Health craze is everywhere. Everyone is trying to eat better, eat organic, be more mindful, and exercise more. Almost everyone and absolutely anyone is a fitness fanatic. Cycling and spinning classes, aerial fitness events, wellness festivals, we even have yoga with beer and yoga with goats!
Your new yoga partner? Photo by Peter Lloyd on Unsplash
With so many options, people can always find some wellness activity they can enjoy— no more running on a treadmill like an undead zombie (but if that’s what you enjoy then go on ahead! ).
The glut of choice is great for consumers. But what about for organizers? How can you get your fitness and health event out there? What ways can you use branding to make your event distinct, to differentiate you from others, and to cement your identity and retain the loyalty of your guests? And how can social media and in-event activities attract and retain not only enthusiasts but also new customers?
We have some top tips for wellness event organizers — everything from running your event (pun slightly intended) to flexing your community marketing ideas that will really make your event stand out.
Aim for the goal
This is almost a no-brainer. To separate your event from the large body of offerings, make sure you have clear objectives and goals for your fitness/wellness/yoga event.
As an organizer, you need to know what you want your event to achieve, and what experience do you want to create for your participants? Clear goals means your guests know what to expect. Fulfilling that expectation brings delight. You want to make sure they go away feeling great about themselves and your brand, and crave for more.
So with your aim set, following through with the execution will be easier and you’ll have a higher success rate of a “GOAAALL!”
Show, don’t tell
“Just do it.” The swish logo. Nike. Is there a more successful branding story? It’s interesting to note that these symbols or slogans are not constantly splattered over their videos or other media’s.
Nike supports its brand by sharing stories. They connect you with their characters, their athletes. They share their struggles, their journey, their achievements and their inspiration; and then you see the infamous Nike swish.
So take a leaf out of this book and tell stories. Make your audience remember how you made them feel and not what you said — let them feel what you believe in and what your event is about — show them they can connect, don’t tell them.
Socialize with your participants
You need to get good with social media. With tools like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube on your fingertips, connections with your participants is easier, quicker, direct and therefore more meaningful and convenient.
You can do much more than a simple promotion post, image, video or tweet. Get your audience gathered with a hashtag. Have a social media competition — share pictures, ideas, goals, achievements and more — the list is infinite.
So, engage the community by featuring people and their activities. Take a look at how Lululemon, the yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, connects with their consumers like friends. A share is a quick and easy way to demonstrate your event’s distinctiveness and brand personality.
Creative reversals
Participants are used to paying to join your activities, but what if you turned that around? A popular British health club and gym chain incorporated a “paying with exercise” app which allowed users to get goodies through the very thing they were paying to do–exercise!
Thus, ideas like this can be incorporated into your event where participants can “pay” for goodies through engaging in the activity of your event–whether its fitness, yoga or something else. These goodies will certainly build up your customer loyalty and make sure they remember your brand. All in all, it’s a great way for participants to feel good as they’re earning their goodies and releasing endorphins at the same time too.
Share with us if these ideas were useful for you, and send us tips on how you run your fitness/yoga/wellness event! Be sure to check the upcoming post which gets into the nitty-gritty of community marketing.
