To continue to build and stay ahead in 2023, our CFM department leaders have put together their top trends and predictions for the year.

Liam, Hannah and Sam are sharing some insight to help club owners put strategies in place and to move forward with extra knowledge and confidence.

Hannah Robertson - Digital Marketing Manager

This year we are seeing a big shift towards more ‘real’ and ‘authentic’. Social Media platforms such as Tik Tok and Be Real are continuing to grow in popularity, which is in turn having an effect on audiences wants, needs and expectations in content across all platforms. Very polished, curated and stock imagery is most definitely OUT in 2023, with ‘real people’ with ‘real stories’ IN. You will even notice this from the big multinationals who are realising their big-budget photoshoots are not translating anymore.

While utilising ‘trends’ will certainly continue to have its place in business’ Social Media marketing repertoires, keeping content original will be important to cut through the clutter. Unbelievably, Social Media usage is continuing to grow, which means there are more content creators out there than ever before – so more images and videos out there than ever before. If you are simply reinventing the wheel, users will likely swipe you away because they’ve ‘seen that’ already. By creating original content that speaks to your intended audiences, you will get more engagement which will feed the algorithm, which will in turn help your content circulate greater. This is also pertinent while traversing the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) content creation. Keeping your brand and business human will be your point of difference.

Lastly, on the subject of feeding the algorithm, hashtags are BACK! Hashtags were the very beginning of the algorithm information gathering. If you included #foodporn on a post in your feed, the (basic) algorithm was able to ascertain you were interested in good looking food, and then serve you more content with the same hashtag. Since then, algorithms have got A LOT more sophisticated and users have assumed that the platforms don’t use hashtags anymore. WRONG! They are the simplest way to give the algorithm clues as to who your content is relevant to. So if you’re marketing a class for a specific demographic, do a brainstorm of all the hashtags that spring to mind that are relevant to that demographic. If you're servicing a particular area/location, do a brainstorm of all the hashtags that are relevant to that area.

Algorithms are becoming more sophisticated by the day as Social Media platforms want to ensure they are dishing out the right content, to the right people so they can retain their users over their competitors. So don’t underestimate the power of hashtags!

 

Liam Robertson - Director

2023 is set to be a great year for the Fitness Industry. If 2022 was our industries bounce back year (where we saw average membership sales soar), 2023 is where we surge ahead to where we belong.

The past 3 years has seen Fitness Clubs be needed more now than ever before by the general public. A place to focus on their physical and mental health, a place to focus on their happiness and longevity. Who doesn’t need this to be a higher priority in 2023.

2023 will see the importance of motivating storytelling in our marketing go through roof. As an industry our marketing needs to be real and it needs to connect with our target market to ensure we are heard through the ever growing marketing noise.

 

Tess Milani - Head of Creative

The need for quick and immediate information is likely to continue on social media in 2023. It is likely to emphasise delivering more information in a shorter time. With the abundance of content available on social media platforms, it's becoming more challenging for users to capture and maintain their audience's attention.

 As a result, content creators are likely to prioritise creating content that is concise, visually appealing, and delivers important information within the first few seconds. This means that videos, for example, will need to grab viewers' attention with an impactful visual or message right at the beginning, in the first 3 seconds.

In addition, it's likely that we'll see more content creators utilising text overlays or captions within videos and images to deliver information more efficiently. This allows viewers to quickly consume the information they need without having to watch or read through lengthy content.

Overall, the trend towards shorter attention spans and the need for concise, impactful content is likely to continue in the world of social media in 2023.

Sam Hoare - Senior Business Development Manager

This year we are continuing to see a shift from the more product orientated facilities to more serviced based, a trend that was born out of the challenges we faced over the past few years

In 2023, we are looking to focus more on what fitness facilities uniquely bring to the table that can't be replicated elsewhere, and while we have seen a rise of at home gym equipment purchases, the overwhelming trend that we are hearing is that the communities we work in have struggled to motivate themselves to see the same results they may have at the gym, which provides a sense of community and support that is difficult to be replicated elsewhere.

We expect to see a lot of success with facilities focusing their marketing in 2023 on the service they provide, such as staff, community feel, programs, support etc rather than focusing on the latest equipment or gym size, as generally the latter does not resonate with people as much as the former, especially those in the inactive segment who have may never have set foot in a gym before, and a welcoming atmosphere is what they are looking for most.

2023 looks to be a special year where we can all focus on the important things that our facilities bring to the communities we work in, and is set to build off a succesful 2022 bounceback.