Have you ever taken a moment to walk around your college campus? If so, you’ve probably noticed just how connected students are on their mobile devices.
I have spent the last two years researching fitness technologies and how they are able to make an impact on students. I have found that the typical gym routine is weight lifting, cardio or participation in group fitness classes like Zumba or yoga. However, one thing your members all have in common is the use of some mobile or wearable fitness technology. These technologies allow the traditional gym goer to have an experience beyond the traditional fitness center.
Why? Technology motivates.
Technology is able to do this through direct and consistent communication via mobile apps and wearable devices. It helps assist your students to meet their fitness goals.
It is up to fitness centers to motivate and engage their students directly so that they feel a strong connection to the center. The most popular method of engagement and motivation is through the use of mobile technology.
To find the right mobile technology for you, we recommend you ask these three questions:
1. What information do my students want easy access to? Ask your students directly. View your marketing site analytics to discover which pages are viewed most often. What you find from this research should become your “must haves” for your mobile technology partner.
2.Can we enhance how we communicate with our students? You want your gym to become a part of your student’s daily habits, and effective communication is key to achieve this goal. Ask yourself, “Does this technology allow me to exceed our current marketing initiatives through push notifications, in app messages, and segment customization?” The main goal is to keep your students consistently informed with what’s happening at your gym, while maintaining the right balance of communication.
3.Can this mobile technology make an impact on our campus? We consistently say, “If you don’t have users on your technology — there is no point in having it.” It is crucial that you offer mobile technology that your students are excited about. It goes beyond just offering technology for one group of members; you want to impact the entire community. To incorporate mobile technology for your facility and its members, engage the entire community by giving members easy access to information, and allowing the facility to directly communicate to the members.
We want you to become your students’ main motivator through customized mobile technology.
Rachel Koretsky, founder & CEO of upace, a customized mobile platform to communicate, engage and access analytics through mobile and web technology.She can be reached at rachel@upaceapp.com.
