Offering an Immersive, 'Taste Test' Experience in Your Marketing
After my recent move to the suburbs of San Francisco, I was faced with finding a gym near my new home. During my search, I was specifically looking for a small group exercise studio, and my top priorities, like most fitness consumers, were:
(1) I wanted a spectacular workout experience with my favorite music and exercises that matched my fitness level
(2) I wanted a glowing, connected, advanced level coach that I could trust as my leader.
I quickly realized that most boutique studios do a VERY underwhelming job with marketing their workout experience and coaches, with many of them relying on a creative class name and 2 sentence description to sell a class, and a black and white head shot and quick list of certifications to convince me of trusting a coach.
I am here to challenge each of you to dream BIGGER in presenting your workouts and coaches in a more immersive format in your digital marketing, in order to immediately connect your potential customers with the key determinants that keep them coming back over and over - a phenomenal workout experience and a stellar coach!
Profoundly Showcase the Class/Workout Experience
Uberly creative class names with a fun written description are a nice way to showcase your classes if you are Ok with being just like every other studio. Rise to the top in your market by sharing an unexpected, immersive introduction to your classes and workouts that truly showcases the style of teaching, music selection, difficulty level of the exercises and overall class experience.
I reached out to my friend and group exercise consultant Staci Alden for her thoughts and I love her recommendations - “Something I'm really working on with my Group Fitness Manager clients is the value of a ‘TRAILER’ VIDEO to showcase their classes. How willing are you to sit through a movie without seeing the trailer first? Think about attending a group fitness class for the first time. As Group Fitness Managers, we may think that we write very clear class name descriptions... but until a participant is able to step into a studio, meets the instructor, or logs into a live stream, they have very limited resources for what to expect in a class. We need to do our best to give them as much information as possible in order to market the true workout experience, and a trailer video is the ideal way of doing this.”
For MANY group workout enthusiasts, MUSIC is the #1 reason that students chose one class over another. So for classes that are well defined by their music selection (and honestly shouldn’t all of them be?), I recommend going ‘above + beyond’ in introducing potential clients to the music that they can expect in each type of class. Include links to each coach’s favorite Spotify playlists, a list of their favorite artists or maybe a chart of their top 10 most played songs.
In 2022, with 89% of consumers reading a review before making a purchase, it is ESSENTIAL that you include CLASS SPECIFIC REVIEWS, photos, videos and feedback from real class students on each individual class’s description page, in order to convince new clients to give that specific class a try.
Immediately Connect through your Coaches
Often, the leading reason that clients come back to a class or training session is their connection with a specific coach. So a trainer/coach bio page with a black and white headshot and a template five sentence bio is NOT going to get the job done in connecting potential customers to the spirit, vibe and coaching style of your trainers and coaches. Examine your TRAINER BIO PAGES from the perspective of a dating app. We are trying to ‘stop the scroll’ and form perfect matches between new clients and coaches from day one!
At DIAKADI, we pride ourselves on offering a robust trainer matching program where clients are able to select the trainer that best fits their goals, personality and training style. We recently redesigned our DIAKADI trainer bio pages with this advanced connectivity idea in mind and we have seen an excellent uptick in the speed of our client acquisition rates, specifically around expediting the process of each client’s trainer selection. I recommend including the following areas on your coach/trainer BIO PAGES:
A PHOTO GALLERY: Include a wide variety of photos that show the coach working with a variety of their ideal clients, doing the exercises that are true to their programs. Also include some workout/lifestyle shots of the coach living their healthiest, inspirational life both inside and outside the gym.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES: Include a deeper glimpse into the purpose and the ‘why’ for each coach by including some inspirational quotes and thoughts, both from the coach as well as from their mentors and leaders.
REVIEWS SPECIFIC TO EACH COACH: As I mentioned above, the power of social proof and client testimonials is undeniable. Be sure to include short, powerful reviews for each coach on their individual page. Ideally include a photo and description of the clients and use bolding to emphasize the most important sections of the review. Remember less is more, so swap out long text reviews for powerful shorter quotes.
VIDEOS OF THE COACH TEACHING CLASS + WORKING WITH CLIENTS: Videos are the best way to truly introduce what it would feel like to be in a class or session with a coach. If a trainer is comfortable on camera, try to include a personal message from the coach as well.
Now for your next action steps to take:
Perform a complete scan of your digital marketing elements and using the ideas above, locate your top priorities for boosting your new client connectivity and truly immersing potential customers in your bar setting, fitness experience.
If I can ever help with thinking creatively or reviewing your ideas, do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.
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