6 Ways to Bring Your Studio Online After COVID-19

Digital Marketing
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If you own a fitness or yoga studio, you’re likely making some tough decisions right now on how best to support your clients through this time. Some studios are suspending all in-person classes, others are reducing capacity, and still others are—so far, mostly unaffected.  In this article, I want to address some of the frequently asked questions I’ve been getting this week pertaining to how technology can help you as you navigate this rapidly changing situation.

Streaming classes online is all the talk right now—and we’ll get to that, but first…

1. Keep your community informed

Update your website:

As things evolve and your studio’s status changes, there are a few tools you have to get the word out. In addition to social media and email—which you’re probably already using, if your website is on Squarespace, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the Announcement Bar. 

In this case, I recommend changing the color of the bar to something off-brand so it really stands out. (example: if your brand colors are blue and green, make your announcement bar red or orange). You can change the text of your announcement bar and turn it on, or off by going to Marketing / Announcement Bar. Change the color of it by going to Design / Site Styles. Make the bar clickable and direct people to an Unlinked Page on your website for more information about how your studio is responding to COVID-19.

Want to disable the close X on your announcement bar so people can’t hide it? Paste the following code into your Custom CSS window, found under the Design tab:

.sqs-announcement-bar-close { display: none !important }

Announcement bar not working with your website design? Use the pop-up feature instead. You can find your pop-up settings under Marketing / Promotional Pop-up. In this case I recommend setting the pop-up to appear on timing and immediately.

Update your Google My Business listing:

Remember that Google profile you created long ago? Hopefully you check it semi-regularly to respond to comments… well now’s the time to update that sucker with your latest COVID-19 related status. This is not only good for communication with your clients, but in general Google loves when you show that profile some attention. To do this, log into your profile at google.com/business. You’ll want to update your hours, your basic business info and create a post to share the details. 

2. Review your paid ads

If you’re limiting class size, or even cancelling classes it may be a good idea for you to pause your paid ad campaigns temporarily. No use driving  traffic to your intro offer if you don’t want new clients right now! Facebook and Instagram ads charge you per impression...so if your campaigns are active, you’ll pay for them regardless of if anyone is actually clicking on them. If you’re closed or severely limited in class capacity, turn these off asap. Open for business as usual? You may want to tweak your ad headline and text to address cleanliness concerns and encourage healthy activities like your classes.

Google ads work a little differently, and are charged per click, so it’s probably safe to keep your Google ads on as you won’t pay unless someone clicks. But with all this, think through your goals and do what makes sense for your business.

3. Take your classes online

Whether you’ve cancelled classes or not, now is a great time to create some video content for your studio. Not only can it help keep your clients healthy and engaged in your business if you’re forced to cancel or limit classes, but having this video content can be used as a brand asset in your marketing (now, and in the future!)

Content created should serve 3 primary purposes:

Stamford Yoga Center owner, Bernadette Birney prepping to go live online 3/13/20

Stamford Yoga Center owner, Bernadette Birney prepping to go live online 3/13/20

  1. To be helpful. This is your opportunity to be a leader in your community and share your expertise to help a good amount of people—those already attending your studio, and those who don’t all the same.

  2. To keep your studio relevant. Once we all get through this, people in your community are likely to value human connection all that more more (I’m sure I won’t take it for granted after weeks of home schooling / work-from-home isolation!) The more you can help people during this time, the more likely they will be to return to your classes once you do open back up.

  3. To facilitate community connections. Real-talk here… there are a ton of excellent online fitness resources already available on the internet. Your clients will stay with you because of the community you have. They know, and love your instructors and the other people who come to your classes. Don’t forget about that element, foster it!

Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be

If you don’t already have online classes as part of your business model, you do not NEED to jump into a robust course platform software as you work to stay afloat during COVID-19. You can provide value to your community with simple, even free tools.

