Wouldn’t it be great if marketing fitness on social media could become second nature, like your fitness routine? The good news is, it can. 

Content creation is easier than you think — you just need a plan. And now’s the time. People are spending more time at home these days, and they’re looking for fitness gurus like you to provide guidance during these unprecedented times. Actively posting on your fitness social media accounts is a great way for your business to retain existing customers and reach new ones, but what kind of content should you post?

Just because consumers are more open to social marketing in the COVID-19 era doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to engage with your content. With so many advertisements bombarding social media users every day, it can be challenging to stand out amidst the digital noise. We’ll provide you with actionable steps you can take that will set your fitness brand apart and increase your following. In this guide, you will learn to: 

  • Determine which social media platforms to use
  • Repackage posts for different platforms
  • Take advantage of live streaming
  • Use video content in your marketing
  • Include customer content to build trust 
  • Leverage social media fitness influencers
  • Use hashtags on multiple platforms
  • Multi-task by posting about your daily fitness routine
  • Batch some of your content in advance
  • Schedule your posts to run on autopilot

Ready to find more customers and get expert fitness marketing advice, all in one place?

Determine which social media platforms to use

Which social media platforms you use to promote your fitness business will depend on a couple of factors. First, you’ll need to determine which platform your audience is already using. Next, you’ll want to consider the type of posts you’ll be using in your social media marketing. Are you continually making videos? If so, maybe focus on Youtube and Facebook. If aesthetically pleasing stills are your forte, perhaps Instagram would be the best way to market your business. 

Reserve your business account on multiple platforms, but start building just one. Then, as you have time, branch out to other platforms. Eventually, you’ll probably narrow down to focusing on only two or three of them, because it’s common for a business to do better on some platforms than others. 

Repackage posts for different platforms

Regardless of which social media platforms you end up using, you’ll be duplicating a lot of your content. Posting on at least two platforms will help you reach more people, but when you’re sharing the same content in more than one place, it’s best to incorporate a few differences in your posts. For example, when sharing your Instagram post on Facebook, you could include more text that adds detail to the original caption. Adding new commentary is important because some people will be on more than one platform and you don’t want to bore those users with redundancy.

Take advantage of live streaming

Have you tried going live on social media yet? Although you may be nervous about putting yourself out there, going live on social media is one of the best ways to grow your customer base. 

Going live allows you to engage with your audience

Since many businesses never go live, doing so can give you an advantage over your competitors simply because you’re entertaining people. Your followers will enjoy engaging with you in real-time, which adds a personal touch that many businesses don’t offer. 

You can incorporate live streaming into your existing routine. Consider going live during your workout or while preparing a nutritious snack. If you sell a product, you could go live to open the latest shipment that arrived in the mail. Who doesn’t love a suspenseful unboxing video?

Going live boosts social media algorithms 

Because of the way social media platform algorithms work, going live will cause more people to see your posts. Facebook’s algorithm rewards profiles for posts that get a lot of engagement and/or cause people to stay on Facebook longer. When you’re using Facebook live, people are more likely to stick around for a while and comment, which is what Facebook wants. Your reward is that your posts will show up in more people’s newsfeeds, which is obviously great for business. Other social media platforms’ algorithms work in similar ways, rewarding live stream users for their efforts. 

Tips for going live:

  • Post a teaser. Before going live, let people know so that your existing followers can plan to be online at that time. Before starting the live stream, text a few friends or fans, letting them know what time you’ll be going live. Some platforms, including Facebook, have a feature for inviting people after you start the video. Experienced influencers will chat with live viewers while also inviting key people who are likely to hop on and join. Having more people online will help boost the video so that people will see it. 
  • Be conversational. Asking people what they’ve been up to is a great ice-breaker that can help relax you at the beginning of the video. Don’t get into long conversations with commenters, though, or you’ll run the risk of boring your other viewers. Be interactive, but it’s your job to steer the conversation and stick to the subject at hand. 

Use video content in your marketing

Studies show that at least 85% of internet users watch videos online. Even if going live isn’t your style, you should strive to include video content of some kind. Unlike live streams, premade videos can be carefully edited, so there’s less pressure. Ideally, though, you’ll include a combination of still photos, live videos, and premade videos for variety in your content. 

Mobile users, in particular, prefer video content over written posts, so consider prioritizing video over long-form blog posts — since most people will be viewing your content from their phones. Again, have a variety of content, but including video will allow you to reach a larger base.

