If you Google “Social Media Strategies” right now, it’s going to bring up over 370 million results. I know that sounds like truckloads of information, but if you scan the results on the first couple pages, you’ll notice that there are so many redundant articles that all point to a lot of the same ideas.
Formulating your own unique social media marketing strategy can be an extremely effective tool to help you build your brand awareness, create a loyal customer base, and increase your profits. All you need to do is discover what works best for your gym, and what gets your target audience going.
If the ‘normal’ tactics have not worked for you so far, here are a few slightly unconventional social media marketing tips that could work for you.
1. STAND OUT
Conventional knowledge would dictate that you should keep the majority of your social media content relevant to your products and services.
Not necessarily, though.
Quirky content will catch people’s attention and make them remember you! If it aligns with your brand, don’t be afraid to be a little silly sometimes or funny—people are looking for humour and personality before they start following someone on social media. In fact, some big brands define themselves by posting lots of funny or off-the-wall content. You want to catch attention while still relating it to your services.
2. THE CNN METHOD
CNN is a great place to get the news—over and over again. The channel is well-known for running stories into the ground with repetitive coverage.
What’s up with that?
The goal is to make sure that tons of people see their content AT LEAST ONCE.
You can apply this same strategy to your social media marketing so you can maximise audience exposure. Remember: the best kind of content is recycled content! Post the same content on all your social media pages, and don’t be afraid to run them again in a couple of weeks.
3. DO SOME EXTENSIVE MICROBLOGGING
Unless you’re posting on Twitter with its character limit, “micro” blogging on Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to post slightly longer content more often, with potential for higher engagement.
4. HASHTAGS
Joining hashtag trends give you the opportunity to expand your reach. By posting content using relevant hashtags, you are making your update visible to everyone who is looking up results related to your hashtag. This then encourages engagement from people who may not necessarily know about you or your gym.
5. USER GENERATED CONTENT
User-generated content is another effective way to expanding your brand awareness. Each time somebody shares your content—or any content that’s related to your brand—it exposes you to their personal network. You can capitalise on this by sharing some of your followers’ best posts, or launching a competition to get people involved. This not only encourages them to share more of your stuff on social media, it also makes them feel valued.
Last, but not least, word of mouth is still very important if you want to get your business out there. Take the time to personally ask a customer to follow you on Facebook, or include your social media URLs on your business cards.
And don’t forget that playing it by the book won’t always cut it in the world of social media marketing. There is no rule book. With this type of marketing, your customers often expect a more personal touch than what they get with conventional marketing. So if your social media marketing efforts aren’t getting the return you were hoping for, mix it up!