DO stream or create video class content to support your existing clients and local community

Regardless of your in-person class limitations, providing a workout-at-home option to your immediate community is a good move right now. Here are some smart strategies to take your classes online:

Strategy #1 Content Marketing

Has starting that youtube channel, sharing on instagram stories or going live on Facebook been on your “I should do that” list forever? How about creating some blog posts or recording a beginners video series? Here’s your opportunity! You have a hungry audience and an open opportunity to share what you do, for free with your local area. Stream a full class, have your instructors do 15 min “focus” segments, or share an audio meditation—or, even better— ask your community members to share their at-home workout space, favorite recipes, or vote for the freebie “class of the week.” Host a virtual happy hour hang-out even, just for fun—to keep people connected and sane!

With this content marketing strategy, you are offering value for free. Period. No expectations of anyone who consumes it to pay you. BUT, make no mistake—it is marketing. A proven marketing strategy, in fact, that creates loyalty, trust and continued interest to engage further with a business. Imagine if during this window of closure you could actually attract new clients, as well as retain existing ones who were eager to get back into your in-studio classes. Talk about a comeback.

Sharing on social media:

Your “comeback strong” ad strategy to do now:

Still have the ad budget to spare? Ads are cheap right now since many businesses who usually advertise are closed and doing just what I recommended above! Even if you’re closed too, this may be a great time to take advantage of lower priced ads for some good brand awareness. Already making shareable video content? Pump up your reach by showing that content to new people in your area who don’t already attend your studio. It’s not only good for them to have access to at-home workouts but you’ll introduce your business to a new audience in a genuinely helpful way.

Strategy #2 Move your regular classes (and private sessions) online

THIS strategy has the best chance of minimizing your revenue loss for the immediate future, so if you can do it, do it! In this case, you’re going to keep your normal pricing options active (suspending memberships only by request), and keep a portion of your regular schedule active, but move all classes online. Here’s how it works:  

Live stream classes at South Mountain Yoga, South Orange, NJ 3/18/20

Live stream classes at South Mountain Yoga, South Orange, NJ 3/18/20

  1. Update your class schedule in MINDBODY with new VIRTUAL classes (2 or so a day is a good place to start). Increase the class capacity to the max allowed by your zoom plan. Students should be encouraged to register for the class on your website as usual.More details: How to start live streaming for your community from MINDBODY

  2. Sign up for Zoom video tele-conferencing software. You’ll use zoom links for each class. You can also create unique links for private clients and send it to them directly prior to their session. If you’re using the FitGrid integration below, they will auto-generate zoom links per your MINDBODY schedule and will send them to your clients who are signed up prior to class. If you are not using that integration, I recommend sticking with a single zoom room link and having someone manually sign students into class that show up on the call.

  3. Tool Recommendation: Zoom.us

  4. Tool Recommendation: FitGrid Live streaming—integration between Zoom and MINDBODY. If you use this link to sign-up you’ll get 30 days for free (including the new zoom integration!) + 15% off services... so you can try it out risk-free.

  5. (optional-if not using FitGrid Live) If going with the single zoom room link method, redirect a custom “vanity” domain (ie. mystudioonline.com or mystudio.com/online) to that group class zoom link to make it even easier for your clients to remember, or type in directly!

  6. (if not using FitGrid Live) Turn on / edit your Reservation Confirmation email directly in your MINDBODY software (under Manager Tools / Auto Emails) to include your zoom link (or redirected equivalent) You’ll want to remember to change this once you switch back to in-studio classes!

  7. Help Article: Editing MINDBODY auto emails

  8. At class time, both the instructor and an admin assistant join the zoom call 10-15 minutes early to welcome clients. The Instructor leads the workout and the Class Admin signs students in and confirms attendance with MINDBODY software. If zoom usernames aren’t specific (ie. Joe’s ipad) then the Admin can follow-up in the chat to confirm the real name of the participant. Admin is also the happy face facilitating the chat conversation.

I like this option because it keeps things as normal as possible for your clients. They get to interact with others (don’t underestimate the power of that chit chat “lobby” time before and after class!) and have the accountability of showing up for a live class. Remember our mantra: helpful, relevant and connected.  Combine this strategy with strategy #1 if possible! You will at some point have to revisit this set-up depending on how long your studio remains closed, but for the short-term I’ve seen studios implement this and have an extremely positive response from their community.

Strategy #3 Create a virtual studio

Twist Yoga Online - on demand yoga video subscription platform. A branch of their studio business well before COVID-19.