Include customer content to build trust

As you grow your business’s social media presence, essentially becoming the star of your own show, you will begin to accumulate a loyal following of people who come to see you. There will be those super fans who share your posts and hang on your every word, but there will be others in your audience who are more skeptical or don’t relate to you as much as another individual. They may be interested in your business, but they want to see results from people other than the business owner. 

Using customer content, including testimonials, is a powerful form of advertising that will add another dimension to your marketing campaign. Showcasing your customer’s results will allow your audience to see how your fitness program works in real life on real people. Not everyone looks like a model or a fitness trainer, and people want to see examples they can relate to, meaning customers of all shapes and sizes benefiting from your products or services. Your audience also wants to see progress at every stage, as opposed to just the final results. Most importantly, customer-generated content serves as social proof of your business’s success and authenticity.

Leverage social media fitness influencers

Reaching out to fitness social media influencers for help can be an effective way to expand your reach to new audiences. Keep in mind, though, that if you want a top influencer to collaborate with you, it’s probably going to cost you. Anytime you ask someone with a large following to link to your business or otherwise promote you, they’re going to expect something in return. Still, the investment will likely pay for itself by giving your business a much-needed shot in the arm. The adage that says it takes money to make money rings true in this situation.

fitness social media marketing may include using influencers
This post offers an example of leveraging a fitness social media influencer to vouch for your existing content by sharing it with their own audience.

Use hashtags on multiple platforms

Hashtags are a useful tool on social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Linked In. Keep in mind, though, that some of those platforms may penalize you if you overuse hashtags. When used in moderation, hashtags can link your posts to larger conversations, expanding your business’s reach. Try using just one well-thought-out hashtag per post.

Pro tip: Be sure to check what else comes up under a hashtag before using it to avoid being associated with something controversial. 

Multi-task by posting about your daily fitness routine

fitness social media marketing can include snapshots of workouts or other health regimens
A photo taken during a daily workout is a great example of a social media image that supports your fitness business.

Post about your workout

Since you’re already working out anyway, plan to take some action shots of yourself or a cooperative friend during your workout. You don’t even need to show your face in the picture if you don’t want to. The goal is to get eye-catching images that will capture the attention of your target audience. An important principle in fitness marketing is to show, not just tell your audience what you’re doing. 

Post about your diet plan

In addition to posting your workouts, sharing information about your diet is also fitness related. Whether it’s a pre or post-workout-snack or your meal-prepping routine, people are always looking for new ideas about what to eat. Variety is important in your posts, so your audience doesn’t become bored, and posting about your favorite healthy foods and beverages keeps your audience in the loop about your own approach to fitness.

Share something about yourself

By the way, it’s okay to occasionally post something a little personal on your business social media account. Do this sparingly, but the occasional feel-good post about your kids or pets will help you build rapport with your followers by allowing them to get to know you better. This is completely optional and depends on your business’s size and whether or not your posts typically focus on your own personal journey. 

Batch some of your content in advance

Let’s face it, there will be days where you’re too busy to come up with content for Instagram or Facebook. Not only that but maybe you’d rather live in the moment instead of documenting your daily routine in pictures. This is where batching comes in. If it’s not feasible to incorporate content creation into your routine, consider setting aside a few hours each week to gather social media content. Just bring a few outfits to the photo shoot, so it won’t be obvious that the pictures were all taken the same day. 

Schedule your posts to run on autopilot

Using a content or marketing calendar will keep you organized, so you’ll remember to post the content that took so much time to create. As for individual posting, consider automating some of your posts. For example, on your Facebook business page, you can schedule a post in advance as long as you are on your computer. (The pre-scheduling feature isn’t available on Facebook’s mobile app.) If you’ve been doing all your Facebook posts in real-time, you’ll love taking advantage of the scheduling feature.

Pro Tip: If you’re a Constant Contact customer, you can preschedule your Facebook and Instagram posts at the same time you schedule your email marketing campaigns to go out. It’s like throwing twice the punch with half the effort.

Stay on the path to dominating your niche on social media 

Right now, you probably have more time on your hands than usual to create and promote social media content, but you’ll need to keep it up. Long after the COVID-19 crisis has ended, you should continue implementing the above content marketing strategies. For best results, post at least once a day on each social media platform. Consistency is key, which is why weaving content creation into your regular routine is vital. 

Now that you know the best practices for marketing your fitness business on social media, you’re ready to start gathering content and scheduling posts.  Dominating your niche on social media is a reachable goal as long as you create a sustainable routine and stay consistent with it. 

For further reading on boosting your social media marketing results, check out our free online fitness marketing guide, The Download