It's no secret that social media presence can help make a newly opened gym successful. Marketing with Facebook and Instagram is free, so there's no reason gym owners shouldn't be utilizing it. There's an old adage that says, "all publicity is good publicity," That couldn't be further from the truth on social media. Not all social media presence is good presence. In fact, what you post or don't post online can ruin your professional reputation and destroy your gym. If you're prone to doing the following things, then you may need to hand over the social media reigns to someone else before you destroy your gym.

You Only Post Yourself Lifting

We live in a world filled with selfies and 15-second stories. We love ourselves. While that's great for a self-esteem, it annoys everyone else around you if you're a gym owner only posting your own mug.
Of course it's only natural to post about yourself in the beginning to let folks know you are and what you're all about. But if your doors have been open six months or more and you're still only posting videos of yourself, then you haven't done much recruiting in that time span, have you? Lay off that selfie button for a second and focus on quality content. Stop trying to make videos of yourself a thing. It's like "fetch" in Mean Girls: it's not going to happen. Unless you were a high-profile athlete before opening your facility or creating your team, nobody cares.

Ask yourself why you want to post yourself so much on your business accounts. If you can't come up with a good reason, then stop. Your ego is blocking our view of the gym anyway.

You Only Post About Elite Lifters*

It's only natural for a gym owner or team owner to want to show off their elite lifters. The definition of elite could mean a myriad of different things depending on the status of your gym or club. Perhaps it's elite in the traditional sense of the world: national or international medalists. Maybe it's elite as defined by local standards: national qualifiers or state record holders. Or it could just simply be elite in that gym's eyes: those who lift the heaviest weights in the facility.

Of course a gym should want to showcase their heavy hitters and their accomplishments, but it shouldn't be at the expense of the rest of the team if your goal is to develop athletes. Most folks looking at your page aren't going to be genetic mutants. They want to see beginners learning alongside the stronger lifters. Viewers want to be a part of their athletic journey, too. It gives them hope for themselves and makes them more inclined to join your gym.

Unless you have a closed facility or one that has earned the reputation over the years of only working with a certain caliber of lifter, don't shoot yourself in the foot by only posting the strongest, fastest, or least clothed athlete. All athletes should be showcased. Whether they’re beginner or advanced, their money is just as green.  

You Make Everything About You and Not Your Members

As a gym owner or team owner, you're likely the face of your facility. People may associate the gym or the team with you. This is especially true in the beginning.

This doesn't mean every post has to be about you, though. Aside from a brief introduction of yourself, and your staff as they come on board, don't shout your own accomplishments from the proverbial social media roof tops. Let your athletes and their accomplishments show the world how great you are.
If you're constantly telling the online community how great you are, though, then chances are you're not that great….and your insecurity and desperation make you look like a laughingstock. Ponder who some of the greatest names in strength sports are. Now think about how often they talk about themselves or post themselves lifting. The great ones rarely do it.

Of course, if you are a coach AND an active competitor, then that's a little different. But save your videos for your personal page unless you just won a big-name event, and save the posts on your commercial account for those who matter: your athletes. I run our Mississippi Barbell account, and it's rare I post myself or our coaches lifting, and I don’t constantly tag the coaches in the Team account. Why? Because it's not about us.

If you've just earned some prestigious award or were published in a respectable medium, then by all means, share that online. Just be cognizant of why you're posting it: is it to boost your ego or is it to benefit the gym or team?

You Never Post Online

The only thing worse than posting the wrong things on social media is not posting at all. Posting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even on your own blog generates traffic and awareness of your brand. Failure to have accounts on these mediums is the instant kiss of death in the technological co-dependent society we live in. You need an online presence and it needs to be consistent. Posting once a month isn't going to cut it. You should strive to post daily if you can, but make sure everything you post, repost, or share has a purpose. And share your own spin on it. Otherwise your business is just going to get lost in the shuffle of the online media circus.