Twist Yoga Online - on demand yoga video subscription platform. A branch of their studio business well before COVID-19.

The next level—a strategy to consider to build the long-term resiliency of your business, is to create an on-demand platform. Your virtual studio should be designed as an extension of your physical studio—to support and strengthen your existing business model, not compete with it.

With the right software, you can create a space where clients can view and purchase on-demand classes, instruction and resources such as:

  • Monthly subscriptions to live class recordings

  • Members-only complimentary access to increase the value of your autopay options (great for retention!)

  • Free training series to boost your marketing

  • Specialty video series products

  • Community challenges

  • Resource library for private clients

  • Teacher Training curriculum

  • Plus, you can manage users via unique login credentials

A virtual studio component can greatly strengthen your brand and your community’s loyalty. 

BUT...before you start day-dreaming about passive income and explosive growth, here’s your dose of tough-love: the digital product market is competitive. If you plan to market this platform outside your local area, you’ll be competing against media publishing giants like YogaGlo, PilatesAnytime and Beachbody on Demand, and they have a tremendous head start. So, my recommendation comes down to this: put the effort into creating a virtual studio if it makes sense for your existing community and geographic region, not because it seems like an easy way to get more clients. 

There are many excellent online course platforms you can use to set up your virtual studio:

note: some links in this post are affiliate links. If you end up signing up for a paid tool after clicking on one of my affiliate links I may receive some compensation from the tech tool company. That helps me continue to put out quality content for you, so it’s appreciated!

General video / audio production tips and more:

Some additional thoughts and resources:

  • Don’t let perfectionism get in the way of action. I’ve listed some guides above to help with video / audio quality. As someone who does take online yoga classes regularly, I will tell you that audio quality counts more than video quality. I need to hear the instructor more than I need to see the poses. That said, do your best to produce well lit, visually uncluttered video but don’t get too stuck with making A+ quality video content. The idea is to be of service to your clients. If you’re using Strategy 1 or 2, and not charging extra for this video content, just make it the best you can and get it out there. Keep your goal in mind: to keep your community healthy and active. If you end up using this video content down the road for marketing purposes, then that’s an added bonus.

  • Consider making shorter length videos. A 60 min class is great in studio, but in reality shorter class segments are great for fitting in at home. If pre-recording or editing full class videos consider making some 10-20-30-40 min videos with a specific focus. (ie. 30 min flow to unwind from your day, or 10 min arms focus workout)

  • If your classes aren’t accessible at home (ie. expensive equipment required), what would you recommend to your clients if they can’t come to a class? Can you put together some at-home workouts? Here’s a great example from Rowgatta NYC.

  • Suspending memberships? In MINBDODY, you’ll need to do this one-by-one so plan a few hours to get through them all. When you’re ready to re-activate the autopay, be sure to “unsuspend” the contract instead of deleting it. Learn more about suspending contracts in MINDBODY.

  • Offer private sessions? You can still do this! Coordinate a date / time / instructor via a form on your website and then send a private zoom link in an email prior to the session.

  • Recommending at-home workout equipment? Sign up to be an amazon affiliate.

  • Tax considerations. From my friend, fellow Certified MINDBODY Business Consultant, Nina Israel: “There have been some changes to tax filing this year that can help you! While your tax return is still due on April 15th, you can file an extension and extend that due date. However, you can defer payments for up to 90 days without any interest or penalty. If you are due a refund, definitely still file!” Nina also recommends keeping records of any COVID-19 related expenses. That documentation may come in handy next year when you go to file your 2020 taxes. Learn more about Nina’s financial services.

  • Now is a great time to run a yoga challenge! No really… shout-out to Josh Biro of the Yogaprenuer Collective and Certified MINDBODY Business Consultant for this one. Great opportunity to foster community and give your people some fun way to stay engaged. Create a BINGO card and email them the printable pdf with challenge items: take a picture of your yoga set-up and share it on our facebook page, get a family member to join an online class, make a new healthy recipe and share it online etc.

Stay safe and healthy my friends. Now is your time to step up and show up. You are the wellness leader your community needs right now. Take care of yourself and your team. Let me know if I can help!

—Connie

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