Facebook Live is here to stay. Research shows that approximately 2 billion Facebook users have watched live broadcasts since the time Facebook Live was released on the platform in 2016.
Studies have also shown that viewers engage 10X more on Facebook Live videos than they do on regular videos. Here are some more stats from those studies.
- Facebook Live search popularity has risen by over 330% since the feature rolled out.
- Facebook is generating 3,000 years worth of video each day.
- Facebook Live videos are watched 3x longer than regular videos.
- Facebook Live videos get 10x more comments than regular videos.
- People watch 4x more Facebook Live videos than regular videos.
The popularity and reach of live broadcasts are undeniable. These days, social media influencers and celebrities have experienced a popularity surge by 20% after incorporating Facebook Live videos on their feed.
For personal trainers looking to promote their fitness business and personal trainer website, Facebook Live videos are a great way to start engaging their audience. Here are 7 ways you can include Facebook Live in your social media marketing strategy.
1. Launch a Special Follow-Along Online Workout Session
At the start of holiday season, or just before the launch of a new service, holding an online workout session on your public profile can be a great idea to get people moving and spread the word about your new venture.
It can also be a great way to spark interest in your online services and assess if there's a demand for what you are trying to offer.
Running regular streaming sessions within a closed Facebook group can also be a great addition to both your in-person and online coaching clients to their workout regime or if you prefer staying in touch while on holiday, you can still provide workouts to your clients this way.
It can also be a great way to spark interest in your online services and assess if there's a demand for what you are trying to offer.
Running regular streaming sessions within a closed Facebook group can also be a great addition to both your in-person and online coaching clients to their workout regime or if you prefer staying in touch while on holiday, you can still provide workouts to your clients this way.
2. Give a Live Tour of Your Fitness Facility
An excellent way to get your Facebook viewers enthused about visiting your gym is to give them a tour of your facility. Record a video of you taking the audience on a tour of your fitness center. Here's one The Barracks Gym did for their defense force fitness service.
Show them the brand new, state-of-the-art equipment you just ordered. Give them a glimpse of how your trainers and clients workout in group classes and personal training sessions. This way you can showcase the personality and brand of your business in a very relatable way.
3. Host Exclusive Interviews and Q&A’s
When your clients start working with you or your staff, often they need help and advice in other areas of their lifestyle, not just exercise. They may need help with their nutrition, stress management and mind-set.
Many of these are out of the scope of a personal trainer, but you can network and pull some strings in your circles to hook up with other professionals. Invite them for a 15-minute Q&A and ask pre-vetted viewer questions.
You can even hold an exclusive interview with a regional athlete your audience likes and ask them to share training and race-day tips. Your viewers will love you for the insights.
Interviewing your clients about their progress and how your service helped to achieve their fitness goals is also a great idea, just as Colm did that about his Callanan Fitclub Amazing 12 program with one of the participants. People want to know you can help them.
Many of these are out of the scope of a personal trainer, but you can network and pull some strings in your circles to hook up with other professionals. Invite them for a 15-minute Q&A and ask pre-vetted viewer questions.
You can even hold an exclusive interview with a regional athlete your audience likes and ask them to share training and race-day tips. Your viewers will love you for the insights.
Interviewing your clients about their progress and how your service helped to achieve their fitness goals is also a great idea, just as Colm did that about his Callanan Fitclub Amazing 12 program with one of the participants. People want to know you can help them.
4. Turn Your Fitness Videos into Recurring Episodes
A recurring program on a topic your ideal clients are most interested in can easily become a much loved online series. It is also one of the most effective ways to get your Facebook followers hooked on your Live videos and encourage them to prioritize these over other activities in their life.
Take a topic, like "Quick and Easy Weight Loss Tips for Busy Parents" and break it down into short episodes that are streamed at the same tme each week. Feel free to get feedback from your audience and react to ther questions in one of the upcoming episodes.
Take a topic, like "Quick and Easy Weight Loss Tips for Busy Parents" and break it down into short episodes that are streamed at the same tme each week. Feel free to get feedback from your audience and react to ther questions in one of the upcoming episodes.
5. Run Live Contests
Some of the most alluring and engaging Facebook Live videos are ones that host contests and competitions. Viewers love watching other people battle it out for fame, glory (and even promo codes) online.
