’t touch emotion you won’t be remembered.

40-year Fitness business owner/operator Tom Durkin is here today- not to do a book review – we’ll be back with another book review soon and I’ll link to a few prior episodes here. Tom has been one of the biggest influences of fitness in the state of Iowa with multiple business locations in multiple cities. Uniquely he’s anything but a silent partner he’s operating general manager.

That means during the course of a day he’ll lead management meetings, nursery meetings, hire and train personal trainers, work in the membership office, sign employees paychecks, approve ads, and make public appearances to any number of groups including the chamber of commerce, large corporations, small businesses to grow the membership and help people. He has over 300 employees and thousands of members. He speaks. He sells.

• Looking back over 40 years, how valuable has public speaking been in growing your businesses and your “brand” as the fitness guy?
• Lot’s of people get asked to speak, some get asked back, and you’ve been asked back many times, what do you attribute that to? 

• You have over 300 employees – some in the position you were in when you began – but you are asked to give the presentation. Why do you think that is? Why don’t you send your employees?
• How would you describe the kind of presentation you give? 

• How do you prepare and plan? You’ve got to have a beginning, middle, end that includes some kind of offer and we’ll talk about that separately, can you lay out how your presentation might go?
• Story is a huge connector and it has the ability to 1) create an emotional imprint 2) be remarkable – people will retell a story who will never retell the way to build bone density or some esoteric reasons fitness changes lives … now, you’ve got an advantage of 40 years of story collecting… do you remember? When you first started what stories did you tell? 

• How do you structure your offer at the end of a presentation?
• More than one trainer or owner listening may resonate with your message and still be thinking, I could never do that, come on that strong, use those words… what would you say to them?
• You may be thinking, I don’t have 40 years to get good, collect stories, get confident… how can I get started now?

The thing that stops more trainers from speaking to sell fitness is confidence. You have a message, you would like to reach more people. I’ve watched one trainer who trained one-on-one clients at a whisper because she lacked confidence and didn’t want anyone else to hear what she was saying – go from that to loving to speak. It took a couple years… of her following up with calls to clients, doing consultations and asking for the sale.

Here’s the difference: confidence.

Confidence comes doing things out of your comfort zone. So say you’re a basketball player and you’ve traveled all over in college, you started, you were great at it, you always got pretty good grades, did well in most things you tried. You don’t gain confidence from that. Why? Because it came easy. 

In fact, if in your life most things were easy – at least doing them average was easy – you lack confidence when it comes to something new. If you’re not good at it right away chances are you push back. Case in point?

What's Blocking Your Confidence?

Look at your own high school or college athlete stars. Then look at the nerds who weren’t part of the popular group. Usually after high school those nerds blossom. The stars? Many of them played it safe and aren’t in very good shape any more. They go live at home where they can relive that old identity and are more likely to be overweight and out of shape. True story! Life will force you to grow and develop confidence or you’ll coast through without really gaining anything but luck. 

Most of the listeners who started their own fitness business from middle class America had middle class or better grades, and sports, and dated a few people then got engaged and married and it was all pretty easy. Those who didn’t have the ideal childhood, who had to get better, have more confidence and often come on stronger. Can you relate to that?

So getting out of your comfort zone and doing things you don’t ordinarily do is key. Not once, but committing to them for 8 weeks or 3 months.

Speak to Sell Fitness Opportunities:

Speaking today includes podcasts, webinars, live video (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Instagram TV).

I speak 3-4 times a week almost every week even if I don’t get on a stage or in front of a room of people. Create it. Film it. Critique it. Get better.

Take some action. Speak to sell fitness by being interesting, animated, and interested in your audience's goals.

Speaking Resources:

• Toastmasters
• National Speakers Association
• improvisation
• comedy club
• drama class

They can build confidence. And they can make you a more interesting speaker. Who gets “yes” and who gets asked back? Interesting, engaging speakers who are having a good time being authentic. You can, by the way, speak to sell fitness, without being salesy, or sleazy. 

Want help crafting a story that targets emotion and sells without selling? Book a session with me to talk about your speak to sell skills and how to get you booked to speak soon. 

Other Resources:

Link to How to Make an Irresistible Fitness Offer

How to Reach the Most Lucrative Market

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1) visit Voice for Fitness Professionals in iTunes

2) click listen in iTunes

3) leave a star rating and a comment

4) know how much I appreciate it!

If you’re making video for fitness marketing (and if you’re not you’re missing out on the fastest way to attract clients) this is your episode.

I had a call with my videographer for my most recent project to get tips to save you money, get a great project, and start searching for people to hire.

Videos for Fitness Marketing: Beyond Your Phone

When you’re ready to move past your phone (and you should be using your phone to create video for fitness marketing) for something, this is what you want to know!

Even if you’re not yet creating video for fitness marketing but you know you need to start, this will get your creative juices flowing about how to plan and what to do. (I’ll share in another podcast how to actually plan and create those videos).

My guest is cinematographer and editor Erik Lasko based in Boulder, CO. No matter where you are his points apply to you. You can walk through the same steps I used to find help making video for fitness marketing or your product. 

Phone Home

The majority of your videos for fitness marketing can (and should) come from your phone. One fitness icon I know has created a million+ dollar business shooting video (and editing) on her phone. For bigger projects she hires but much of her stuff is just done when she’s ready to turn the camera on.

So there really isn’t much reason not to for you. You probably have the same phone in your hand.

Questions we cover in this episode:

• If a fitness pro is hiring a videographer/photographer for the first time and just has no idea/feels vulnerable - what are some questions she should ask to vet out a good candidate? 
• If fitness pros are hiring a videographer what kind of rates should they be looking for? 
• What are the options you as a videographer could offer for someone?
• What's make costs of a project (shoot and or editing) go up?
• What could a fitness pro do to keep rates low if just starting on a budget? 

What are other creative ways a fitness pro can repurpose filmed projects? 

Another repurpose idea:

When you’re doing a project don’t forget the value of “shooting the shoot.” Take pictures of you with the lights in front of the camera. You’ll need a second camera or phone to do it. Even that is a good tease – a reason to tell your audience what you’re working on for them.

How to Hire

I started shopping with a Google search and on Craigslist. You can look at local cinematography schools too. Students often have the equipment, or use of it, and will do a project for less than a pro. It might be good enough for your first project.

For other projects I flew someone in from out of state, he stayed in my guest room and we shot for 2 ½ days straight from a list of video and scripts I had well planned out. He did great work and was by comparison more affordable (including flight, Uber, shooting and editing) than someone I had used for 2 other projects locally.

Erik’s little details to remember:

• Unplug your refrigerator
• Turn off you’re A/C
• Plan ahead for planes and trains 

Remember that noise you don’t even notice in your own environment any more can be a big bummer for viewers. 

On that note, our phone call recording for this episode was not ideal sound quality. Hearing it after, I remember why I no longer use it normally. I vowed to be done with phone interviews. It’s just not worth it the risk it will work. Make sure to test-drive your sound quality. If you listened all the way through, thank you!

Connect with Erik Lasko:

Cinematographer/Editor

El222905@gmail.com

Vimeo channel dynamicmediacolorado

Working with (or want to) women who need a hormone balancing fitness specialist? As part of the Advanced Specialist you get a chance to work for 4 months on your marketing to leverage what you learn and get started.