Category: Blog

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12 Event Ideas for September and October

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Need event ideas for your martial arts school, gym, community group, or another organization? With autumn approaching, you’ll have lots of opportunities to plan around seasonal delights. So be ready to pull up your schedules and start filling out your calendars.

1. Back to School/Autumn Pancake Breakfast

Celebrate the turn of the season with a themed breakfast! Use it to commemorate the start of school or the beginning of autumn. Pick your favorite breakfast place in town, or make it special with an apple pancake or pumpkin pancake recipe that you can share with your attendees later. Martial arts schools or gyms: use this fall breakfast as a way to engage prospects.

2. Costume Contest

Dress up at your office, school, team, exercise class, or classroom Halloween party. If you’re a coach or martial arts instructor, have fun with your students by creating a contest that is sport specific. Create a giveaway prize with a Halloween trick or treat bag with items that your group will enjoy.

3. Pumpkin Carving Party with Contest & Prizes

Get in this family-friendly activity by using a twist: pick categories for your pumpkin contest, like the funniest, most creative, and most unexpected. Winner gets a gift card to Amazon or a favorite local restaurant. Make sure you take lots of photos to post to Facebook and Instagram to engage your online community.

4. Fall Bike Tours

Get a group together for a fun time on two wheels as the weather begins to cool. Explore the earthy, changing colours of the trees for a weekend camping trip or day trip. If you want to accommodate all levels of cyclists, try enjoying a rail trail.

5. Astronomy Night

Make this an educational after-school event for a student science club, field trip, or as a way to build community in your young athletes. Visit an observatory, planetarium, or go outside with chairs, blankets, and a campfire. If it’s local to your location, plan a walk or jog to the destination.

6. National School Success Month

Host a seminar series for students and/or parents on good academic habits. This is a great opportunity for coaches and martial arts school owners to talk about how students can use the discipline that they learn in their sport to excel in the classroom. Offer study time, tutoring, or a way to connect students with peer study groups.

7. Museum Field Trip

Local or big city museums, in addition to their usual exhibits, usually have seasonal or special exhibits. While art museums are popular, science museums are great for kids who want a more tactile, interactive experience.

8. Ultimate Frisbee Game

Get everyone outside with an adult office league or a team at your gym. Being outside is not only fun, but it significantly impacts the way you decompress.

9. Themed Paint Nights

Create a fall or Halloween-themed paint night for kids, adults, or both. Make it fun for kids with finger painting or adult-friendly with drinks.

10. Bonfires/Seasonal Cookout

Have your group submit their favorite seasonal recipes anonymously and have everyone pick their top five favorite. Majority says what will go on the fire.

11. Plan A Farm Visit: Pumpkin patch, hot cider, hay rides

Cliché but a classic. And hot cider always tastes better in season.

12. Haunted House Visit

Get spooky with a haunted house or trail. Expert tip: make group t-shirts so you can keep track of your group.
Author: Jenn Miller, Marketing Specialist

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The Top 5 Advantages of Gun Range Management Software

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So you own a gun range facility and are considering management software. You’ve probably come across several names. Have you found a support system hub of guides to read? Instructional videos to digest at your time and live monthly webinars to engage with about questions regarding your shooting range facility? We welcome you to learn all that and more.

5. Access Control and A Secure Processing System:

What that means:

You have software that is simultaneously optimised to your needs and operations and runs securely for both you and your clients.

An efficient gun range facility requires resourceful range scheduling software. By turning your management strategy into a streamlined model of operations, you consolidate all your objectives into one accessible hub of control. Of course, good, organized control doesn’t happen without solid safety measures enforced. Safety is both an imperative and undervalued aspect to a successful facility. Without it, EZFacility wouldn’t be here writing this very article. Our commitment to safety and security is important. That’s why we teamed up with the merchant processing company CSI -CC Secure and facility access control business Brivo, to provide the best security and safety for your business. Some of these features include the following.

With CSI-CC Secure: Merchant Processing:

  • Ensured client data safety and a seamless purchasing experience.
  • Schedules automatic credit card, ACH (Automated Clearing House) and EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) payments for memberships, rentals and more.
  • Accepts Major Credit Cards

We highly recommend evaluating your current processing rates at least once a year. You may choose to speak to our experts for a complimentary consultation.

