Anyone in the field of wellness knows that they’re competing with literally thousands of other local businesses for face-time with customers. Here are 5 tips to help you rise above the mucky-muck and be not only the first to be seen by a customer but the first to be seen by thousands of customers.
1. Make your website “rich”
Of course aesthetics is high priority when it comes to your website. You want it to attract and woo potential customers at first glance. However, in this field it is so important to ensure your website is equally as informational. When you’re in the hands of someone’s health, show off some of your knowledge. It’s reassuring.
Try adding in a space on your site that’s easily accessible and consistently update this with interesting health topics that the everyday person may not know. For instance, including scientifically backed tips on nutrition, or a quick explanation on how to pick the best training style for individual goals. Provide helpful resources, answer questions and go above and beyond to help enrich your consumers.
Also from a SEO standpoint, including rich answers on your website to answer basic and commonly asked questions consumers tend to google, i.e “What is crossfit?” “Benefits of weight training” etc. can help your local business appear when these common questions are being searched for online.
2. #CreateYourCommunity
#HashtagsWork. Obviously. Everyone knows hashtags work to help people find your posts easily, but they are also perfect for creating a community. Make up a fun unique hashtag specific to your fitness or wellness center and encourage (even incentivize?) people to utilize it.
For example, Texas Health & Raquet Club in San Marcos, TX posts a workout challenge weekly on their website and in their gym, hashtagging it #CHOW.
They encourage people to tag their instagram page and hashtag #CHOW in their videos on social media of them completing the “challenge of the week.”
So… how does creating a community help marketing?
When people find Texas Health and Racquet Club on social media, they will see the numerous posts people have tagged them in. This can really help make a potential new member feel welcome and reassure them that THRC prioritizes creating a close knit and encouraging community with their members. THRC estimated that 30% of their members were influenced to come through the doors for the first time after they were already familiar to their Instagram and Facebook posts.
This simple marketing tactic helps them stand out from other gyms when people are trying to decide on which one they should go to!
3. Bring a friend to work(out) day
THATS. LITERALLY. IT.
Have a day (or week) where members can bring a friend or family member to test out your place. For this short period of time, refocus your priorities from making immediate profit to just welcoming new potential members. Just a smidge of patience could bring you some serious revenue down the line! You can provide free classes, free food, or simply just free access to the facility. Whatever you do, prioritize creating a warm and welcoming environment with little to no pressure on immediately signing up for a membership.
This simple day or week of extending a warm welcome with no strings attached can seriously pay off in the long run.
4. Stop, collaborate, and… market
Reach out to local businesses near you and see if working together could benefit both parties. If you own a gym for example, reaching out to collaborate with a meal prep or supplement company for an event or a promotional video helps extend your reach to the community.
Even consider collaborating with a local charity or school. Find a cause you are passionate about and host a fundraising event or raise money and donate some of your proceeds for a month. The payoff may not be as immediate, but the community impact will be dramatic and spark up some positive chatter about your company.
You can even knock two birds out with one stone and host an event at your location to help raise money for this charity or cause. Open your doors up to the community and use this as a chance to work on building those authentic relationships that consumers crave in a time where technology tends to do most of the work for us.
5. Go viral
This one is actually easier said than done. Creating a YouTube video as part of your marketing campaign is a great way to spread awareness about your business. With video content, you get to be creative and have the opportunity to share it with literally anyone who has access to the internet. Creating a video that will go viral is all about taking topics that are trending and ensuring you are spreading a relatable and compelling message in a high quality format. Easier said than done, but when executed well, the payoff is worth all of the hard work.
With over 64 million views, Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign from 2013 is a perfect example of a viral sensation. This promoted the brand while also raising awareness about body image issues. Being in the health field, there is tremendous opportunity for creating powerful videos and sending out some really important messages. After all, what is more important than your well-being?
If you need help marketing your wellness business in this crazy online world, feel free to drop us a line.