Snapchat isn’t your typical social network, I’ll give you that. Initially, it was about sending photos or videos to your friends that could only be played once, and only for a few seconds, and then they’d disappeared forever. Some people found this to be pointless and, if you are like me who wants to keep track of everything, then I bet you will agree.
But did you know that Snapchat has officially surpassed Twitter in popularity? More people are becoming highly engaged on Snapchat and big brands are now spending more money to attract this audience. But, aside from them, even smaller businesses can grow on Snapchat at a very minimal budget. Specifically for gyms, Snapchat awareness and engagement can easily convert into membership signups. So perhaps it’s time to forget what we thought we knew about it and start using Snapchat like a pro.
Here are 5 ways that your gym should use Snapchat.
Create your own brand ambassadors
Encourage your members to promote you on Snapchat by creating your own custom branded filters that are geofenced to your gym’s location. They’ll end up promoting your gym by simply using your branded filter on the snapchat pictures and videos that they share with their friends. People are using Snapchat with or without you, so you might as well give them the chance to promote your business.
FilterPop and GeoFilter Studios are just some of the many companies that specializes in creating custom-branded geofilters.
One awesome tool that we use here at Gym Hub for our social media content is Canva. Canva can help you create custom geofilters in just a few minutes. If you are not sure what to use, they have hundreds of professionally designed layout that you can use. Check it out here: https://www.canva.com/templates/snapchat-geofilters/
Avoid being predictable
Snapchat is an engagement platform so your followers actually look forward to the latest posts because they want to be entertained with. So before you start snapping, ask yourself this question, what can I bring to the table that’s interesting and different?
Test the waters
Snapchat is unlike other social media platforms in that content posted here isn’t permanent, so it forces users to be original. This is perfect for the fitness industry. The focus should be about progress and not perfection. So for your gym, try to focus more on capturing members’ progress instead of chasing after a “perfect” moment because that’s not what Snapchat is about.
Tell a story
Snapchat videos are only on record for 10 seconds. So get your energy up, gather the team, and get ready to make your stories as engaging and entertaining as you can! The more out of the box your videos are, there is more potential for these stories to go viral on Facebook when you post them.
Expert tip: snapchats are most entertaining when paired with different filters, so be creative!
Recycle content from other platforms
You’ve probable spent a ton of time and resources building your following on different social platforms and have truckloads of stuff in the archives. So even if you do end up using Snapchat more, it’s important not to neglect those other platforms.
Expert tip: Save all your snaps to your phone and upload them to your other social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get the most mileage out of your content.