With Brivo-Facility Access Control:

  • Built-in Card-Fraud Guard ensures one entry per swipe
  •  Alerts indicating invalid facility access attempts
  • Assigned resource specific controls to differentiate access for staff
  • Stay in Control. Read Our Guide that covers security of Access Control

Staying PCI compliant is important! You can always learn more about the standards of computer safety from our blog team.

4. All-Out Objective Aptitude:

What that means:

A business management solution that’s better organized and more tailored to your strategy of operation guarantees task proficiency.

A better-organized business means daily tasks made simple. Integrate your staff plan with a schedule that’s both easy to access, digest and change quickly. Features such as creating customised categories, drag and drop operations, and a built-in conflict resolution capability system that eliminates the chance of double bookings are pivotal for any shooting range management system.

Recently, we debuted our updated Package Plans feature to help clients save huge amounts of time when it comes to selling packages to their members. We invite you to watch our webinar detailing this new feature update at our Resource Guide To Package Plans blog

3. Ever Expanding Resource Pool

What That Means:

Conveniently accessible growing support

You own a gun range facility and are considering management software. You’ve probably come across several names. Have you found a support system hub of guides to read? Instructional videos to digest at your time and live monthly webinars to engage with about questions regarding your shooting range facility? Seamless means consistent. So, it would be rather silly for a seamless management software to not have a seamless support system at your access. We welcome you to learn all that you may wish to indulge at our support center.

The seamless process of any management software keeps on elevating, evolving into a better format for their users. We abide to that philosophy of an ever-growing business model. EZFacility never stops growing and neither will its resource pool.

2. A Flourishing Community

What that means:

Independent clients who can personalize their experience by your standards are satisfied clients.

Here’s an example of a fictional Fire Arm range doing membership management software right. Nathan is the owner of Purple Elk Gun Club. He wants to bring more independence into his client community so he switches to a software that includes Member Self-Service. Nathan’s clients can now book shooting range classes, lessons, pay bills and update their contact info, from the convenience of their own computer, tablet, or phone. Member Self-Service is just one of the many features that build up a community. Some other benefits include:

Some other benefits include:

  • Automated e-mail and text alerts to trainers and instructors of bookings and cancellations
  • Ability For Clients To Book Directly From Your Website
  • Prevent members with outstanding balances from utilizing self-service features

Nathan knows the benefits of management software shouldn’t just make it easier for himself but for his clients and staff as well. For more insight on our Member Self-Service, we invite you to watch our webinar: Redesigned Self Service.

1. More Time For YOU!

What that means:

More time for you.

Selecting a streamlined shooting range management software cuts away excess time that paper and pen can conjure up on a daily basis. Our clients notice the difference. Take a look at what our clients have to say.

     

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3 Ways Climbing Can Surge Up Teamwork.

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For every key I type there is a small sting in the “distal phalange” of my fingers. In other words, each and every joint in my fingers are aching. And you know what? For the story and team bonding experience that I am about to share—it is totally, absolutely, 100% worth it.
So, here’s the gravity of the situation. Before I was a master of fearing heights, I was a veteran of never turning down the opportunity to spend time with others. Part of having a detail oriented filter is this urge to learn more, from both myself and the people around me. So, who was I to say no, I don’t want to do this awesome thing that could potentially open my perspective? I said yes before I could remember what yes means and then spent the remainder of days dreading my amiable tendencies.
But I climbed. I climbed a fifteen-foot wall. A tanned fifteen-foot wall stapled with brightly coloured stones, some in the shapes of dinosaurs—and others, just stones. I would soon come to identify these as holds. I learned the name as our instructor waved his hand along a path of said coloured stones and said “each hold has a colour grade and route.” He proceeded to explain that the colour hold you start with helps determine your route for as far as you can go.
So, for example, you choose a green hold, you should ideally reach for nothing but more green holds. My mind has a detail oriented filter (as I’ve mentioned) so learning how much colour and design is put into indoor climbing was pretty impressive. Some holds looked like flaming heads and some looked like turtle shells. However, colour coded holds are not the part of this story that I will be detailing further. This was just an opener to explain how there’s so much more to climbing than a surface observation. What it takes to climb is courage, confidence, trust, and most of all, good teamwork because when you climb, you don’t climb alone. It takes teamwork. Yes. It takes two to climb.

