Most people visit online stores and businesses with one purpose – to browse goods and services. Leisure facilities are a little different. They serve the community in myriad of ways.
A good leisure organisation’s website needs to effectively sell the wealth of services on offer and demonstrate their commitment to their locality. This is particularly important in the face of rapidly-growing competition. To help you get started, here are some tips from the experts:
Give plenty of information:
From fitness facilities to swimming, leisure organisations have lots to offer. It’s important to give as much info as you can for users. Not only will this provide the very real impression that there’s heaps for people get stuck into, it’ll prevent your phone line getting jammed with queries. Be sure to write this in an appealing and descriptive way.
Make it eye-catching and on-brand:
Branding is a big deal. This goes back to what we were saying about remaining recognisable in the face of competition. If you want your website to stick in people’s heads after they’ve visited it, text-heavy pages won’t cut the mustard. You need striking images and colour. Web banners are a visually appealing way to draw in the eye and an easy win for conversions.
Easily navigable:
You’ve got your user’s foot in the door, now your job is to lead them inside. This is easier said than done, particularly in today’s society where attention spans are practically none existent. Visitors need to be able to locate their next click easily and rely on a lack of clutter, clear-labels and visible CTA’s to get them there. Note that 80% of your customers’ attention happens above the fold and 69% on the left-hand side of the screen so use these areas wisely.
Frequently updated:
Amongst the vast quantity of roles your website plays host to, it also operates as a noticeboard. This is very handy in instances such as pool closures or changes during the holidays. It’s also a great opportunity to shout about offers. But an out of date website is no good to anyone. Ensure that important announcements and membership incentives are updated in a timely manner.
Convenient online joining:
Making it through a hardcore HIIT session should be the most difficult thing a person encounters throughout their gym experience. All too often, this is trumped by a long, arduous membership sign up process. Online joining should be a staple for leisure facilities. It’s easily accessible, quick and can be carried out at a customer’s convenience. It also saves you the laborious task of taking them through the process in-house.
Content is king:
Blogs, blogs and more blogs. Give your reader’s tips and advice, write articles about exceptional members, use this space to promote an event or provide a write-up afterwards. Blogs will help you favourably come out on top of Google’s tough search ranking criteria. It will also give you material to improve your social-scape. Above all, it will simply make your website a much more fun and exciting place to be.
Get in touch with Bigwave media for exceptional marketing. We work with fitness centres and health clubs all over the country and are experts in getting results.