Growing Your Brand Can Be Challenging, But Rewarding

In world where we have so much access to free information online, it can be confusing to know which sources are the most reliable. For example, one website might say that a high fat diet is bad for weight loss while another will claim that it is beneficial. It is no wonder why so many people have no idea where to start on their fitness journey.

This is why good marketing is so crucial to the success of a business in the fitness industry. You must be able to position yourself in a way where it shows that you are the expert and go to person to help people reach their fitness goals. Social media, providing value-adding products and word of mouth referrals are all extremely powerful tools in getting your brand out there.

In the last 15 years, a ton of new social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest and more have been introduced. Let’s look at one of the most widely used social media platforms, Instagram.

According to brandwatch.com “If we look at the top 100 brands in the world, 90% have an Instagram account. 96% of US fashion brands are on Instagram. 60% of Instagram users discover new products on the platform”.

Since the platform has so many users world-wide, you would be missing out on huge marketing opportunities if you were not promoting your brand on Instagram. But how exactly do you grow an Instagram account?

In the last two years, I have grown my Instagram following from 1000 to over 18,000.  Without buying any followers or using any questionable tactics, I have built an engaged audience.

I’ve done this by finding my niche, creating deliberate, relatable content, providing value to my followers (free workouts, supplement advice, etc), being consistent with my posts and by collaborating with other influencers and brands to reach a wider audience.

Anyone can grow their business or personal brand by using these strategies and will therefore further promote themselves in the industry.

Once you have built the clientele and have established your niche, you will find it beneficial to incentivise clients to purchase your products or service. One of the most powerful ways of doing this is by marketing with custom promotional products.

Some ways that you can build your brand with custom promotional products is by providing value adds (i.e purchase this e-book and receive a shaker bottle free) or by creating urgency (first 50 people to purchase this program, will receive a shaker, sports towel and gym bag).

You can also sell these custom promotional products and have people representing your brand on their phone accessory, t-shirt or shaker bottle. Lastly, you can increase your brand awareness through word of mouth referrals.

Developing a referral program is a great way to increase the number of referrals you receive. Encourage your clients to refer their friends and family to your business by providing extreme value and rewarding them with money off their next purchase or by providing them with value adding custom products.

Marketing and growing your personal brand or business may seem like a daunting task at first. The world of social media can seem over-saturated and tough to break into but when done right, can bring you enormous success. If you are authentic, provide valuable content, and create life-changing products or services, people will be drawn to you and your brand presence will grow. Emily Graham