Be the Belayer. Support Your Team.

To climb, there must be two people, each with a role and title. The first, naturally, is the climber. This is the one who embarks on a journey upward. The second, is the belayer. This lucky penny is responsible for pulling a rope connected to the climber as they climb.
The more rope the belayer has under their arms, the safer the journey down for the climber when they choose to descend. It sounds easy in theory, but in action, quite stressful, yet exceptionally rewarding. Being the belayer is being both a physical and mental cheerleader for the team. Each pull on the rope is a cheer of support for your colleagues. The more support given to your colleagues the quicker they can reach their goals and also recover from any fall.

Be The Climber. Trust Your Team.

As the climber, I constantly felt the rope of my harness pulling back, ensuring my safety as I slowly reached higher and higher. It was a noticeable pulling sensation at first and then it became a second thought as I continued to climb. Later I realized that was trust. Reaching ahead towards your goals without looking back but knowing there is someone there to help.
Of course, we all have our moments of doubt that suddenly come back full force. When I reached the top it happened, I froze and my mind went blank. There was nothing I could do alone because the next step for me was to lean away from the wall as if I was…. you guessed it, falling. Except I wouldn’t fall. The rope being pulled by my belayer slowly, safely reeled me down and I felt like a bird safely floating on a tree branch. It felt easy. With trust teamwork is easy. Though full disclosure, I didn’t lean back immediately after reaching the top, but after an experience of good sound teamwork, there will be no hesitation.

Be The Volunteer. Motivate Your Team

You already know, I wasn’t on board with climbing in the beginning and I probably would have never tried it on my own. But there was something that made me agree to try and that was the enthusiasm of my friend who asked me. My friend the volunteer. It was through their energy that I agreed to partake in an experience that would completely enhance the bond between us.
So what’s the message here? It’s to be the volunteer. Be the one who ventures and asks and occasionally dares. Rock climbing is not the obvious solution to stronger team building but it is a good example of those looking for new team building activities. From freeze tag to charades, there’s a chance you’ve played a game that tests the bond between you and your coworkers. While you may think the best way to enhance that bond is to keep playing the same game, the better solution is to instead try something completely new. New experiences and challenges help us improve our skills, so why not add “rock climber” to your team player description? It’ll surely stand out on any resume!

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4 Ways You Can Turn Your Facility Into A Summer Oasis

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You’ve been there, walking in a world that’s basically the inside of an oven. And when the world is an oven, just about every place that’s cool is a refreshing break from the heat. With that in mind, turning your facility into a place to escape the heat can bring in a bit of summer profit.

So…how? Remember the second step in our Blog 5 Ways To Overcome Gym Membership Retention Challenges? That’s right, incentives and rewards. The simple act of giving a small gift can do member retention wonders and we’re going to revisit that idea but this time, under the lens of a summer season perspective.

Advertise your water

Water. Water. Water. It’s important more than ever to stay hydrated in the summer but still, we can often forget that. We go on trips without a beverage and we feel it just about everywhere in our body. When you’re craving water, you need it, now. If I was thirsty while walking in the summer heat, I’d run to the nearest water fountain or bottled water provider. In the season of scorching heat, a nice sign outside your center advertising water could very well drive some local joggers into your facility. Heck, you could do a free water period for members to encourage and reward your clients.

Summer Merch Sales

When summer is around, having an extra pair of everything is almost a necessity for anyone. There are two great experiments to try if you have merchandise to sell at your facility. The first is the opportunity for a sale on winter and fall items and the second is a tactic to increase audience engagement. The summer sale on winter merch is self-explanatory. Select which out of season products you wish to discount with the intent of retaining clients for the colder seasons now that they’ve bought workout clothes with your business on it as a reminder. There are endless approaches to a sale of course. You could even go a step further and attach discounted memberships for the fall/winter seasons if clients spend a select amount on your merchandise. Now the step to increasing audience engagement would be to make the summer sale accessible to members who sign up for a particular class or new members.

