Friday 21st August Briefing September marketing

This briefing reviews the week’s business lessons and focuses particularly on ramping up marketing for September, reconnecting with previous clients and combining digital with traditional local marketing.

September marketing

• Start increasing promotion now rather than waiting until September.
• September is described as the “new January” because many people return to exercise after summer.
• Clearly communicate:
  • What’s starting
  • Class dates and times
  • New programmes
  • Introductory offers
  • How to book
• Promotion can temporarily increase during this key period; you don’t need to maintain the same volume all year.

Reconnect with previous clients

• Personally contact lapsed members.
• Aim to message a small number every day.
• Previous clients are valuable because they already know, like and trust you.
• Tell them specifically what’s available in September.
• Encourage advance booking where classes are filling.

Social media

• Increase visibility across Facebook and Instagram.
• Update profile/page banners with September information.
• Create carousels such as:
  • What’s new this September?
  • Which class is right for you?
  • New Lift Lean programme
  • New Pilates programme
• Share testimonials, class photos and client success stories.
• Use Lives, reels and short videos consistently.

Talking-to-camera videos

• Continue making simple “yap” videos.
• Speak naturally as if a potential client has asked about your classes.
• Explain:
  • What’s happening in September
  • Who the class is for
  • Why beginners should join
  • What they’ll learn
  • Why now is a good time to restart exercise
• These don’t need complicated production.

Create content series

• Choose a class or topic and publish something about it regularly.
• Examples:
  • Daily Pilates exercise
  • Clubbercise routine
  • Fitness Pilates explanation
  • Class of the week
• Link related content into playlists on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.
• A series encourages people to consume several pieces of your content.

Email marketing

• Email remains particularly important for online businesses.
• Small local businesses may be able to use simple email/address-book systems.
• CRM platforms such as MailerLite or Mailchimp can be useful as lists grow.
• Online businesses should continually collect email leads beyond their local area.

Online September programmes

• Opportunities still exist for short online programmes.
• Ideas include:
  • September Shape-Up
  • Back to Fitness
  • Back on Track
• Delivery options:
  • Pop-up Facebook group
  • WhatsApp group
• Short, focused programmes can still perform well.

Traditional local marketing

Combine online promotion with “old-school” marketing:

• Flyers
• Posters
• QR codes
• Local events
• Autumn fairs
• PTA events
• Community organisations
• Talks for local businesses
• Women’s groups
• Supermarket/community staff wellbeing talks

Best marketing combination

• Strong social-media visibility plus local face-to-face marketing can be particularly powerful.
• Get physically in front of groups containing your ideal demographic.
• Use QR codes and printed material to connect offline prospects to online booking.

Community and networking

• The recent FitPro meetup was considered highly successful.
• Networking allows instructors to share business ideas and learn from each other.
• Future ideas include:
  • More physical meetups
  • Zoom networking
  • Breakout-room discussions
  • Guest experts on business briefings
• The retreat interview with Esther was highlighted as an example of learning from other professionals’ real-world experiences.

Future business briefings

• Introduce a theme of the week rather than covering many unrelated topics.
• Possible themes:
  • Marketing
  • Sales
  • Trends
  • Workshops
  • Talks
• Include specific actions so each week’s briefings become a mini business course.
• Bring in approximately one guest expert per week.

Using AI for the content library

• Explore using AI to organise thousands of previous business briefings.
• Potentially create a searchable AI-powered knowledge base.
• Users could ask questions about topics such as MailerLite or online fitness and retrieve information from previous briefings.

Key actions now

• Contact lapsed clients.
• Increase September promotion.
• Update social-media banners.
• Create September carousels.
• Make talking-to-camera videos.
• Share testimonials and client photos.
• Email previous customers.
• Create recurring content series/playlists.
• Promote introductory offers.
• Use flyers, posters and QR codes locally.
• Get in front of local groups and organisations.
• Continue building your email database.

Key takeaway

• Visibility is the priority heading into September.
• Combine personal outreach, increased social-media activity, email marketing and traditional local promotion.
• Focus first on people who already know your business, while simultaneously building visibility among new local prospects.