Fitness Professionals and Social Media, Part 1

Thank you so much to everyone for all of their well wishes.  This cold is just hanging on for dear life.  I am hoping a few days of rest will do the trick.  Read: no exercising.  I have been sick way too many times in the last few months and I truly need to take my own advice.

Speaking of advice, I have noticed that there have been quite a few lurkers (I love that word) over at a blog post I wrote back in the summer about social media and fitness.  

As many of your are in the fitness industry, I thought I would offer some tips on how to use social media to help build your business and your brand (there is the PR girl in me coming out :).

 Blogging

Many of you are already doing this and doing it well.  Blogging is a great way to connect to your clients and reach out to new ones.  If you are new to blogging, there are many great platform out there that are quick and easy to use. Two of the most popular are Blogger and WordPress.  

Here are some things to keep in mind for your blog:

• Content.  Find your niche.  Who is your target audience and what would they like to know about?  Does your blog focus on your day to day life or will you offer tips about exercise and fitness? What ever your choose to write about, do it with passion, not out of necessity.  People will be able to tell if you are not being genuine.
• Blog regularly.  You can decide what is regular for you (every other day, 3 times a week, only on weekdays etc.), but consistency is the key to get people coming back for more.  The most popular blogs (in my opinion) are the ones who have daily posts, but I understand that it is not an option for everyone.
• Read other blogs.  Choose blogs that are similar to yours, show interest and join in the conversation.  What do you like about their blog?  What can you learn from them?  This can truly help you with your own blogging efforts.
• Proceed with caution.  Whether your blog is professional or personal, be aware that all of the information your put online is permanent.  A great quote from my friend Sara is "you can write about whatever you want, just be prepared to own it."

 Twitter

Twitter is a fantastic way to meet new friends and make connections.  In 140 character or less, you can give tips, post links to your blog, or just share your thoughts for the day.  There are also some great discussions happening in Twitter about various fitness topics (just follow the hashtags # on TweetChat).  These include #fitblog, #runchat, #blogchat and many more.

Here are some tweeting tips:

• Follow like-minded people.  Just like in blogging, it is important to see how other fitness pros are engaging their followers.  Ask yourself: What are they tweeting about?  Who are they talking to?  Why do they have so many followers?
• It's not all about you.  Constantly pushing your product or service is not going to make you any friends in the Twitterverse.  In fact, many people might see this as spam and delete you all together.  Of course you want to share information about you, but you also need to find balance.
• It's about them. If someone tweets a great tips, tell them.  If they ask a question you are interested in, answer it.  This is how you make connections and build relationships.
• Proceed with caution.  See above.

To be continued...

Do you blog or use Twitter?  What tips could you offer to fitness professionals?

Stay Healthy, 

Tracy