Free Giveaways Through Engagement

When it’s free, it’s got someone’s attention. Let’s say you have 100 t-shirts you’d like to get rid of. Put up a sign saying you’ll give them out for free to the first 100 people on a Monday. If they’re a member add a discount to upcoming classes along with the shirt. If they’re new, ask for their contact info in exchange for the free shirt . But let’s say only 50 people entered your facility on Monday so you still have 50 shirts left. Repeat your giveaway strategy to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but limit your supply of shirts to 10 each day. It is now Friday and you have 20 shirts left so you decide to raffle 10 to the your members and 10 to new members who previously gave their contact info. By the end of the week, you have no more t-shirts and a handful of leads to reach out to during the colder seasons.

Introduce an R&R Space

When your work out you’re not just thirsty. You’re hungry and tired and not every facility is going to have a café running inside it or a place to lounge for a few minutes. (If your facility does happen to have a café inside, share on social media #EZDoesIt and we’ll share it on our Twitter and Facebook pages!) However, the presence of a separate station for food and drink can boost the interest level among clients. If there’s no room in your facility to make a rest stop, advertise your facility as a delivery friendly location. (Sounds like the perfect time to team up with some of your local eateries near your facility!) Build a connection going and turn your spot into a place people go to workout and relax. When summer arrives, it can be quick—so there’s no time to lose! Be the first fit summer oasis spot in your town!

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Your Resource Guide To Package Plans

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What is the New Package Plans feature?

For those of you who were using our older Package Plans, you were basically going in and filling out all the necessary information: from the number of sessions to the dates and time, pricing, etc. All information basically needed to be filled out at the time of sale.

The updated Package Plans feature changes that process. Our Redesigned Package Plans will allow you to preset your usual package details prior to selling, so when it does come time for the sale—it’s ready and done—in just a few steps.

How is the new Package Plans feature?

It’s a great improvement compared to what you’ve been used to. The benefits of the new Package Plans eliminates a lot of steps during the sale, which was the goal when designing the updates to the new Package Plans feature. More steps when setting up, less steps when selling. That is our goal with Package Plans.

What can you expect from the New Package Plans feature?

  • Speed improvements
  • Ability to set end dates and auto calculate the package length
  • Bug fixes brought to our attention during the opt-in period
  • Documents can be added to packages
  • Clients can agree to the document during the sale of the package
  • Members can sign documents electronically using signature pad, touch screen, or mouse
  • Capability to effortlessly create predetermined plans using a 2-3 step wizard • Ability to quickly sell packages using a 3-step wizard
  • Flexible billing installment possibilities for your clients
  • Enhanced recurring package options
  •  Newly added option for unlimited sessions
  • Refreshed look & feel

If you have any questions or would like an overview, absolutely feel free to reach out to our support who will be more than happy to walk you through the new Package Plan. We also recommend watching our webinar: Package Plans Feature for a quick visual guide.

We want to ensure that everyone is comfortable with the updated Package Plans feature.

-The EZFacility Team

 For more support info, click above!

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3 Vital Lessons We Learned From Attending HubSpot’s Marketing Event

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Nothing beats a good stretch of fresh perspective. Our blog team took a trip for some fresh perspective on the marketing industry and we’re happy to share what we learned with all of you. Take a dive into the marketing world today, join us in our recap—and let’s get a new perspective on social media together!

Build Your Client Profiles With Social Media


Facebook is still the most popular social media platform and per its own quarterly report, an average of 50 minutes or more a day is spent on their site per person. So if the average person reads around 200 words in a minute, then an estimate of 10,000 words are read in that 50 minutes a day from Facebook users. That’s more than two chapters of the first Harry Potter or Game of Thrones book!
So, what does this mean? One takeaway is the importance of personalization. If people are taking around an hour a day at minimum to engage in content relevant to their personal lives, then the messages they will want to continue reading should ideally be in line with their established preferences. These preferences can of course always be recorded in a Client Profile for future occasions such as birthdays or client anniversaries, etc.
How can a business tailor their content for personalization? I would say a variety of options never fails to accomplish a personalized experience. For example, if you develop a poll post on social media you can utilise the comments section for that post as an “other” option answer. Not only does this prompt engagement among clients—it also gives them an opportunity to type their message directly to you in their own words rather than selecting an answer.
I also reached out to my boss for her thoughts too!

