With the advent of social media and the multitude of online tools available today, there are a number of reasons why taking your personal training business online is a good idea. This holds true whether you go fully online, or provide both traditional and online training for your clients.
Build More Clients
As you know, there are only so many hours in a week to allow you to train clients (many of which may train in different locations). By taking your personal training business online you can make your traditional classes more effective due to smart management, and also acquire many more clients who you can coach online. This is made especially possible thanks to video sharing websites like YouTube, as well as communication programs like Skype and FaceTime.
Availability of Easy-to-Use Coaching Software
One tool that is becoming increasingly popular is TotalCoaching. It’s an online fitness software platform that allows trainers to create programs for clients to follow as well as nutritional meal plans. TotalCoaching allows the option to track and monitor progress, as well as set achievable goals. The fitness software comes with animated exercises and graphics to make things easier to follow. Progress is made available to personal trainers via reports so they can analyze and adjust programs for their clients as necessary. Programs can also be sent as an app to your clients’ smartphones.
Using Social Media for Promotion
While social media is a great promotional platform for traditional trainers, it’s also vital for anyone who wants to take their business online. In addition to setting up a website, business owners can create a Facebook page in which to advertise, share and communicate with their clients on a regular basis. These pages can also be advertised locally to find potential clients nearby. Other photo sharing websites like Instagram and Pinterest can be used to both motivate and promote (via motivational, progress, and before/after photos).
Build an Online Community
Following on from the previous point, building a social media presence online also assists in the creation of an online community. It’s possible to communicate openly with your clients, and have them communicate with each other on your social media profiles. This is also a great opportunity to provide bonus material and answer any questions your clients may have. It could even be possible to create your own members only forum which helps add a sense of exclusivity to your service.
Passive Income
While there is nothing passive about staying in shape, perhaps the biggest reason to take your personal training business online is the ability to earn passive income. In addition to 1 on 1 training, it’s possible to create a members only website or community, where people pay a monthly or yearly fee for access to training material, videos, programs and nutritional plans. Keep in mind that it’s possible to earn from Google Adsense on any training videos that are shared on YouTube as well – some fitness trainers make an awful lot of money this way.
These are just a few reasons to consider bringing your personal training business to the 21st century. With all the tools now available, it’s silly not to take advantage of them for your own good, as well as to make your clients’ lives easier.
Do you think a personal trainer should take his/her business online? Leave your comment below!
