20 Apr 166 Video Marketing Essentials for Fitness Professionals with Jason Hsiao – Intensive 3 of 4
There is an old saying that goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”.
So, how much is a video worth?
In this day and age, when billions of people are glued to their phones and laptops, it’s important for a fitness professional to stand out.
In this four-part series, we spoke with Jason Hsiao, who shared his expertise in video and fitness marketing as the Co-Founder & Chief Video Officer of Animoto, one of the world’s leading cloud-based video creation services.
This show focuses on Part 3, in which Jason shares ways to make your video cut through.
About Jason Hsiao
Jason is no stranger to video production and marketing. While he is known as Chief Video Officer & Co-Founder of Animoto, he also has a long history in television.
Before co-founding Animoto, he produced television and live-event comedies. He created and was co-executive producer of the comedy series Dirty Stinkin’ Politics for Comedy Central. He was also the producer of Comedy Central’s Showbiz Show with David Spade. His stint with MTV includes the sketch comedy show Stankervision and MTV’s Viva La Bam, and has worked with the television industry’s big names such as Jimmy Fallon and Chris Rock.
In 2006, Hsiao co-founded Animoto after looking through poor video quality available on the internet at the time.
By January 2013, the company had reached 6 million users and received a patent for its Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology.
Five Video Marketing Essentials for Fitness Professionals
Jason encourages fitness professionals to grab the opportunity to use their unfair advantage– that is, something that your competitors can’t buy or copy easily. It’s that something that sets you apart from the others, and therefore you should embrace it. Some people call it your uniqueness, your individuality, or your vibe. But, whatever you call it, use your unfair advantage to further elevate your business.
Jason also breaks down how to use your unfair advantage into five specific, actionable steps:
1. Gather the Positive Hive in Your Fitness Business
First, Jason encourages fitness business owners to think of people within their circle that they could include in their videos. They may be your existing customers, your employees, friends, business acquaintances or personal trainers. These people may also come from everywhere – your local community, the companies you worked for or are currently working with, even your own fitness studio or gym. What’s important is to choose people with infectious positive personalities, as Jason believes these infectious vibes translate well into videos.
The next step is to brainstorm how you can use these happy people with magnetic personalities in your videos. Of course, those people include yourself. What can you do with them when the camera rolls? What can they do for you?
Most videos that people gravitate towards tend to include groups of good-looking, fit people who are often smiling on camera. They all seem to have a great time, and make the viewers crave that positive circle and want to be part of it.
Having this group of people at a fitness business owner’s disposal is one of the fitness industry’s unfair advantages compared to other industries. Not only are they good for the camera, Jason also shares that your community can also provide you with striking, genuine testimonials that they can share in video clips. Moreover, oftentimes these people have their own networks that you can leverage into their own popularities. These are collaborative efforts that help elevate both your brand and theirs.
Jason believes that “personal brand is defined in large part by the company you keep”, and that in the fitness business industry, personal branding is critical, as it differentiates one fitness professional to the other.
So grab a pen and paper, and start writing down the names of one (or two) within your social circle that would like to become your brand ambassadors.
2. Share Your Philosophy through Your Video Content
What guides you on how you do things? Which methods do you believe in or abide by?
Within the fitness business industry are different methods which different professionals follow. This is crucial, as most people– and potential clients– choose to follow those whose principles and beliefs resonate with them.
“They want to know how you think of the world, how you think of fitness, how you think of health really jives with the person who’s watching,” shares Jason.
One thing to consider when conceptualizing your videos is how you can explain your business philosophy in a gripping, compelling way.
Think about how you can demonstrate to your audience how important it is to be part of your community. Of course, the fitness business is not a one-size-fits-all industry, and every coach and client adheres to different beliefs.
For instance, some are heavy on weight training, while others incorporate nutrition as much as working out. And even more, some are vegan fitness business owners, and most of their clientele gravitates toward that lifestyle. In these instances, we can see that people see it not only as a fitness brand, but a lifestyle and personal brand as well.
3. Show More than Tell
Most people on social media tend to scroll endlessly, but stop for a few seconds at something that they find striking. It could be a headline, a photo, or a video, but it’s something that piques their interest.
Another unfair advantage of the fitness business industry is that it’s already a visual industry. Businesses and customers rely on what they see, and these also influence their decision to choose your fitness brand over the others.
If you want to talk about your gym, share videos of your equipment, lockers, workout rooms, even bathrooms. The gym or wellness center’s aesthetics also capture your viewers’ attention.
If you’re a fitness coach, create workout videos that show off how you help your potential customers reach their weight and body goals.
Are you a fitness clothing brand? Then display your catalog with visually pleasing models.
Jason mentioned in an article he wrote for Forbes magazine that providing these types of videos to your audience also gains their trust thanks to the idea of the “insider look.” As 65% of people are visual learners, they can imagine how it will be like to sign up to your gym, your coaching sessions, or buying your products.
4. Look Beyond Your Brand
While Jason advocates for branding, he believes that it doesn’t only consist of your personality and offer. Other key elements are at play, such as where and how you shoot your videos, the imagery, and the location.
The photos, fonts, the color combination, and the music – while they seem inconsequential, they also add up to your brand representation.
What will make new customers recognize your brand, even if your name is not on full display?
Consistency in branding is also critical to how your name or company will stay in your customer’s mind. Your customers will associate your color palette, your fonts, music, and text to your brand. Any sudden change, and you will find them doubtful of your imagery.
5. Engage Your Viewers in Social Media
So now you’ve chosen the people to include in your videos. You’ve also shared your philosophy in such a way that people say how much they relate to you. You’ve created stunning visuals that garner thousands, even millions of views. But how do you make your viewers stick to you?
Jason opines that while videos attract viewers and potentially turn them into customers, it’s also critical that they stay engaged with in your socials.
He suggests starting by asking simple, non-thought-provoking questions. Oftentimes, these are the ones that gain the most comments, likes and shares, because these are questions that tug at people’s experiences and memories, and they don’t have to research statistics to contribute.
So, don’t be afraid to ask your viewers, “What time of day do you prefer to work out?” Or, “What’s your favorite exercise, and why?”
People love to share their preferences online, not only in hopes of influencing other people, but also to find like-minded individuals. Therefore, adding engaging content to your videos helps put your brand and socials on top of the list.
According to Jason, even Facebook has tweaked its algorithm to focus more on valuable content. Nowadays, valuable content is measured by how many people engage in a post.
Another advantage of engaging your customers is that it provides you, the fitness business owner, an insight into your audience. You can then use this information to brainstorm future content, such as video ideas, live presentations, and products to introduce.
These five video marketing essentials for fitness professionals that Jason shared are simple, actionable items that don’t take too long to plan and execute. So make your first video, or improve your next one.
Resources Our Experts Shared in the Show
To find out more about our expert guest visit animoto.com
Promo code: FitnessBiz