The average amount of time that people spend per day on Facebook alone is incredibly eye opening to the opportunity it creates to engage with not only clients but attract potential clients as well. The stats learned while participating in Hubspot’s marketing event, further drove home the importance and value of crafting the right message for your audience. One tip I would give anyone looking to utilise this platform for their business would be too often check the built-in analytics to gauge how your content is performing. From there you can easily make informed decisions to tailor your message accordingly.

Great advice! Another insight from social media we learned comes from an out-of-the-box perspective. Because Facebook is so popular, what is the preference for platform access? Do clients prefer a computer, laptop or going mobile? These preferences can very well determine the presentation of your content. For example, video news content on mobile devices is commonly featured with large captions and an option for no audio. For the mobile user who may be quite literally on the go, the video then connects to them in the same way that it would for a user who is stationary. With the captions, there is no need for raising the volume or finding a quieter environment to concentrate because the content is tailored to their situation and therefore instantly digestible.

Communication Makes the Experience


In December, we mentioned the value of overlooked communications that, while may feel technically dated, can still carry an impact. Examples of these communications include ‘Thank you’ notes and—it may seem a bit contrary to recommend handwritten communication, however, to assume all our clients who use social media and technology don’t enjoy a letter can be a mistake. Not to mention we’re honoring grandpa and grandma each time we sit down and handwrite a letter. Remember that you can always double check your clients profile page under the Customer Relationship Management feature for their contact info as well as any information you have recorded for them. We also encourage watching our online webinar: How to Become A Data-Driven Powerhouse, to ensure the best is being made of your EZFacility account.
You can also start an experience with members by communicating a follow-up. Follow up conversations have become somewhat prominent due to how fast communication has become so email is where to start. Our Email Marketing Tools has hundreds of templates to choose from. If you need a quick brush up on how to make use of email templates, please check our support guide here.
And if you are interested in keeping in touch more than often, the EZFacility Branded App could be your best step of all! A branded app permits clients the ability to have access to your business within their smartphone. With the help of our design team, we will help you visualize the brand identity of your business into an easily accessible app from the symbol to the layout colours. Bigger buttons? You got it! No social media or carousel images? Done and Done! We’re happy to help you sculpt the app to your liking.

Self-Service is awesome

Ah Self-service. It can be seen from car rentals, hotel check-ins, gas stations, grocery stores… The list goes on and it won’t stop anytime soon due to the popularity it serves for a pleasant consumer experience. As the saying goes, convenience is king, and with the time saved throughout our day-to-day lives it would benefit more to add Member Self-Service to your time-saving helpers tools. Member Self-Service grants client access that puts them first. They can book sessions, lessons, update their contact info, pay bills, view schedules and cancel appointments online. In addition, you have the power to define requirements for bookings and package classes as well as set restrictions for members with unremitting balances. You may even open self-service to the public—enabling a bigger market audience towards your business. It wouldn’t be self-serve if it didn’t serve both your client and yourself! We welcome you to take a tour of our newly improved feature in our support center.

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3 Tips When Marketing to Moms

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Here’s a marketing 101 mistake. Focusing the bulk of your time on mastering the art of your company’s services while spending very little time getting to know your audience. The result of this approach may bring forth a basket-full of good marketing materials with no specific audience to address. In marketing, a connection is vital. Without one, the project has neither beneficial use nor significant reach. It could be something as in depth as a live performance or as simple as offering a timely promotion, but if it doesn’t connect to the right audience the success is a guaranteed low mark result. So how do moms fit into this picture? Well, moms have a lot of say in the places they’ll send their children and most of that decision depends on the human connection a mother feels between a business. If a youth based facility or a facility with youth programs supports the following values in their marketing campaigns, they are sure to make a strong impact with mom.