Visibility is everything. Don't ignore the value of posting consistently.

You Don't Create Original Content

Original content will set you apart from your peers. This could be a video, image, team roster, blog post, or book. It doesn't have to be long or filled with fancy word. As long as it has some kind of substance you'll be in the clear. A well-thought out e-book is a great way to keep your product seen by more people, but make sure you are offering something new to the community. Otherwise you'll just be wasting your time, effort, and energy—and theirs.

If your pages are just reposts of other accounts' videos, articles, or contest giveaways, then you are telling the world (and potential clients) that you don't know anything and you haven't produced any athletes worth showcasing on your account.

There's nothing wrong with sharing content from reputable sources. Just make sure you aren't relying exclusively on it. Original content creates value for your readers, and some of them might want to become clients. Don't underestimate the power of that.

Your Viewers Are Oversaturated with Content

This is the opposite of never posting. You post on social media often. In fact, you do it multiple times a day, along with regular reminders of your hastily drafted new "revolutionary" e-book or program every month. While this sounds like a great thing, it actually can harm you more than help you.
Why? Because it’s annoying, plain and simple.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. When you post ad nausea all day long, folks get sick of seeing you and your brand. If you're always putting out electronic books, especially ones with simple grammar errors and lackluster content, you are coming across as greedy and unreliable. Not only that, but by continuously producing subpar content, you are diluting your product and your reputation. Quality over quantity will do you and your business better in the long-run than a quick buck or ego boost every month could ever do.

That's when followers defriend or unfollow your feed. They will forget you exist and won’t see your gym or team anymore. Goodbye membership sales.

You Don't Utilize SEO

Don't know what SEO is? Then take out a pen and paper and jot this down: Search Engine Optimization. If you aren't utilizing this, then you're losing the online war. By not honing in on your market and key words you are guaranteeing no one will see your content.

Think about it this way - when folks are searching the web for a gym, think about what they are going to type into that search bar. Are they going to type in "girls who lift Jackson MS"? Probably not. They are more likely to type in "Olympic weightlifting gym Jackson MS," so if you're an Olympic weightlifting gym in Mississippi, then you need to have those key words on your homepage of your social media sites to boost visibility on web searches.

And don’t forget about utilizing hashtags on social media, while you’re at it. It’ll help spread those images and videos you worked so hard to create.

You Don't Have a Call to Action

So you post things on social media and no one has unfollowed you yet (or so you think). Your work on the internet is done, right? Wrong.

If you don't have a call to action in conjunction with your online posts, then you're missing out on more customers, views, and sales. Call to actions can be as simple as the ubiquitous "tag a friend," as complex as "follow us, tag three friends, repost this picture, and use this hashtag to win XYZ", or be disguised as market research ("What apparel/class times would you like to see next?").

None of these are complicated, but they can all do wonders for visibility, and convert leads into clients.
By asking for follower input, you're doing a few things. First, you're making the follower feel in control and demonstrating that their opinion matters to you. Second, you're building trust and rapport with your market base. Third, and perhaps the most important, you are boosting your posts on the follower's newsfeeds. By commenting on your post, your follower's friends will see your post on their newsfeeds or explore tabs. That means free marketing. The fact their friend posted on your page already leads credence to your gym or brand. If you are good enough for Johnny Lifter, then you are good enough for Johnny's friends to check you out.

Bottom Line

The rules of social media marketing aren't hard and fast ones, but if you want to be successful take heed of the things noted in this article. Make sure you're creating quality content consistently and showcasing all of your athletes. Leave your ego at the door, and make sure your imprint on the strength sports community online is one that inspires others. This will lead to success for your business, on and off the screen.

* Before posting images or video of any athlete online, make sure they have signed a model release waiver. (Requisite disclaimer: While I am a licensed attorney, I am not offering legal advice, nor does this article constitute a legal relationship. Please seek local counsel for advice.)