Building Your Online Fitness

Center Community: Best

Practices to Retain & Reach New

Members

October 16th, 2012

Elizabeth Studebaker, Club One Senior Marketing Manager

Building Your Online Fitness Center

Community

Key Website Functionality

Social Media Best Practices

Reviews & Reputation Management

Key Website Functionality

• Simple navigation menu

• Group Fitness, Aquatics, Class Schedules,

Facilities/Services, Membership, Sports, Bulletin

Board

• Easily-accessible web inquiry form

• Tie trial pass to drive leads

Web Basics – Inquiry Form

Key Website Functionality

Keep content concise – use hyperlinks

Use images to communicate

Above/below the fold content

Provide social media buttons

Key Website Functionality

Key Website Functionality – Provide

Navigation Options

Club One’s Social Media Objectives

Build Connections & Aid Retention – spark conversation to engage communities and establish relationships

Lead Generation – provide a platform for sharing and connection; amplify our best customers

How Club One promotes Social Media

• In-Club Marketing

• Emails

• Website

• Mobile App

• Video

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

YouTubeOnline Group Purchasing

Zuberance

Pinterest

Yelp

In-club Monthly Posters

Add a Facebook QR Code with strong call to action:

“Like” us on Facebook

August: 148 new fans

Facebook Content Strategy

• Balancing content

• Bi-Monthly Exclusive Promotion

• Cover photo

– To highlight what’s going on at your center

(not your logo)

Sample Weekly Facebook Content Strategy

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Motivational Monday QuoteAsk a Question:

What’s your weekly fitness

goal?

Tuesday Trainer TipProgram or Event Post

Promotion PostVideo Post

Nutrition TipPromotion Post

Fit Fact Friday

Weekend Event Post

Weekly Weekend

Recipe

Post-Event Follow-up

post –“Congrats Runners of Rock n Roll”

Website footer:

Emails:

Remind People to Connect with You

Facebook “Facepile” plugin displays

user’s friends that have already liked

your page.

Let users know where they

can find you.In every email footer, we link to our

different social networks.

Utilize this static space on your

website to push your social profiles

Facebook Timeline

Tell your story - Foster connections with members and your community

Profile picture – Your logo

Cover photo – Rotating image

Facebook Timeline Snapshot

Cover Photo

“About”

Facepile

Apps/Tabs

Profile Photo

Facebook Timeline

Upload photos, information and dates to

tell the story of your site’s history.

Familiar Faces: OFJCC

Features Staff on Facebook

Facebook Cause Marketing Campaign:

Over 1,000 New Fans Generated

Give users a voice

Make it relevant to them

Help them feel good as a result of their actions

Make it easily sharable

Highly confidential. All rights reserved.

Insights: Understand the performance of

your Facebook page

Analyze the performance of your Center page

Learn which content resonates with your audience

Optimize how you publish to your audience so that people will tell their friends about you

Export data!

Facebook Page Insights

Learn how to

optimize your posts Analyze the success of each post:

Interaction = Reach

Virality

(22.67%)

Learn about your fans

More Data on Demographics

Collect demographics of people you REACH and people TALKING about you

Create a strategy around these two groups

What are fans looking at?

• #1 Most Viewed: Facebook Wall

• #2 Most Viewed: 3-Day Guest Pass App!

Tab Views:

Overall Best Practices for

Social Media •Create a social media calendar

•Limit jargon

•“u” instead of “you,” “2day” instead of “today,”

“thx” instead of “thanks”

•Keep posts positive!

•Respond to all posts, good & bad

•Ask questions

•Provide knowledge

Overall Best Practices for

Social Media • Post photos and videos often

• Relate to current events

• Reward fans with access to exclusive information, offers,

contests and perks

And, most importantly…

• Maintain balance! Keep your fans engaged with fresh,

surprising content

Highly confidential. All rights reserved.

Reviews

Search, Listings & Reputation

Management

90% of web traffic comes from organic

listings

The Top 3 spots on Google get 58% of

clicks

Social Search: friend recommendations

and likes garner higher placement

And it’s all FREE.

Reputation Management

Be aware of all review sites with your business (Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, Yelp, Insider Pages, City Search)

Monitor reviews and respond to negative reviews; shows you are engaged with users

Offer rewards for check-ins (guest passes, collateral, etc.)

Make sure announcement/offer section is up to date

How do You Manage Your

Review Sites?

• What is the process for responding to any

negativity (or praise)?

• Who monitors the photos uploaded by

users?

Reviewers are Important!

A good review…

Turned into a

BAD review.

Do you think

this patron

would return

if someone

addressed

their poor

experience?

Review Best Practices

Four things to keep in mind when crafting a message:

1. Internet messaging is a blunt tool and sometimes

good intentions come across badly

2. Your reviewers are your paying customers

3. Your reviewers are human beings

4. Your reviewers are vocal and opinionated

In Summary

Determine Most Wanted Responses.

You may want visitors to activate a pass, sign up for a newsletter or

join online.

Amplify.

Link to social pages, review sites and activate share widgets to

enable viral offer & content sharing [sharethis.com or addtoany.com]

Answer the questions prospects & members are asking.

Don’t let an inquiry go unanswered.

Optimize.

Ensure local listings on directories are current; keep content & offers

fresh and compelling.

Thank You!

Elizabeth Studebaker

Senior Marketing Manager at Club One

elizabeth.studebaker@clubone.com