GOING GLOBAL
WITH YOU R PT BRAND
The internet, social media and global distribution systems now allow every personal
trainer to be global, provided they can achieve strong brand recognition in their area
of health or fitness, writes branding expert Stella Gianotto.
randing isn’t new, but it’s
become a critical factor in any
business success. With an
oversupply
of
vitamin
supplements, active wear and home workout
products enabled by the global reach of the
internet, achieving a global business as a
personal trainer demands more than a
pumped-up Instagram account of selfies.
To achieve rapid growth, especially in
the fitness sector, demands a viral spread of
your personal awareness and a taking up of
your individual training offering before a ‘me-
too’ competitor fills your market segment.
While it will take some time, putting effort
into creating a consistent personal brand
will help propel you towards your business
goals more quickly. Success in the fitness
marketplace requires three things: an ever
increasing and strong brand presence,
ongoing client retention and vigorously
building your profile – firstly, as a brand and
secondly, as a personal trainer.
B
So how can a personal trainer achieve
a global brand?
In the past, you would have attained your
clients through word-of-mouth referrals,
some marketing and maybe a little
advertising in your neighbourhood, and
any success you enjoyed would have been
largely local. In today’s market you can
Your brand should represent your clients’ values,
lifestyle or self-image – who they are.
reach much further afield, but in order to do
so you require a strategically crafted brand
identity.
Until recently, branding was only
achievable by large national or international
companies in any area of business. That’s
no longer the case. The internet, social
media and global distribution systems now
allow every personal trainer to be global,
provided they can achieve strong brand
recognition in their area of health or fitness.
If your ‘10-minute per day gentle workouts
for new mums’ resonate with Simone in New
York, then the mere fact that you’re based in
Brisbane won’t stop her signing up to your
programs.
We have a few home-grown examples to
prove it. It’s highly unlikely that you haven’t
heard of the most financially successful of
these, Kayla Itsines, the personal trainer
from South Australia whose e-book the
Bikini Body Guide and paid fitness app
‘Sweat with Kayla’ (with over 30 million
THE QUICK READ
• Success in the fitness marketplace
requires three things: an ever increasing
and strong brand presence, ongoing
client retention and vigorously building
your profile
• Technology has enabled every personal
trainer to have a global reach, provided
they can achieve strong brand
recognition in their area of health or
fitness
• Your personal brand should be top of
mind for your clients when they think
about personal training
• Once a brand achieves recognition, the
products or services sell themselves, as
long as they continue to embody the
values that made them famous.
NETWORK WINTER 2019 | 53