A highly-effective way of getting people interested in your fitness services is to post videos of contests between your trainers or your clients. For example, who does the most push-ups in a minute, who can hold a single-arm plank the longest, how many kettle-bell swings can be performed before stopping and so on.
You call the prize, that can be anything you are happy to give out, including a weeks' worth of free access to your group classes, gift vouchers to popular brands or even a chance to win something bigger.
You can take this to the next level to invite your audience for a contest where they record themselves performing the same challenge, post it to your wall and the winner will win a prize.
A highly-effective way of getting people interested in your fitness services is to post videos of contests between your trainers or your clients. For example, who does the most push-ups in a minute, who can hold a single-arm plank the longest, how many kettle-bell swings can be performed before stopping and so on.
You call the prize, that can be anything you are happy to give out, including a weeks' worth of free access to your group classes, gift vouchers to popular brands or even a chance to win something bigger.
You can take this to the next level to invite your audience for a contest where they record themselves performing the same challenge, post it to your wall and the winner will win a prize.
6. Post Demo Videos of Dos and Don'ts
Your Facebook Live videos are just as much for showing the benefits of working out, as they can show what can go wrong if people exercise unsupervised and without training. Videos on ‘How-Not-To’ do something are just as popular as their ‘How-to’ counterparts.
Our Managed Website client, Chris Wong Fitness posts regular how to videos to keep his Facebook group engaged.
Our Managed Website client, Chris Wong Fitness posts regular how to videos to keep his Facebook group engaged.
A great way to attract and retain the attention of your Facebook followers is to record videos of wrong exercise postures and poor body form and movement. You can then give a detailed explanation about the negative impacts of poor form and recommend that viewers seek professional help before they engage in workouts they haven't done before.
Feel free to add a CTA to get in touch with you or your fitness team so you can help with their individual needs further.
7. Show That You Are Human
Letting your audience in on your life and showing them ho they can relate to you has its charm.
I am not suggesting that you go live from your bed, while driving or just casually walking around. However, many personal trainers don't realize that they are just as human as their clients. Plans sometimes don't work out they way you may intended, but you then use your creativity to find a solution that could work.
Say you prep your meals but forgot in the fridge, or have your workout gear on but something is stopping you to follow the plan, or maybe you were prepared to a fully booked day but ended up with cancellations.
Showing your followers creative ways to quickly re-route and prevent failure is a great way to make them understand that perfect doesn't exist, just some people are better at adjusting.
Michelle from Ripped by Rycroft goes live often about topics her audience are interested it and in each video she also reveals stories from her personal life that are related to the topic she is discussing in the video.
I am not suggesting that you go live from your bed, while driving or just casually walking around. However, many personal trainers don't realize that they are just as human as their clients. Plans sometimes don't work out they way you may intended, but you then use your creativity to find a solution that could work.
Say you prep your meals but forgot in the fridge, or have your workout gear on but something is stopping you to follow the plan, or maybe you were prepared to a fully booked day but ended up with cancellations.
Showing your followers creative ways to quickly re-route and prevent failure is a great way to make them understand that perfect doesn't exist, just some people are better at adjusting.
Michelle from Ripped by Rycroft goes live often about topics her audience are interested it and in each video she also reveals stories from her personal life that are related to the topic she is discussing in the video.
Using Facebook Live? Consider These Tips!
- Provide context to your videos and reinforce the idea at regular intervals (for the benefit of new viewers who join you mid-stream).
- Don’t keep it too scripted with pre-charted Q&As. Make room for questions from the audience.
- Keep backup hardware and software equipment and a backup pre-shot video in case the streaming fails mid-way.
- Schedule your video releases into a regular program.
- Address viewers by name and make it as personal as you can.
- Ask your audience to decide the next topic.
- Work with a Facebook influencer to promote your videos.
- Always add a CTA with contact details at the end of each video. This will encourage viewers to contact you.
Technical guidelines for Facebook Live videos
- Bit rate: 4 mbps
- Resolution: 720p (1280 x 720)
- Titles: 255 characters
- Video: H264-encoded
- Audio: AAC-encoded
- Keyframe: Every 2 seconds
