6 Instagram Secrets Top Fitness Professionals Use to Build an Empire

Fitness is the fastest growing industry in the UK.

The market size of the wellness and fitness segment in the UK has been growing steadily and is estimated to reach 22.8 billion British pounds by next year.

In Britain, more people than ever (1 in 7) are now members of a gym.

But what is driving this historic boom?

The growth has been fuelled by increasing awareness about the food industry and both physical and mental health.

We are moving away from large-scale processed food in favour of healthier and ethical options.

Increased interest in fitness is basically a side-effect of wanting to be healthier.

Once consumers start thinking more carefully about their dietary decisions, they naturally start thinking about other ways they can enhance their health.

And becoming more physically active is definitely one of them.

Is personal training a lucrative career choice?

The majority of Millennials who want to become personal trainers are either fitness enthusiasts or former teenage sports players who now want to make a career helping others get in shape.

It is a great career with a noble purpose.

You don’t get into fitness because you love money (that’s what banks are for).

You can still make over £50,000 a year as a personal trainer.

But in order to do so, you have to learn how to market yourself well.

Because let’s be real:

Personal training is more than just coming up with kick-butt workouts and being a good motivator.

Trainers have to be good at selling themselves.

Unfortunately, many people are not comfortable hard selling their services to people on the gym floor. It is just awkward.

Manager at the UK’s most trusted health and fitness training course provider OriGym recommends starting to establish yourself on Instagram as early as possible while you’re still educating yourself.

He says: “Whilst you may be able to secure a job in a gym after the course, the more exposure you give yourself, the easier it’s going to be to pick up personal training clients.”

You can also get a degree in Clinical Exercise Prescription which focuses on incorporating exercise, activity education, and skills into patient rehabilitation and chronic disease recovery programs. The program focuses on the advanced study of applied physiology and how exercise, movement, and fitness intersect with disease, fatigue, and disability.

6 Instagram secrets top fitness professionals use to build an empire

The real reason the majority of Millennials are becoming social media influencers is to showcase their expertise and use that to promote their personal brand or business without the awkward hard sell.

Instagram fame is the by-product of hard work, not a value in itself.

(I want to emphasize this because those who really make it big on Instagram are not self-obsessed narcissists with no real talent, but people, who genuinely want to share their knowledge and inspire others.)

Today, social media plays a vital role in lead generation and business development. For the health and fitness industry, Instagram is the go-to marketing platform.

If you’re an aspiring personal trainer looking to grow on Instagram, I have two fitness coaches you should follow and learn from.

1. Jordan Syatt @syattfitness

Jordan Syatt is my favourite personal trainer on Instagram.

He is an absolute fitness expert (not the one that posts half-naked photos of himself pretending he knows stuff).

Check him out!

2. Kristel Klein @kristelklein

Kristel is an Estonian fitness model, with the most positive personality.

Looking through her photos you can see why people feel compelled to follow her: an ordinary girl from a small Estonia with extraordinary achievements encouraging you to work out for similar results.

And it works, because she is not a megastar. She is just enough like you and me for it to look achievable.

So let’s dig in and discover 6 Instagram secrets top fitness professionals use to market themselves:

1. Find your fitness philosophy

Do some research and follow some fitness professionals that you admire.

Then learn from them, but add your own twist or delivery to your content (it’s pointless to do exactly the same thing twice).

Your fitness philosophy should be something that people can easily understand and relate to.

For example, Jordan Syatt knows how difficult it is to stick to a fitness regime long term, which is why he emphases consistency over perfection.

His philosophy is: You can’t be consistent if you don’t enjoy it.

Jordan is all about fun workouts, not being too strict with diet and enjoying life and pizza.

That’s something we all can get on board with 🙂

Kristel wants to help women everywhere harness the inherent power that they don’t know is inside of them. Kristel focuses on using fitness to encourage a strong sense of self-worth in women.

Having a focused theme and messaging will help you find your Instagram crowd quicker and keep away people, who wouldn’t align with your training programme anyway.

2. Don’t limit yourself to fitness only

Health, fitness, and nutrition are all closely related, so if you want to appeal to a wider audience, consider educating yourself and others in all three areas.

Having your fingers in many pies also multiplies your chances of getting more brand deals in the future.

It’s common for influencers to hire a professional portrait photographer for special events and outings. Professional photographers can capture genuine moments better than amateurs and the overall quality and lighting of the photo are better too.

3. Shallow self-indulgent content doesn’t sell

Jordan and Kristel’s Instagram accounts show that creative storytelling and integrity result in far more quality leads and makes the job much more enjoyable than simply taking your top off.

Nobody likes self-obsessed people, which is why self-serving shallow content doesn’t sell.

We want to be inspired and educated, not promoted or sold to.

4. Deliver educational content in a fun format

Jordan uses his Instagram as an outlet to educate people with science-based content around fitness and nutrition.

He made a name for himself in the fitness industry on Instagram, because he learned as much as he could about his craft and shared that knowledge with his audience in an entertaining way.

Astounding educational content sells, because humans are inherently curious.

5. Perfection is intimidating

Some trainers make the mistake of trying to look perfect on Instagram.

They appear to eat nothing but super healthy food, work out six days a week, and excel at self-care on rest days.

Yawn.

Jordan Syatt is so liked because he knows that keeping up this perfect life is impossible, which is why he talks about how it’s okay to have pizza once in a while and skip training when you’re not feeling it.

In fact, trying to be superhuman only intimidates people aka potential clients, who are looking to connect with you on a personal level.

6. Don’t hide your personality

Lastly, don’t neglect the importance of showing your true personality behind your brand.

The days of safe ‘suit-and-tie branding ‘on social media are over.

People that shine today aren’t afraid to take the risk of looking weak and vulnerable to remind followers that there’s a human being behind their account.

The bottom line is that Jordan Syatt and Kristel Klein are highly intelligent and aren’t your typical “I’m going to pose half-naked on Instagram” fitness gurus.

You shouldn’t be either ,)