Be Sincere

Remember, to create captivating content, you first must know the audience member you’re trying to reach. Mom’s value honesty. In their children, family and friends, so. being an authentic voice will attract them to your business. A trustworthy connection with your audience should be an action of intention to create a sense of comfort for the mothers you are targeting. The most brilliant piece of writing material with compelling high quality photos won’t draw in moms if the content doesn’t have a concise and clear message.

Be Swift

Mom likes getting right to the point and they want that point to be short and sweet. The bolder, more straightforward the message, the better for mom because she has a lot of things to do. In fact, according to a Pew Research study, moms have less leisure times than dads, so is the length of your message is incredibly valuable. If you need recommendations of presentation length, a study from the Pew Research Center for Excellence in Journalism reports that the most popular videos online range from 2-5 minutes, so it’s best to keep presentations within that time frame. For example, we filmed a video featuring Wendi Bulkley, Director of Washington City Community Center, reviewing our Community Center Software at 3 minutes and 2 seconds. (Hi Wendi, if you’re reading!)

Be You and Be Brave About It

What makes your facility exclusive from say the public pool? Once you discover the specialty of your facility, make sure to carry that uniqueness into your project. For example, let’s say there’s a facility called Amazing Tigerjaw Climbing School for grades 5-8 and it’s all the rage with local children. A mother named Anna has two kids, one in fifth grade and another in seventh grade, who want to go, but Anna is hesitant. To assure mom’s like Anna, Amazing Tigerjaw shares their safety standards on both their website and social media, as well as photos and videos of their sessions in accordance to their safety standards to confirm a balance of fun and safety. To make sure Anna and all their current and potential clients see this,, Amazing Tigerjaw also places their safety policy on the front of their website and at the end of every email they send out with a handy Marketing Tool.

Although the example is fictional, a facility that showcases a strong awareness of safety will have a real impact on moms. It will make them feel both comfortable and satisfied, knowing their child will be safe while having fun! And you’ll be having fun as well because having a mom as a client is having a client who values your business and you!

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Social Media and Self Promotion

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Congratulations! Your business has been recognized in an extraordinary manner. Whether it be an honorary title, a rave review or newly awarded achievement—it’s a wonderful accomplishment worth sharing. You can certainly make a quick capture of a moment to post for social media or you can apply more strategy to make the content last longer. And why not? It’s a special moment worth remembering! Below is a list of thoughtful approaches in expanding both the reach and length of self-promoting content.

 

Show Rather Than Tell

 Recently, EZFacility received recognition as achieving the number 9 spot in Capterra’s Top 20 Most Popular Membership Management Software. If you’ve been to our company page, you already know that EZFacility started at a modest size and then grew to fantastic proportions thanks to hard work and a dedicated team which helped us earn this spot. To exemplify our appreciation, we shared content focusing one what best represents the success of our software: our client’s successes. On both Twitter and Facebook we shared precisely that and as seen, the act of showing rather than telling expresses a more visual representation of that success. When celebrating positive news, it’s great to make sure the presentation of the message is bright as the content itself!

Think Before You Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to be seen by both new people and potential clients. For newcomers to social media, a hashtag is a short phrase following the # symbol that identifies a social media post as a topic. For example, if someone were to post about how they met a goal of performing 100 push-ups a day, they may write a hashtag #PracticeMakesPerfect or #LifeGoals at the end to encapsulate the message of their post as a lesson of dedication. If a popular hashtag is used by a mass amount of users in the same time period, then the hashtag will trend and become visible for all users to see what’s trending on social media. It’s important to make sure a hashtag has some relevancy to the post and there’s no space between the text. If not, then the post will neither reach their targeted audience nor the maximum range of its audience. #HashtagsDoneRight

Build Up Anticipation

Content featuring surprises can gain quite a lot of attention. Think of the news headlines that read “You Won’t Believe This.” and “What You Hear Will Shock You”. These are sentences meant to grab your attention and while successful they are dramatic and we don’t want to turn authentic social media posts into that! Ideally, we would like to introduce intrigue to the presentation but not too much at the risk of oversaturating the content. One method is by making an announcement for your announcement. For example, we did a short tease post on social media about an upcoming blog post to be released in the afternoon. Note how we included a timestamp on when the reveal would be to keep audiences engaged. Using time effectively within a modest range gives the audience less of a burden to check back and less time to wait!

