How to spread positivity through your online marketing

In this article, Jonathan Birch, Creative Director at digital marketing agency Glass Digital, shares his top tips for spreading a positive message when marketing your fitness business online.

We’re living in a very uncertain time at the moment thanks to COVID-19. There doesn’t seem to be anything but negativity on the news, vulnerable people are at huge risk, and we’re all stuck in our homes for the foreseeable future. Nobody would blame you if you wanted a little break!

One of the major obstacles facing the fitness industry right now is social isolation. Because of this challenging, but very necessary, precaution, people can’t meet up for group exercise classes over five people.

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t help your clients — many people are looking online for fitness instruction, giving you the perfect platform to continue being a beneficial influence. To help you out, I’ve put together some of my top tips for spreading some positivity in your online marketing.

Only spread positive news

First and foremost, I’d recommend that you stick to sharing positive news items through your business’s channels — after all, there’s enough negativity out there to go around. You don’t have to gloss over the fact that COVID-19 is causing havoc, you just need to highlight the stories about people overcoming adversity and making the world a little bit better.

With this in mind, if you like to keep your customers informed about the latest goings on and trends in the fitness world through your blog, on social media, or through a newsletter, be sure to dig around for news that warms the heart or solves problems.

Offer something useful for free

A little goes a long way. Although you should never give your skills and expertise away for free, a small taster of what people can expect can leave them wanting more. Consider posting a free five- minute taster video on your website or social media page. Advertise as a ‘try before you buy’. Knowing what your class is going to be like before committing can really put beginners at ease and increase your potential customer base.

Keep things simple and easy

One of the big challenges for people stuck at home is getting enough exercise, especially if they’re at risk and can’t leave the house or the Government introduces stricter measures, where going outside is no longer possible. This means that there are a likely lot of people confined indoors that have never had to perform structured exercise routines.

By keeping your online workout advice simple and easy for people new to organised fitness, you can encourage them to get involved without overwhelming them. Make sure you have plenty of options for beginners, and market them in a way that emphasises their accessibility and convenience. This way you can rest easy knowing you’re doing your bit by catering to everyone during lockdown.

Engage and encourage on social media

Under normal circumstances, you likely spend a lot of time providing face-to-face encouragement to keep your clients motivated, as well as giving advice so they are performing activities properly. Well, even under current social isolation laws, you don’t need to stop being a positive influence in people’s lives. Through social media, you can continue being a source of motivation and knowledge.

There are plenty of ways that you can engage and encourage people online. You could ask people to come up with their top questions about home workouts, then address them all in an FAQ video or article. You might want to create daily content that encourages users to share their own experiences and support each other. It can also be as simple as being willing to interact with people’s comments, showing that you’re trying to be a positive influence.

Keep your customers informed

One of the qualities everyone is looking for in these turbulent times is stability, so be sure to keep your customers up to date with the goings on in your fitness business. This can just be small details, like when and how people can contact you, or more regular updates, such as what online classes you plan to run in the week ahead. This can help people plan their week for more structure.

Don’t forget that you can set up live events on many platforms ahead of time, allowing you to share them with your customers so they can bookmark them and plan their schedule. Also, if you have to go ahead and cancel an event, let everyone know as soon as possible so they’re not inconvenienced.

Hopefully these tips will help you to add some much-needed positivity to your marketing in these bleak days. In turn, you should be able to give your current and potential clients a timely boost.