Not sure where to start with video marketing? Here are some things you need to know:

It doesn’t have to be expensive. Video marketing may seem costly and overwhelming, but it certainly doesn’t have to be; in fact, unpolished videos tend to perform better across social media. All you need is a smartphone with a camera, a free video editing app for your phone, and social media accounts to share to, and you’re set.

Videos don’t need to be perfect. The more real and relatable your video, the better it will perform — especially on social media. Expensive, highly produced videos often turn people off when compared to lower-budget videos that leave the viewer feeling like connection is more important than video production.

You have to know your audience. Ultimately, your goal is to bring more prospects into your club and to convert them into long-term members. Before you start filming, spend time digging into your target audience’s needs, motivations, and challenges so you can create the right video content for them.

You must tell a compelling story. Prospects want to watch and hear a relatable story more than they want a brand to sell them something. Creativity counts with video content, so be thoughtful, creative, and human.

It helps to create a schedule. Create a video production and posting schedule and stick to it. Brainstorm short- and long-form video content ideas with your entire team so everyone’s voice is heard and everyone can be involved in the process. Once your videos are ready, schedule them to post so you don’t have to do everything manually!

How Long Video Content Should Be

When you’re creating video for sharing on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, the bulk of your video content should be 2 minutes or less because attention spans are short. Remember the video length requirements for Instagram and TikTok highlighted above? Today’s consumers are used to videos that are 15, 30, and 60 seconds — and even then, they don’t always watch them until the end. If you want to cater to today’s increasingly distracted digital audience, consider videos of 30 seconds or less.

How to Create Fitness Club Video Content

Video allows you to connect with the audience in a much more effective way than static images or text-based posts. Your audience will build up familiarity with your facility and team, and this connection is what will turn prospects into members in no time.

If you want to take video to the next level, here are some low-cost or free, easy-to-use tools we recommend:

•   Biteable allows you to quickly and easily create studio-quality videos.
•   Canva lets you create high-quality videos — without being a video editing pro.
•   Animaker helps you create videos using millions of photos and videos.
•   Lumen5 is designed to help businesses create high-impact video content.

Whether you use your smartphone or a video creation tool, here are some video content ideas:

•   Introduce a new personal trainer or class instructor with a quick Q&A.
•   Show off new or unfamiliar equipment or share your take on popular workouts.
•   Demonstrate stretches that people often get wrong or new exercise routines.
•   Highlight new classes or training opportunities coming up.
•   Give a mini-tour of your gym and invite people to schedule a full, in-person visit.
•   Create a “day in the life” video of what it’s like to run a gym.

Remember: You want to show that your facility is well equipped, that you employ experienced trainers that are approachable and know their stuff, and that you offer a range of classes and timetables. You can always ask your audience what kind of video content they’d like to see and then cater to them that way.

Where to Publish Your Videos Online

Once you’ve created a video, you have to make sure you upload and promote them. There are many different hosting platforms, but you can also post videos natively on each app or platform. There are pros and cons to each strategy, so test your options out and see what works best for your audience.

Here are some video hosting websites to consider:

• 
  YouTube: The most recognizable and mainstream video hosting site out there, YouTube also offers countless SEO benefits. It is, after all, the second largest search engine in the world. Posting video to the site is free, but your videos will feature ads that could deliver a negative user experience.
• 
  Vimeo: This site offers free and paid options with a variety of storage and feature options. Vimeo is cleaner and less busy than YouTube, and it may be a good option for your fitness club.
• 
  Wistia: This site offers free and paid subscriptions and has a heat map feature that helps businesses understand how viewers are interacting with the video so they can deliver better video content in the future.