Make it Accessible Across Social Media Accounts

Spreading self-promotional material across your different social media account platforms is ideal but what’s better is to alter the content to fit the best practices of the social media account. One of the best references to find the style of each social media post is to look at examples from other accounts you follow (and that means competition as well!). Most pictures on Instagram have dynamic angles whereas photos on Facebook have a traditional ‘photo album’ appearance. Catering the presentation to your social media accounts will create for a significant impact for varying platform audiences.

 

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Are Administration Tasks Occupying Too Much Of Your Time?

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Congratulations! You have achieved the dream of opening your own gym or personal training facility. Your initial marketing campaign was such a success that your membership numbers have gone through the roof and many of your fitness classes are oversubscribed. It all sounds wonderful, however, as your business grows unfortunately so does the administration and tasks. Administration tasks that can take you away from offering first class support to help your members achieve their fitness goals. It’s great to be kept busy by clients on the increase, signing up and joining classes but there is a price to pay if it all becomes too overwhelming. The wheels of progress can collapse in two ways:

1) The administration tasks become overwhelming and this results in mistakes.
– Too many clients turn up for a class due to incomplete bookings for previous clients, resulting in a double booking and therefore not enough space for everyone.
– So either you allow everyone to participate anyway – even though there are too many clients – resulting in a cramped, stressful environment. Or you have to turn away some clients even though you were meant to have booked them in – and again they’re stressed,
– Or maybe you’re letting clients in without a package by mistake so they are attending classes without sufficient monitoring. So clients end up coming to classes without paying. There was frequent rescheduling but the action wasn’t sufficiently monitored enough so the class ends up being surprisingly empty.
2) The other scenario is you’re on top of the administration tasks but it’s taking you forever and stopping you from actually leading those fitness classes or guiding your members to reach those fitness goals you helped them set when they joined your facility.

In the April edition of Gym Owner Monthly Magazine, Gym Owner of the month – Nick Pugliese from Bornefit – listed one of the main reasons for the success of his new facility is because they know their members on a personal level and create a family atmosphere within the gym that urges people to come and train.

However, it is possible to be up to date on your admin without it taking over your life while still engaging with your customers and ensuring they feel welcome at all times. If you give clients a way in which they can book their own classes or personal training sessions online, or through a mobile app, then they are in total control of scheduling themselves. Not to mention all of that time spent in administration tasks is now back on your side for however you see fit!

Using EZFacility’s self-service module or branded mobile app can get you there. Our clients can see what classes you are offering, how many spaces are available based off the maximum class numbers that you set and book into the ones that suit them. When a class is full, it’s full – no double bookings! No crammed classes!

You may be thinking how a ‘family feel’ of a facility stays intact if clients are not engaging with anyone when they are making a class reservation? Well, with the branded mobile app you can share facility information, photos and videos to keep your clients informed as well as sending “Push Notifications” to update clients about class availability, recent news, events and more. Keeping that family feeling 24/7 rather than whenever members pop in. Furthermore, you can create virtual coupons and market current promotions to your clients. What better way to keep engaged with your clients in the modern day at any given time!

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The Ventriloquist, The Magician And The Right Magic For Your Business. PDF Edition

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The following is an EZFacility blog that was printed in the National Fitness Trade Journal Spring 2017 edition.

Manager, Director, Leader. These are some titles you’ve earned before becoming the business owner. As the business owner, you have effectively attained the right to control your business identity, and every business owner of course, should have control.

The funny thing is though, clients want control too and in today’s digital environment there are many ways to pull off the ol’ smoke and mirrors trick to keep clients happy while still guiding the identity of your business.

But this is where we should stop.

A big aspect of your business identity is its relationship with your clients. Tricks should never be an approach to any relationship not the start of an honest business. It should also never become a last resort for any matter of business because then the business identity turns into The Ventriloquist, making clients “believe they are in charge” when they’re actually the dummy, thus increasing the risk of a fallout.

To read the full blog article in PDF format,please click this link or the image below