The growth in prominence of social media has opened up an array of marketing opportunities for the health and fitness industry, however marketing managers should be operating more like Richard Branson to improve their online strategies, says Icon Training CEO Julian Leybourne.

As Gary Vaynerchuk explained in his keynote speech at March’s IHRSA Annual Convention, there is some suggestion that the sector is currently “marketing like it’s 2004.”

So how can the health and fitness industry harness the benefits of the digital era to improve its promotional offerings?

According to the head of Icon Training, chairs, executives and managers need to understand the current digital revolution and begin to contribute to the dialogue surrounding social media development, with Virgin leader Branson leading the way with his use of social media.

“Our approach has had to evolve in terms of the way we listen to staff, customers and potential prospects – the way we must, today, open up a two-way dialogue to make our audience look, listen and react in a positive and mutually beneficially way,” wrote Leybourne in the May edition of Health Club Management magazine.

Since its introduction, Branson has used social networking to reach out to his customer base and engage in discussions to help improve the offerings supplied by his businesses.

“He uses the full range of social media: blogging, asking questions, responding to comments on Facebook and Twitter to hear what people are saying on a daily basis about each of his businesses and each brand – the good, the bad and everything in between,” adds Leybourne.

“By engaging on say, Facebook or Twitter, you can position your brand to showcase your values in a subtle but positive way.”

Creating personal engagement with customers – to boost reputation through interaction and gather vital feedback about services – businesses can use standard networks like Twitter and Facebook, as well as adopting rising platforms like Vine, Instagram and SnapChat.

According to Leybourne, one vital component to social media success is defining a message to portray, which is based around your ultimate goals as a business.

Examples of this include being specific in relation to potential offerings like membership benefits, time-specific events and special offers when creating discussions or posting Tweets or messages.

Leybourne provides more social media advice in the May edition of Health Club Management magazine, pp.70-74.