Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008 - (Page 12)

YOUTH OBESITY Marketing to youth clients By Brian Grasso Editor’s note: This article is part three of a series outlining steps and concepts for those with the desire to tackle the youth obesity epidemic. Find parts one and two on our Magazine Archives at www.ﬁt-pro.com. With youth obesity and sport performance training getting so much in the way of media attention these days, it stands to reason that the best and most eﬃcient means by which to gain local interest in your youth ﬁtness program is through large scale exposure via newspapers, television and radio. Media exposure is widely considered the most eﬀective method of marketing your business for three very distinct reasons: It’s free, it positions you as the expert, and it oﬀers a huge amount of exposure. COMBATING No Cost, High Value Unlike other marketing avenues, media exposure is 100% free. There are no advertisement costs to pay and no material or reproduction fees to factor in. Appearing in the pages of your local newspaper or neighborhood magazines, as a guest on your regional news or being interviewed by a community radio show carries your best possible scenario in terms of marketing to your demographic: zero cost but maximum visibility. You will literally be seen by anywhere from hundreds, to thousands, to hundreds of thousands of people, depending on the population of your respective geographic area. Instant Credibility Whether we like it or not, the ﬁtness professionals who appear on television or in the newspaper, either locally or nationally, are perceived by the general public as experts. Most other marketing strategies are considered to be just that — marketing. A ploy, so to speak, intended to get potential customers to believe in your credibility, honesty, ability and services. That’s not to say they aren’t eﬀective. To be sure, well-designed marketing in the form of brochures, business cards, ads and advertorials can be extremely eﬀective at announcing your services to a speciﬁc target market and converting potential customers into paying ones. But as many people already know, the best possible endorsement for your services comes when someone else talks about you rather than you talking about yourself. There is no higher backing possible than that which come from the media. The media is considered honest, trustworthy and impartial by the community at large, serving only to showcase the news and information deemed important by the community and for community members. A Borderless Reach Although alerting local consumers to your local service oﬀerings is a tremendous and often immediately rewarding reason for you to go after media exposure, the reality is that you can also market yourself and declare your expertise to a worldwide audience, given the right scenario. Very often, well-designed and well-placed media exposure strategies will land you on NOV-DEC2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM nationally-based television programs and even internally read publications. While this may not have an impact on your local business directly per se (although being able to claim “as seen in” carries tremendous credibility points with your local customers), it certainly can open you up to other revenue opportunities. If you have information products that are showcased on a website, for example, or perhaps you oﬀer educational seminars, appearing in newsprint on a national or international level will certainly allow a broader base of potential customers to be tuned in to your service/product oﬀerings and give them a place to ﬁnd you. Now that you understand the unique beneﬁts associated with media exposure, the task becomes one of how do you get it? The simple answer is this: Press Releases A press release is a speciﬁcally written document that either keys media types into your services or discusses a particular aspect of your ﬁtness niche and explains your take on the matter. Written well and in a compelling way, news directors will contact you for either a follow-up interview or ask you to appear live on their programs in order to discuss the topic. Here’s a checklist for how you go about writing an eﬀective press release in order to showcase your youth ﬁtness business: ¸ Decide on a compelling topic. The purpose of your press release is not to “promote” your business as much as it is a way of making yourself and 12 http://www.fit-pro.com http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Your Scope of Practice Combating Youth Obesity Current Controversies The Balancing Act Product Profile Building a Base of Special Populations The Right State of Mind Mark Your Calendar The Equipment Dilemma Too Much To Do, Too Little Time Exercise Spotlight Holiday Gift Guide New on the Market Alyte Piedra

Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008

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