Whether you’ve started working at your local gym, are venturing on your own or starting your own personal training business, one of your keys to success is successful marketing. Every Personal Trainer needs to focus on building a solid reputation and a strong portfolio of clients. Marketing isn’t just online and there are plenty of different avenues you can work in to help increase your brand awareness and gain some much needed clients. You have a reputation to build, so ensuring you’re working on it in the best way possible is only going to benefit you both in the short-term and long-term of your business. You are your business, so start seriously selling yourself with these marketing essentials.

Create a Facebook page and basic website

A good Facebook business page and a basic website if you can spare the cash are now as important as the trusty old business card. A solid online presence means potential clients can search for (and find) you, as well as providing a platform for building your professional image and engagement on Facebook selling additional products, and even taking bookings. Facebook marketing also can be aimed at specific age groups, genders and even location, so you can aim your focus at the clients you’re hoping to gain and Facebook marketing can do the rest. You can choose your level of budgeting as well, so you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars (unless you really want to). “Sharing” content on Facebook has become easier and easier, so providing engaging and interesting content for people to like and share is a must.

Use social media to your advantage

With so many people using a variety of social media outlets each and every day, you shouldn’t stick to just the one social media site. Other sites such as Instagram and Twitter are amongst the most popular sites, especially for fitness professionals. Another great way to use these to your advantage is to use different types of updates and media for each site. This may seem like a tedious task, but it pays off in the long run. Use great imagery and video for your Instagram feed, blog posts and sharing content on Facebook and GIF’s, images and quotes for daily inspiration on your Twitter account. Using the right type of media for the right social media network is essential to gaining the most out of your marketing.

Promote locally

Traditional marketing activities like distributing business cards and flyers to nearby businesses is a simple and inexpensive way to reach out to your local community. Although it might seem like an “old” way to market your business, it’s still a marketing process that can work quite successfully. Don’t forget to also list your business online with free platforms like Google Places for Business. They can make all the difference in ensuring your business is found quickly and easily by local customers.

Start a referral system

Word of mouth and referrals are the lifeblood of every Personal Training career. Stay proactive and offer free trials to bring in new clients or set up a regular bring a friend for free’ training day. You could also offer a reward or bonus to clients who refer a friend. This could be anything from a free training session to a monthly discount. Everyone likes to feel rewarded for their efforts, so this is the least you could do to thank them for their help. Not only do your clients get to spend some time with their friends and they get a free session, but you may also help them to enjoy it so much, they’ll want to sign up as well. Businesses can also be involved by providing boot camp style sessions and businesses can refer other businesses for their own “business perks”.

Keep networking

Regular networking events give you the chance to collect business cards as well as friends. Sell people on your passion and dedication and doors will begin to open. Joining in conversations on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is also a must. They are great (and free) ways to promote yourself, your website, any special promotions and, most importantly, build genuine relationships with clients.

Once you’ve found some marketing momentum, keep it up! Just try to avoid some of these common missteps.

Throwing away marketing dollars: Avoid this by tracking your leads and gaining a good understanding of where your business is coming from. This way you’ll know exactly what’s working for your business and be able to save yourself from expensive marketing experimentation. You can find this information out simply by asking new clients where they heard about you. This could be as simple as a question on a signup form.

Stop and start marketing: Give each of your marketing efforts the chance to succeed. Often people will abandon an activity after a month, but most promotions need a good six-week cycle to start converting potential clients.

Stay active: Don’t forget to keep up your marketing. If you get hundreds of shares on your Facebook post or a ton of retweets on Twitter, this doesn’t mean that you’re set to relax. Keep content fresh and active so that you can reach more people on a daily basis.

No planning: Resist the urge to promote on the go. A 12-month plan means you can implement strong and organized promotions. By ensuring you have a full calendar year of events and posts planned, you will never be lost when it comes to your marketing plan.