Advertising, Marketing
Getting Down with the Fitness
I won’t try to sugarcoat this: staying fit in America is hard. It’s like clawing yourself out of a deep pit of fried foods, endless ice cream and oodles of full fat coffee drinks. It’s no easy task. Many of us, myself included, fall back time and time again. There’s about a 50/50 chance I’m either valiantly running miles around the track or spooning to the bottom of a Ben and Jerry’s. There really is, on any given day, an equal chance for both of these outcomes. Don’t test me. This is why marketing “Fitness” is so hard. We are all bandwagon fans. How do you switch the consumer from seeing the gym, or your fitness class, a piece of equipment, et cetera, as “sometimes, occasionally, not really, not my thing” to “a daily practice, part of the routine, in my schedule” ?
Go digital
This one is very important. These days, everything is online, and a product’s online presence is almost as important as its physical one. A nicely designed website and social media campaign goes a long way. I’m not going to purchase your fitness product if I can’t find any information about it online, or even worse, the website is a hot mess. (Sorry, website.) Better yet? Get yourself an app.Get those testimonials
I really like before and after pictures, and it turns out I’m not the only one. I like reading about how a person’s life completely changed after using a product. I mean, this person was a real mess, right? And then they use this new product and in a month they have an awesome job, lost twenty pounds and are having terrific luck in the stock market. Every product, especially when it comes to the fitness industry, needs to bulk up on its brand trust. Testimonials are a great way to do this. If you’re confident in your product, it shouldn’t be an issue gathering a few testimonials to drive home that you can be trusted.Invest in photography
You know what doesn’t catch someone’s eye? A grainy iPhone shot of your product propped against a white background that could (although not confirmed) just be curtains. It’s worth it to get a few great shots of what you’ve got. If someone asks you what exactly it is that you’re selling, wha-BAM! you whip out a photo of your product in action. It’s so moving that people are crying as they pull out their check books.
Understand that launching a new fitness product is hard work. Take the time to create a kick-ass website and a message for yourself. Invest in photos that represent the product as it should be, and what it can become to your target audience. As a culture, we have gravitated towards the “feel” and “aesthetics” of fitness. The sleek, fresh new styles that we incorporate into our digital lives (think FitBit) and physical (those sleek new Nikes you have your eye on) have replaced the epic era that was practical red jumpsuits and sexy sweatbands. A website, message and compelling photography will help propel your brand into the spotlight. Ready to get started with those sweet photos? Check out this post on how to take better pics for your online business.
