A blip or the new norm… a few thoughts for Fitness Professionals
Simply put, the last few weeks have been a challenge.
It’s been felt by everyone as the COVID-19 crisis dramatically and swiftly swept the globe and the fitness industry. But when you take a step back there’s a silver lining within fitness…and that’s recognizing the energy, tenacity and creativity with which the community has rallied together to rapidly adapt to the circumstances to remain socially connected yet physically distance.
Two weeks ago the idea of an IG Live HIIT class or yoga session was unfathomable. The thought of doing a 20 person group fitness class over a Zoom conference was unheard of. The belief that clients would, with little or no equipment, clear some space in their living room and actually join these sessions seemed unlikely.
But just jump on Instagram or search Google News for “virtual fitness class” and you’ll see the successes! A testament to the strength of the fitness community and something that everyone involved with should be incredibly proud of!
For this reason, and as the immediacy of the dust settles from the shock brought by the crisis, we wanted to put together a quick note specifically for fitness professionals to share thoughts, ideas and resources for navigating these unprecedented times. There are plenty of articles focused on studios & gyms but we wanted to create something specific for fitpros.
To be clear, this is not intended to be a “playbook” as every situation and everyone is unique. Rather we hope it helps fuel the creative energy we’ve already seen, serves as a reminder of what makes the fitness community and what you have already created so great, and shares a framework for where you might focus your time over the next weeks including:
- Building…your online presence
- Delivering…digital classes
- Engaging…your clients
- Connecting…with other fitness professionals
(Read on — but here’s the link to join the Slack FitPro Community chat)
Build…your online presence
#1 most important factor for clients when they select a class is the fitness professional — they care more about you then anything else!
People are motivated in different ways, making not every fitness professional for everyone and not everyone for every fitness professional. So use the time now to leverage the amazing brand you cultivated in the real / offline world with your tribe and create a tangible online brand and presence.
It’s now 2020 and time you had a centralized online presence that…
- Reflects and celebrates your unique fitness brand & style;
- Promotes everything you do as a fitness professional (e.g. group classes, bootcamps, private coaching, etc.); and which
- Builds on and leverages your reputation across your different services.
For instance you might be a group fitness instructor where 100s if not 1000s of clients have attended your classes. Start collecting reviews from those clients to support you as you build your personal training or digital class business!
To get started you might build a personal website (e.g. SquareSpace) or utilize social media to the extent you haven’t already (e.g. Instagram). Alternatively, at onPodio we’ve created a platform that lets you create your own profile that aggregates everything you do as a fitness professional in one spot — your class schedules (incl. digital), IG, music playlists, reviews and more.
Deliver….digital classes
85% of clients would follow their favorite fitness professional(s) if they moved— what better place to have your clients follow you now than online!
Unfortunately the reality is that we’re not living in a perfect environment right now and that’s true for everyone — you, your studio and your clients. But remember people need to continue exercising and people want to take your classes if they can, so regardless of the video quality or imperfect bass for your music give them that option!
Create the “minimal viable product” digital class which can be as simple as…
- Creating a Zoom account;
- Programming a no/low equipment class;
- Promoting it via social media, your online presence (per above) or directly via email or text to you clients; and
- That’s it!
You can collect feedback, learn and build from there, but starting is the most important step!
(P.S. if you’d like to learn how to run a virtual class that lets your clients sync to your Spotify playlist live using their own speakers — not via the the conference line — then join the Slack FitPro Community for the details)
Engage…your clients
It’s about physical distancing not social distancing, so continue engaging with your tribe where you can— they want to connect with you and the community, now more than ever!
Particularly with the rise of group classes, fitness is now much more than just exercise. It’s a social outlet and a community that’s core to the lives of many. So while we might be physically distant for now, the positive is that we live in a world where we have many tools to continue to stay connected right in the comfort of our living rooms.
Find creative (but simple) ways to create forums to foster community where you can engage with your clients, but as importantly for your clients to engage with one another— remember it doesn’t need to be commYOUnity make it a commUNITY. This might include…
- Creating a simple WhatsApp group and adding your clients to chat with you AND with each other…about anything!
- Setting up virtual happy hours with Zoom or even a virtual games night with Houseparty… nothing fancy, keep it casual!
- Utilizing the “Close Friends” feature on IG to share more exclusive / candid content
You should do what is natural and convenient for you to connect with your community, don’t create work out of it — keep it simple!
Connect…with other fitness professionals
Most importantly stay connected with your colleagues and make new connections in the industry — we’re in uncharted territories and everyone is sharing / learning from one another.
There is no better time than now to connect with your fellow fitness professionals, so reach out to them on Instagram, Facebook or any other channel. In the same way your clients want to stay connected, make sure you stay connected with your counterparts, whether they are new or old friendships!
To support this we’re launching a Slack community for fitness professionals to come together to learn / share notes and stories and to support each other. It’s open to everyone so feel free to share the link below to help foster a digital community and resource for fitness professionals to tap into as they need!
Join the Slack FitPro Community and say hello!
While many of you are already doing this and more, we hope this has been helpful and feel free to reach out to us at onPodio if you have questions, comments or ideas.…onward and upward!
