Jump into this article to get the 5 steps on how to start and grow a fitness Instagram account. Hopefully these tips will help you succeed!
Practically everyone with a smartphone has an instagram account. However, if somehow you are not familiar with this social media platform, it is a place where anyone can share what they are up to through photos, videos, and other types of graphics. Some people use this platform to grow businesses and an established following, especially fitness professionals like yourself! Instagram provides a great base in which you can attract new clients and gain credibility by establishing your expertise.
Let's go over how to start a fitness instagram that will stand out and grow successfully.
The first step is to design your profile.
Instagram has a great business profile feature that includes extra tools that help you track growth and engagement of followers. This is really helpful for working towards becoming well established because it allows you to figure out what content is best fit for your business and followers. You should fill out your profile with as much information as you can and definitely do not neglect the bio section.
This is where you can not only share with viewers what you do and why you love doing it, but also give viewers the opportunity to get to know the person behind the business. It is also important to include your email, website link, location, and your name.
Quick point: Be sure to include your actually name in your bio. Your account can be @workoutabunchguy but don't forget to put your name in the bio so people can search you.
The main way to be successful on instagram is to post high-quality content that is engaging and aesthetically pleasing.
This can be done with a camera or a phone, but be sure not to post blurry photos. Remember, these photos last on your page forever. If you're going to post a million unorganized photos - just keep them to your story.
The better engaging your feed, the better people will want to see more. This involves consistent visuals, color scheme, and logo, which all together forms your brand. Good lighting and appealing backgrounds are also key in creating high-quality images and videos. You can control your feed’s aesthetic by laying out the photos in advance that you want to post. To find your desired aesthetic, follow brands or other fitness professionals you like and gather inspiration from them.
Let's talk more specifically about content.
Depending on your preferences, you can keep captions short, sweet, and to the point so followers can quickly skim, enjoy, and move on, or you can use captions as an opportunity for a mini blog post that has more detail. Either way, your posts do not always need to be concerning your business.
It is a good idea to add bits of your personal life outside of the fitness world or your personal fitness story.
This helps followers get to know you as a person, since they usually like doing business with people they can relate to. It is also interesting to post the progress of your clients. You should always ask for permission before doing so, but showing their progress helps you gain credibility by displaying how your methods are successful with results.
And when you add those testimonials, don't forget to also add them to your WeStrive website.
You can upload your content in many different ways. Instagram also has many features where you can add stories, reels IGTV (basically a youtube channel), and live videos, which are great tools to get you and your business out there! For example, every time you start a Live, notifications are sent to all your followers. Also, at the end you can save it to your story and add hashtags so more people can discover your platform.
Speaking of hashtags, there are many different ways to gain publicity and followers on Instagram.
Using hashtags makes content more easily discoverable to people who don’t already follow your account. You may see some businesses using general hashtags like #fitness #personaltrainer, which are okay, however using more specific ones will make you stand out and easier to discover. You can gain inspiration from or share hashtags with accounts that you enjoy following. One benefit to creating your own unique hashtag is you can encourage your clients to use them on their posts! This is beneficial to you because now your business is being viewed by their account followers as well. Also, showing engagement with followers is a great way to show you are active in the fitness community and that you care about what your followers have to say.
A big tip for using hashtags is if you don’t want them to crowd up your caption, you can drop them in the comments section!
Other ways to gain publicity are to host a contest, do a giveaway, and collaborate with other trainers or brands. With contests and giveaways, people will likely share and repost about all the excitement going on, gaining you more followers and most likely more clients. It is also the perfect way to network with the local fitness community.
With so many ideas floating around about who, what, and when to post, it is vital to create a schedule.
Here, you can plan out what type of content you want to post on certain days. You do not have to post every day, but by planning this out, it helps maintain variety in posts and keeps viewers interested. You can change your weekly routine or follow the same format for continuity. Some content ideas that offer variety include workout photos or videos with fun music, healthy meals, progress photos, motivational quotes, quick tips, or promotion of new services or programs you are offering.
For creating and posting your content, here are some tools you can look into to help you get started. There are various apps for editing. Some for photos include Hootsuite, VSCO, Snapspeed, and PicTapGO. Also inspirational quotes and useful tips can be made more visually interesting through Canva.
Overall, you should keep in mind what your target audience needs guidance with and share the kind of content that will support them. Let your account reflect the impact you want to have on the public as well as your personal and business values. The core ideas behind a fitness instagram is that it should be entertaining, educating, and inspiring viewers.
What are you waiting for? Go get started!
Are you new to personal training? Read these articles to get started on growing your business:
- How to price your online training
- How To Attract Clients as a Personal Trainer
- How to write a memorable and professional fitness bio
About the Author:
Abigail is a 2nd year student at the University of Texas at Austin studying sports medicine. She's originally from Long Beach, California and loves being active. Her true passion for fitness shows and she couldn't be more thankful to get to share this excitement with readers seeking insight on a variety of health related topics.
