Unsure of what makes you competitive in a crowded marketplace? Consider your approach to marketing solutions and business strategies beyond basic ads and membership deals:

• Do you have a social media calendar to organize events, blogs, and success stories?

• Are you efficiently driving traffic from Facebook to an online store or E-commerce website?

• What makes an ad campaign successful for you?

Not quite sure? That’s where soOlis jumps in: We understand obstacles to successful fitness marketing, and we regularly measure personalized success rates and key performance indicators, or KPIs.

We Know Your Audience

We’re so passionate about our clients’ products and offerings at soOlis, our industry expertise allows us to pinpoint your most appropriate audiences with custom content and daily data analytics that steers your marketing strategy – at scale.

Establish Business Credibility

Today’s educated health and fitness consumers want the latest and most trusted fitness and health information, which they use to make decisions about their own wellness. Having an experienced content team and highly relevant messaging works very effectively.

Use Social Media Correctly 

Facebook and Instagram are still the stars of the moment. At soOlis, we know that social media is an effective marketing vehicle to promote, communicate and gain awareness for your health and fitness company.

Your Facebook account is not your brand though – your website and identity within the competitive marketplace also contribute to your total brand. Ask about our content strategies and how to create – or enhance – your unique brand.

Explore Artificial Intelligence 

Slash your response time to problems or online question to enhance the social media experience. It is only natural for disgruntled customers or very motivated clients to share their issues – or joys or feedback – on social media platforms. As a result, Chatbots help you more rapidly respond to dissatisfied customers to neutralize messaging.
Call soOlis today and we’ll help you get there.

Another year, another set of resolutions that we all say we’re going to complete, but how many actually do? “New year, new me”, but really we’re creatures of habit and breaking those habits are not as easy as we all would like it to be. One of the most prominent resolutions among most people is to not just get healthy, but to get fit. It’s the prime time to get in shape and look good for bathing suit season. Yet, about seventy-five percent of people maintain their resolution for the first week and as the as the year progresses, that percentage continues to drop. So the question is: How can you maintain your resolution to stay fit and healthy?

First off, one needs the proper attire and necessities. Personally, when you look the part it provides a sense of confidence that you know what you’re doing. Also, now there are many wearables

such as FitBit to keep track of your activity and progress. These wearables can track your heart rate, calories burned, your steps, and your sleep patterns. Unfortunately, some may purchase their so called “motivators” to just let them be a fad that go to waste. They’re hyped up originally, but just like those resolutions, they get old. Look good to feel good. Which brings us to why this is such a prominent resolution. Yes, we get it, you want to lose said number of pounds to look better, but many forget about the overall reason. Working out is not just about pounds, but to create a healthier lifestyle for the individual. Exercise is not the only aspect about being healthy and it does take dedication. The amount of sleep, what you consume, and the amount of activity are all contributing factors and don’t work alone. Anyways…

Most jump start into their fitness regime without a realistic goal. Nothing happens overnight and you have to be willing to put in the work and build up to your to goal. If you have not worked on cardio for a while, do not kick yourself when you struggle to run a quick mile. Some quit before they really get started because they don’t see fast results. Again, it’s all about the effort you’re willing to put in. When you start off, make a plan and schedule to stick to. It’s easier to follow a set schedule than just get on any machine that looks interesting. Lastly, resolutions lose their appeal over time and that easily could be because they are no longer exciting, new, and you miss the taste of chicken nuggets. With that, don’t be afraid to change it up. Find some different activities to keep you going and look into new recipes and diets that don’t taste like straight grass. Mostly, just find what works for you, gyms and everything that comes with it!

Overall, do not over do it and think about the positives instead of thinking you’d rather be in your bed watching Netflix. It’s a new year, and it may not be a “new” you, but it can be a better you. Happy New Years!

The 40,000 square foot facility has been furnished with, over 80 pieces of cardio equipment, 50 different selectorized machines, and free-weights.  The equipment includes the new Leverage®, Inspiration Strength™, Impact Strength® lines, a 9 Station unit, treadmills with personal viewing screens and Spinners® bikes.

“I’ve had a long relationship with Star Trac. I purchased my first treadmill from them in 1991 when we only had 10 clubs and no treadmills,” shared Mike Feeney, Executive Vice President of New Evolution Ventures.

New Evolution Ventures is the parent company of Energy Fitness as well as other popular fitness brands such as Crunch and Hard Candy Fitness. NeV has operations and investments in over 20 countries worldwide. Star Trac continues to secure partnerships with strong industry leaders because of its commitment to excellence in service and products satisfaction.

“It’s been a great relationship with Star Trac. They’ve listened to the customer’s needs. Star Trac does a great job listening to my needs; and when you are an international company that’s very important,” said Feeney.

Star Trac has provided equipment solutions in hundreds of facilities in over 75 countries. Star Trac’s company model allows for a national and international reach and accessibility to their clients.

“The ability to rely on Star Trac’s dealer in Mexico City is really critical. It’s like they are just down the street from me,” shared Feeney.

Energy Fitness is located directly across from the World Trade Center in Mexico City. For more information about the Energy Fitness grand opening, visit www.energyfitness.com.

