Blog, Orangetheory
Drive New Membership: Online Reputation Management and Social Engagement
December 6, 2016 - Blog, Orangetheory
The holiday season is a beautiful time of year—for getting new members! New Year’s Resolutions can be the perfect motivator to bring new faces into your Orangetheory Fitness studio. And thanks to the Holiday CORE 4 Gift Pack, current members can give their friends and family access to your studio as a gift for Christmas or Hanukkah. With the potential for new membership so high, this is an especially crucial time to make sure your online reputation and social media community strategies are optimized. When resolution-makers search for a new fitness regime, what will they learn about your studio? Even before trying a free session, prospects gather information about your studio from multiple sources, two of the top contenders being Facebook and Yelp. Both of these platforms showcase reviews, including star ratings, detailed feedback, and your responses to that feedback. A prospective member who sees a low star rating, negative feedback, and/or complaints that have not been responded to properly (or at all) will likely never step foot in your studio. More than just a review platform, your studio’s Facebook should also serve as an online extension of your studio’s community. This publicly visible page allows prospective members to get a feel for the environment and culture of your studio before ever stepping through the door. Orangetheory Fitness produces the real results people want—but it’s also a place for bonding, friendship, and fun. It’s a tight-knit fitness family made up of people who are excited to be there and who have fun while supporting each other’s goals and reaching their own. Engaging posts and campaigns that encourage interaction among you and your members can show a prospect the additional perks of joining Orangetheory Nation. The Holiday CORE 4 Gift Pack is a powerful word-of-mouth referral backed by four free sessions and a heart-rate monitor for the recipient. Even referrals who learned about the studio from a friend will collect additional information from multiple sources. Overly negative reviews on Yelp will lead them to trying the workout with an already negative preconception, possibly having a negative impact on their actual workout experience. Positive reviews and a fun, engaged online community can help prepare them to see your studio as a place they want to be—and ultimately make them want to sign up for more than just the four sessions they received as a gift. Ask yourself these questions as you begin to consider whether your online reputation and social media engagement are optimized for the holiday season:
- Where are people leaving reviews about my studio?
- How many of these reviews are positive/negative?
- Have I responded to all of these reviews?
- How many reviews have been left?
- Am I doing anything to encourage more reviews to be left?
- Am I doing anything to increase exposure of positive reviews?
- Do my social media posts show what’s special about my studio?
- Are my social media posts eliciting any response from members?
- Am I responding to all members’ comments on Facebook and Instagram?
- Am I monitoring analytics for insights about social media engagement?
