Access FIT

The hidden cost of social media

The health, fitness, and wellness industry has moved into the 21st century with more and more businesses experimenting with social media such as facebook, MySpace, YouTube, blogging, slideshare and Twitter.

Most are fairly clumsy first steps without a clear strategy. Many appear to be engaging in social media for the sake of engaging in social media. And some are simply following the crowd.

Everybody has got to start somewhere of course and no one will get it 100% right the first time. It is an iterative process of tweaks, updates, and ongoing strategic review.

However, there is an often overlooked cost to getting it too wrong for too long.

The cost arises when businesses have too little to say (meaningful, useful, relevant, compelling) and too many ways to say it. The result is just a bunch of white noise that distracts, obscures, detracts, and is simply counterproductive to good business outcomes.

Remember that your social media channel becomes a touch-point within your business… no different to when a prospect or member calls your front desk, or walks in off the street.

You wouldn’t have someone answer the phone who could not add value. If a sales person was dismissive, waffled on and on, mumbled, cursed, or ignored customers they would be counseled, retrained, reassigned, or dismissed.

You need to apply the same standards and discipline to your social media as you do to other touch-points within your business.

The biggest mistake I see right now is a lack of compelling content. For those who were paying attention when the World Wide Web gained popular appeal in the early to mid nineties would be familiar with the idiom “Content is King”. In an era when websites were simple online brochures those that were willing and able to aggregate the content that their markets valued prevailed and those that couldn’t disappeared into obscurity.

Guess what? In the age of social media Content is still King.

When it comes to social media I advocate following the advice of Abraham Lincoln who wisely counseled… “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”.

MP3 Player – friend or foe?

There is no doubt that great music can really lift a workout. I am seeing more and more members wearing MP3 players while working out. It’s not just the younger Gen Y’s either it’s all age groups.

I have a couple of MP3 players and I love them but I don’t use them in the gym. It just seems like it would be a too annoying having to worry about headphones staying on, wires getting tangled and possibly damaging the player itself.

The MP3 player represents a blessing and a curse for club owners and operators.

On the positive side it provides those members who feel self-conscious, out of place or intimidated to feel less conspicuous and focus on what they are doing by tuning out the rest of the club.

It also assists their workout because they are able to use the motivation and/or distraction to fuel their sessions.

On the negative side those members who do feel self-conscious, out of place or intimidated are the ones most at risk of dropping out. You need them to connect with your staff and your other members if you want them to stay.

Why? Because everyone has treadmills, everyone has stationary bikes, everyone has elliptical trainers, everyone has pin weights, everyone has free weights…

You need them to connect with the aspects of your business that are unique to you; your culture, your staff, your existing members, your specialized programs etc.

It’s tempting to leave your members to listen to their MP3 players; after all it is one less member you have to worry about. The truth is that many of your members who are listing to their MP3 players will be the ones who most want you to help them feel like they belong.

Make sure you and your staff members make a special effort to connect with your ‘plugged in’ members or risk them rocking and rolling right out the door.