2022 Mindbody Wellness Report and How To Use Fitness Content As A Solution
Our founder, Mike Hansen, broke down Mindbody’s key industry data from their annual Wellness Index, providing his take on how to address the issues and opportunities discussed from a content and media perspective. 35% of those who started using virtual fitness during the pandemic have returned to in-person fitness classes, so your content strategy is fundamental to leading customers back into your business. Keep reading to hear Mike’s overview on the 2022 fitness industry trends.
Elevated Focus On Mental Wellness
The non-physical benefits of fitness are beginning to take center stage as 78% of people reported feeling that wellness is more important than ever and 43% of people mentioned that they workout for the mental gains. This puts forward two key opportunities: Offering mental wellness videos is low hanging fruit when it comes to content as the offering translates well through video. Mental wellness, recovery, and stretching are all great sources of bite-size content for brands to include in their catalog or even offer in email campaigns.
Gymtimidation Creates Opportunity For Businesses
Mindbody reported a 12% to 19% year over year increase in ‘Gymtimidation’. This number was reported to be even higher by Planet Fitness (+40%) so it’s clear that fitness facilities need to find strategic ways to offer their services outside their 4 walls that work to funnel customers into their physical space.
Video content can be used to make your services more accessible and social presence can be used to give them a view inside your studios so that they can see a community of people just like them. This will help address the statement, “I need to get in shape before I go to the gym,” both by offering them a way to do so from home, or by encouraging them to show up in person without hesitation. Your content needs to be in their hands at the start of the journey in order to build a stronger brand connection, which is a key factor that will be further discussed later in this review.
Variety Determines The Cream Of The Crop
Variety is a critical differentiator for brands as consumers are looking for diversity and range in their exercise routines. You might not be able to offer everything in your studios so content can be used to supplement that. Video is a simple and effective tool to widen brand presence as it allows companies to offer different types of fitness like yoga, prenatal,
senior, HIIT, etc… with limited commitment. Consult your data to see what your consumers are interested in so the next time your customer says they’re looking for a stretching option, you can point them to the relevant section of your content catalog instead of stressing about not having a recovery zone in your facility.
Virtual Strategy As A Top Of Funnel
Now more than ever before, virtual content is a strong acquisition and retention tool. The data on this speaks for itself – 35% of Americans started going to an in-person fitness class that they discovered through virtual fitness last year. Digital content provides a powerful opportunity to connect with customers but companies should keep in mind that they must match their brand experience to their content offering as that is typically the first impression consumers will have with the brand.
At Endorphinz, we actually recommend that companies invest the most amount of money on building a compelling content experience in their branded video-on-demand offering vs in live workouts, as the focus should be on pushing the workout experience that best represents their brand feel and quality. The real-time and interactive content can come later on, when the customer has already been convinced of the brand’s value.
Brand Loyalty: You Get What You Give
Lastly, the Mindbody Report revealed that 25% of people who took up virtual fitness, did so with the gym/studio they already belonged to. This presents a huge opportunity to maintain a connection with your customer base. A key part of this is understanding that gym-goers do this in large part due to their personal bonds with the trainers. Our internal data shows a 3-to-1 interest in the instructor over the brand, once they find their person. This is where live becomes really important as the ultimate objective is to build a relationship and content is the tool to drive that.
These are a few significant takeaways from Mindbody’s forecast of 2022 fitness trends within the Mindbody Wellness Index, and how to apply the data to your content strategy. We hope this helps you make more informed decisions and if you’re looking to build or boost your digital catalog, Endorphinz has tons of options available to you. We work with some of the biggest and best fitness brands in the country and worldwide, as well as up and coming companies and creators, with everything from virtual fitness workouts to awesome marketing content. With any and all types of media, we have the resources and the team to support your production and collaborate on the creative so that you can focus on your customer.
