How to Promote A Health Club's Personal Training Staff as Fitness Experts via Media Exposure

There's a very good chance they have not been educated on the value of working with a qualified fitness professional. And if that is the case with your club you might be in a little bit of agony once you realize the dollars you've been losing by not promoting your staff as more than credible fitness expert.

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"For television and radio interviews pick a member of your staff who you feel would have the best on-air presence…"

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So without further ado, here are some tips you can use to immediately improve the profitability of your personal training department through media exposure: The value of PR. Realize the third-party endorsement that comes with being viewed by the media as a fitness expert is invaluable. There is simply no amount of advertising that you can buy that can promote one of your fitness professionals as being a credible source of information as being seen in the media. Period. It's not about you. The media is interested in one thing: stories and information that will benefit their readers, viewers and/or listeners. In other words, they don't really care about you. They care about the people who keep them in business. Generate news and pass on to the media. The media is constantly in need of fresh and unique story ideas and news. That means that they desperately need you to contact them when one of your fitness professionals has newsworthy information they can provide. Maintain a list of media contacts. You should have a media list of journalists, editors and TV/Radio producers to contact when you have something newsworthy to let them know about. There's no excuse not to have one because they are so easy to compile. Remember, the media needs you and they are more than happy to let you know how to contact them. Simply contact the media outlet and ask them who you should be contacting with news about health and fitness. Also, make sure you know how they like to be contacted. Fax? Phone? Email?

If you are consistently proactive in generating news and communicating it to the media, your training staff can succeed in getting coverage which will be a boon for business. Don't forget to use your staff member with best "on-air presence".

• Get on the expert call list. The media is always looking for reliable experts they can turn to for comments and quotes as soon as news "breaks". The personal trainers on your staff should be on their list of experts to call.
  
  
• Piggyback. "Piggybacking" is a very simple way to land media exposure. As an obvious example, New Year's resolutions are always a hot topic come the end of December. Looking for less obvious "piggybacking" opportunities can result in massive free exposure to promote your club and position your personal training department as the one to turn to in your area for credible fitness advice. These opportunities are everywhere. You can be responsible for finding them or you can delegate it to a staff member.
  
  
• On-air presence. For television and radio interviews pick a member of your staff who you feel would have the best on-air presence. Being knowledgeable isn't the only necessary attribute when it comes to being a good media guest. If the fitness professional representing your club fails to make a good impression on-air it's not the end of the world. However, you probably won't be asked back.
  
  

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"The three most important words to remember: recycle, recycle, recycle…"

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• Be truthful. Advise your trainers that if, when being interviewed, they do not know the answer to a question, the best course of action is to be truthful. Simply let the reporter know you don't know the answer but you will research the answer and get back to them right away. And if that is the course of action you take please realize you need to perform the follow-up to maintain credibility in the journalist's eyes.
  
  
• Recycle. The three most important words to remember: recycle, recycle, recycle. The point of all this media attention is to make more money. And that means taking every opportunity to make your members, and prospective members, aware that your personal training department stands head and shoulders above the competition. How so? You show them over and over again the media hits your fitness experts have landed. Post newspaper and magazine articles they have been quoted in all over your club. Frame them in picture frames. Announce them in your club's newsletter. Compile a press kit of all media clippings to be shown to prospective members. Make video and audio clips from TV and radio appearances available on your website. The possibilities are endless.

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