When this blog comes out, I’ll be approximately 1 hour deep on a training day that I’m attending in Newcastle.
It’s on “Meta ads”.
You know, Facebook and Instagram?
I’ve run ads on Facebook pretty much daily for a decade or so now.
I’ll put the budget up and down depending on numbers, sure – but rarely turn them off even if just to maintain a degree of a waiting list.
So, whilst I don’t think for a second that I couldn’t improve how I do them, when this day was first run earlier this year, I must admit that it didn’t jump out at me.
But the feedback coming out of it from people that I know who have a similar experience of running ads suggested that it was definitely worth doing.
And I’m hoping I’ll also get some insights I can segue into a blog or two.
And writing them will give me something to do on the train on the way back.
I’ve been involved in some interesting conversations about Facebook ads recently.
Some people I know asking about them and how they might use them for their businesses.
And some interesting reactions from people about the fact that I use them.
Over the years I’ve had a few bits of “feedback” along the lines of “Maybe you should look at your retention if you need to constantly advertise”.
This “feedback” is never from someone who’s run a successful fitness business (at all, let alone for 11 years and counting and 21 years in the Indsutry).
Nor someone who I should imagine has any accurate idea what our retention is like.
It’s good.
Compared to the industry average.
And our success rate is phenomenal compared to most (it’s www.myrise.co.uk/apply if you’d like some of that).
But, yeah, people do leave.
Sometimes completely unavoidable logistical reasons.
Sometimes, despite everything I can do, they’re just not doing enough to get the results that they feel they justify the cost.
Sometime they just fancy a change (and that’s cool, I get that).
The local fitness businesses that tell you that “people don’t really leave here” are either completely clueless or lying (or both) as they have new members joining but have no more (or less) members than they used to.
And I’ve even heard local FitPros going our of business and leaving the industry (because they didn’t have enough customers) saying “at least I didn’t resort to constant advertising”.
The me the idea that someone thinks it’s better to end up owing staff money and not be able to provide for their kids is somehow better than putting an advert on Facebook “because of what people might think” is mind blowing.
I genuinely believe my programme is awesome and that it changes people’s lives (in part, because I get told that several times a week).
So it’s my moral and ethical duty to do what needs to be done to let the right people know that I can help them.
I’d be doing them a disservice not to.
Not getting enough customers to survive but being proud that “they’ve all come from word of mouth” is a pretty stupid badge of honour in my book.
The result, as always, is key.
The method of getting there is relevant, sure.
But it’s the getting the result that’s key.
Providing we’re not doing something that’s going to cause us health problems (and we probably aren’t) then whatever method of losing weight that works best for us is cool.
Doesn’t matter if someone tells you that there’s this “better way” if you’re not willing or able to do that.
I’d say with 100% confidence that everyone I’ve ever helped lose (and keep off) weight has ended up healthier because of it.
Same with our choice of exercise.
The “knowingly sub-optimal and done” choice always beats the “theoretically better but not done” one.
And, ironically and much like failing FitPros criticising me for advertising, it’s often those we know who aren’t achieving great results who like to point out what they think we should be doing “better”.
Know the boxes that need to be ticked (calorie deficit underpinning weight loss, generally more fresh and unprocessed stuff, probably a bit more sleep and some sort of progressive exercise that you enjoy or, at least, find sufficiently tolerable) and find a version of that that you will then do……..
Irrespective of what others might suggest is a “better” way.
Much love,
Jon ‘Looking forward to the lunch’ Hall
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RISE in Macclesfield was established in 2012 and specialise in Group Personal Training weight loss programmes for those that don’t like the gym and find diets boring and restrictive!
