How to Create a Personal Brand as a Fitness Professional
Why do some personal trainers seem to attract clients effortlessly and make big money, while many others struggle?
The secret is simple – it comes down to the power of personal branding. Being an expert trainer these days isn’t enough – you have to create a brand that people buy into and trust.
This article will show you how to start creating your own personal brand that encapsulates your values and makes you stand out in a ruthlessly competitive marketplace.
Define Your Values
The most important first step is to consider what your values and ethos are. Ask yourself what do you believe in? What is important to you as a fitness professional. What are the values you want to be known for. These should form the bedrock of your personal brand. Once defined, you can feed these values into everything you do, write, or say when you communicate with prospective clients.
Identify Your Expertise
The next step is to consider what makes you different as a personal trainer. What are you an expert in? What do you offer that sets you apart from your competitors? Defining your ‘unique selling proposition’ will help you create the right brand and messaging to attract the kinds of clients you want.
Create a Consistent Image
Once you’ve defined your personal brand, it’s important to consider what it looks and feels like. Think of your favourite brands like Nike or Apple, and they all have a consistent image across all platforms – websites, social media, marketing materials, and more. You should do the same. What this means is using the same style of fonts, colour schemes, and images to conjure up a cohesive look and feel. Like the Apples and Nikes of the world, your brand should be memorable and instantly recognisable.
Develop a Unique Voice
Now you’ve got your values set, and your look and feel in place, you want to define how your personal brand sounds – what’s known as ‘tone of voice’. This is the personality of your brand. How you speak to your audience and how you want them to feel. This might be friendly, caring and approachable, or it might be professional, authoritative and knowledgeable. Your tone of voice should be a reflection of your own personality and appeal to the customer base you want to attract.
Focus on Your Clients
When creating a personal brand, you should put your clients at the heart of everything you do. This means you need to have a deep understanding of their needs and desires, and speak to these directly. If you know what kind of client you want to attract, and what their needs are, you can tailor brand messaging that resonates with them. It will help you build a loyal following of clients who are a good fit for your business.
Be Authentic
When all is said and done, you need to be authentic. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Don’t say or do things that are not aligned with your values. People easily see through inauthenticity and this will only harm your business and your brand in the long run. Be yourself and stick to your values, and you will attract the clients you want.