To find out how Star Trac may assist your company in providing state of the art equipment, functional, strength and cardio equipment, visit their website at www.startrac.com or call 1-800-228-6635.

About Star Trac

Since 1979, Star Trac has been a leader in developing advanced equipment for the fitness industry, focused on providing products to mold lifelong habits for health and fitness. Its user-focused product innovations are reflected in the complete line of cardiovascular and strength equipment, including the revolutionary Star Trac Coach™, a personalized treadmill workout led by a professional coach, the groundbreaking eSpinner®, the newest Spinning®innovation resulting from the long running relationship between Star Trac and Mad Dogg Athletics, and the Inspiration Strength™ line that takes aesthetics, biomechanics, and features to the next level. More than four million people in over 75 countries use Star Trac exercise equipment daily, enjoying its unparalleled functionality and style. For moreinformation about Star Trac, which is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., call 1-800-228-6635 or visit www.startrac.com.

Eight years after vibration training came to the U.S. fitness world, the genre has matured, toned down its hype about all-things-to-all-people, and begun to penetrate the home retail market.

At the Health & Fitness Business show, for example, there were six different companies with equipment compared to none five years ago by SNEWS’ count. At the IHRSA show in March 2010 there were, by several counts, six companies offering trainers, all very high-end.

As the market grows and matures, different brands are still trying to find the best way to approach potential users and sell the training modality, while finding their own niche within the category.

“It’s a technology that can be of extreme benefit to tons of people,” said Christian Reichardt, founder and president of PowerVibe USA (www.powervibeusa.com), which recently partnered with the former Teutonic Sales.

“Yes, whole body vibration can give you all the physiological benefits of exercise, but in a very short time frame,” he said. “Yes, it does that, but that’s what all exercise does. The message has to be rescripted.”

For example, as Power Plate (www.powerplateusa.com), the company that first introduced whole body vibration (WBV) to clubs in late 2002, continues to focus on the club and athlete’s market, companies like PowerVibe are eyeing the medical fitness segment and special populations, and DKN (www.dkn-usa.com) sees a lot of promise not only in the rehab area but also in the overall fitness and personal training market.

“Personal training studios love it,” said Chip Zielke, president and partner, who joined DKN earlier this year after a stint at Power Plate. He said it partners well in that situation in warm-ups and to complement stretches or other routines.

“Clubs just aren’t comfortable putting it on the floor unattended,” Zielke told SNEWS®. “There’s nothing intuitive about it. You have to understand how to use the product.”

Despite all the players trying to find the best direction, ideal market and fine-tuned marketing, one thing that has continued to push the category is its relative newness.

“Everybody always is looking for something new,” said Mark De Gorter, president of Power Plate North America, which calls the training mode “acceleration training.”

He said he agreed that the biggest challenge is communication and education.

“It was a different category to pin down,” De Gorter said. “Is it rehab? Is it individual? Is it group exercise? Is it strength? The industry struggled to find out where it fit.”

And then there’s, yes, price. Even Power Plate’s lowest-priced consumer piece is about $2,500 (going up to about $4,500). DKN drops down to about $1,250 (and up to about $4,000), while PowerVibe has pieces that go all the way down to $900 from a high of $2,500. Most equipment is simply a platform with various configurations of consoles and programming, although Power Plate introduced a piece this year with cables incorporated for additional functional training options.

Health & fitness benefits
Nobody really argues that WBV offers benefits to health and fitness. However, the debate continues — including in peer-reviewed, scientific journals — to what extent and for whom.

“Whole body vibration can be an asset in your quest for health and well-being,” Reichardt said. “We never say this is the only thing you need.”

Reichardt noted he believes that the populations that are best-suited for WBV are inactive people who need to get started exercising, but may find other forms too difficult. WBV can be a step into other forms of exercise.

“It’s not a panacea,” he added. “But it can be a tremendous asset if used correctly.”

Over the last few years, SNEWS has reviewed various medical and fitness studies and summarized them in articles.

>> In a Health Notes article from Aug. 22, 2008, we found one study that noted it may benefit older adults and unfit people but less so the younger or more fit.

>> In our then-annual summer magazine in 2006, we analyzed the benefits and pieces and also reviewed some of the recent literature. We found there are – or were at that time – a lot of holes in the studies. Click here to see that “web extra” that accompanied our July 2006 GearTrends article.

>> In a study that we summarized in a March 2006 Health Notes column, researchers found the training modality may actually be too strong for many people although it did offer stimulation.

To learn more, PowerVibe has a large library of research studies open to consumershttp://www.powervibeusa.com/learning-center/research-studies, as does Power Plate on its websitehttp://www.powerplate.com/us/benefits/research.

Omni Health and Fitness is five year old, 45,000 square foot facility that offers five lines of Life Fitness products, 75 pieces of Cardio equipment, Kids Zones, Locker Rooms, Saunas, Group X Classes, Pilates, Yoga and a Cardio Cinema Room.  Anyone traveling in Rock Hill, South Carolina should definitely stop in to see this beautiful health club.

“With Omni’s growth plan, we understand how important our exclusive advertising is to them, said Brad Bishop, President/CEO of soOlis.com.  We look forward to a long relationship with them.’