Something we’ve noticed growing over the past year is the heavy use of social media channels for fit pros. After all, with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. eagerly awaiting to revolutionize your brand marketing, it was inevitable that this was going to happen.
With such an arsenal of social media channels to use, countless functions and millions upon millions of users, you may find yourself wondering whether you even need much of a website.
The answer is simple – you do! And your customers do, too!
You shouldn’t be asking yourself whether you need a website, you should be asking how you can MAXIMIZE your website to it’s full potential.
Yes, having a strong presence on social media is very important, but let’s look at it a different way…
…say you were offered a big shop and in this shop you could do anything you want and say anything you want. You could have all your services beautifully displayed and you could invite as many people as you wanted. Would you do it? Or would you choose to stick an advert in somebody else’s shop window, hoping that enough people notice your ad instead of others and realise who you are and what you do?
We are almost certain you would pick the first option and take the shop.
Well this is exactly what a website is compared to a social media channel. A website is yours and you can do anything and say anything you want on it. You can invite as many people as you like and they can also invite people. The shop window advert is your social media channel – a shop window where you’re battling for supremacy with thousands of other businesses and have no say when your ad can be taken down.
Now, let’s get one thing straight before we move on…social media is an essential part of your business marketing, but it is NOT a substitute for a website. Here are a few reasons why…
Most people start at a search engine to investigate their interests and you need to own that digital shelf space.
Most people don’t visit a brand page on Facebook – they may stumble upon it, but the data shows they don’t go back
Even though many believe that every man and his dog are on Facebook, 60% of Internet users actually aren’t, which is a huge amount of potential clients that are not seeing any of your engaging posts. Without a website means you’re potentially closing the door on 60% of your audience.
Now that we have covered why a website is essential for your business, lets look at the key ingredients you need to ensure you maximize it’s potential.
The key ingredients to a successful website
The first key ingredient we believe your website needs is an enquiry form. No matter whether you have an ‘UNDER CONSTRUCTION’ page up while your website is being built or your site is fully complete – an enquiry form is essential.
Using your social networks to get users engaging with your business is great, but the first thing they will do once interested in your services, is visit your website. Once they are there, you need to make sure they can easily contact you for additional information or to book a session etc.
Have an enquiry form on every page of your site. Even better? Add an eye-catching button on the header bar of your website (like the ‘start training now’ button above) to ensure visitors can access the enquiry form at any moment. The form below is from our Active Blueprint product and has been tried and tested to ensure maximum conversions.
Talk about you!
One of the first things a potential customer wants to know before using your fitness service, or any service for that matter, is whom they’ll actually be working with.
They want to be 100% certain that you know your stuff and will get them their desired results. Also a part of it is due to curiosity and putting a face to the brand!
Having profiles for you and your staff members plays a huge part in building trust and showing legibility in your business. For extra oomph, have a photographer take some professional portraits and you want to ensure your photos are clear and effective.
Bragging rights: It makes sense
Think back to when you first bought a particular protein shake brand, or when you first joined a gym. Where did your search start? If you’re like the majority of others it would have began with reviews.
Having reviews of your business on your website can turn even the most sceptical visitors into clients. We believe all fitness businesses should use this technique. We use a simple yet effective section in our Active Blueprint product (shown above) to show off your testimonials.
If you have before and after shots, use these to your advantage and show what people will get from choosing your business!
Give Them eBooks
While eBooks are still finding their spot in the literary marketplace, they have proven to be a wonderful way to build buzz around business, products, or events. Especially if they are offered for free.
Offering your visitors a free eBook on how they can benefit themselves, e.g. healthy eating etc. is a proven way to convert users and gather their contact details. Take a look at the image above. This, like the other images is a screenshot of one of the Active Blueprint functions. It looks simple, clean and has a clear call-to-action.
Offering an eBook to visitors will allow you to push them into your sales funnel and allow you to promote to them at a later date via emails and newsletter.
The solution – Active Blueprint
After taking all the above pointers and more on board, we decided to build a totally new web product in the summer. Active Blueprint.
The product is basically a platform in which your website sits in, allowing you to easily add and edit many different functions at the touch of a button. You are probably thinking – what makes this any different to other web builders available? – It’s simple, Active Blueprint is the only website builder on the market that is aimed specifically at fitness businesses.
That means we know what your target audience look for when visiting your website and what functions are essential to turning your website into a lead generating machine!
But it’s not just the tech side that we took on board with fitness professionals; it was the financial side too. So many fit pros lack a professional looking website due to the cost, which can go pretty sky high! Active Blueprint solves this matter. In fact, Active Blueprint is a low rate monthly-based product, making it extremely affordable for fit pros of all sizes!
We also know how important it is for you to pick the right company for building your new website. So do not fear, we want to give you a FREE demo session, where our web expert, Andy Bradbury will tell you in more detail about Active Blueprint and how it can transform your business in as little as 7 days.
Remember, it’s free so why not book a demo – you will thank us later!
The opportunity for brands is not in asking “if” but “how” they should leverage their brand website.
