7 reasons why your digital marketing should include one or more of these:     WHERE DID THOSE EMOJIS COME FROM? By now you’ve probably received an emoji in an email, via text message or on social media. You know, those yellow smiley (or sad) faces that were first introduced by Japanese Telecommunication companies in the late 1990s. Then in 2010 they became a Unicode character set that popular companies like Apple and Android introduced to their keyboards in late 2011 and 2013, respectively. THE FEAR OF USING EMOJIS AT WORK – I’ll look unprofessional While emojis do a great job at allowing you to express yourself when communicating electronically, should you really use them at work? A study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science,  suggests that emojis can actually make you appear less competent. If your work place is casual and many of your co-workers already use emojis in their correspondence, then chances are, they are acceptable. If you

Welcome to summer! Unless you are in a part of the world where it is summer twelve months of the year, many health clubs will slow down until the kids get ready to return to school in late August or early September. Families and friends tend to ease into a more relaxed lifestyle, attend cookouts, pool parties and other outdoor social gatherings and events. Physical activity also sees a shift outside as people take full advantage of great weather and extra daylight. If you’ve been planning ahead, then you will have already organized your third quarter marketing for the summer months, maximizing all the relevant opportunities (outdoor group fitness classes, member parties, community involvement, etc.) so it is time to get on the ball and plan for the rest of the year. Take a deep breath, pause and reflect on what just happened and what lies ahead. Plan, Execute, Track, Rinse and Repeat We added in the part about rinsing,

Planting the Seeds For Better Marketing The arrival of spring is a welcome change for many of us, whether it is simply better weather or the promise of fresh starts, new growth and opportunity. For many, spring cannot arrive too soon unless, of course, you don’t have a marketing plan! The ‘New Year’s Resolution’ season is over for another year and hopefully you were able to take advantage of a tidal wave of prospects that evolved into a wealth of new members who are now actively working out in the club. Even if this is the case, now is not the time to sit back and admire the fruits of your first quarter marketing labors. It is time to dig deep and cultivate the next crop of new members. Spring Clean Your Marketing Plan Just because spring is coming and you feel like a change, before you abandon your existing marketing plan and strategy, take a long, hard look and

The 21-day Fitness Study: Don’t be Afraid! Many clubs are afraid of the 21-day Fitness Study. “How do we do this?” “Do we have enough staff?” “Can we afford it?” These are just a few of the objections that you may need to help your staff overcome. But honestly, you can’t afford NOT to run a prospecting campaign of this type. It truly is one of the best ways to reach the de-conditioned population in your market that aren’t walking into your studios now. Whether you’re an independent trainer working with clients in their homes, are operating a small studio, or you’re large enough to have a staff, this program can be done and done well! Before going further, we want to clarify the distinction between the words “campaign” and “program”. They’re featured throughout this article, however; they are not being used interchangeably. Campaign refers to the marketing piece of the study and program refers to the structure of the

It’s a new year and as tradition dictates, it’s time to make a resolution! This year, might we suggest it be a resolution for marketing your business! Growing a successful business requires continuous marketing and marketing can only be successful when there is a plan in place. A comprehensive marketing plan should outline what, when and how; which in turn helps you track and analyze the results of your efforts, allowing you to create a road map for the future. A good starting point is determining where you need to increase revenue. For instance, how healthy is your dues line? How many members participate in Personal Training? Are your profit centers performing at full potential? Once you know the needs of your business, have assigned measurable objectives and prioritized these goals, do some market research, including a member plot. Find out exactly where your members are coming from, which is typically within a 3 to 5-mile radius of your business.