With locations worldwide gym chain Crunch has turned to social to connect with their 200,000+ members
Headquartered in New York City, Alexis Kendall (Crunch’s marketing director) details how they structure social to extend member experience beyond the gym's walls.
What are the key drivers behind your organization's use of social media?
We tailor our use to fit each channel but always with the goal of being an online extension of the member experience and keeping our community informed and entertained outside the gym walls. We are somewhat protective of promotional messaging within our social media communication, however, we occasionally leverage our audiences and their networks to garner new prospects and members through various promotions and ad models within these platforms.
How is social media organized within your company? What organizational models do you use and why?
The Social Media Coordinator,a marketing team member, reports to the Marketing Director (myself) in addition to working closely with our member services department to handle any customer service issues that may arise in this media.
As a corporate user of social networks, how does your company value the networks it has a presence on?
We see tremendous value in every network we're on, and the key is to communicate to and leverage each channel in the best way possible. Some networks may have a smaller following, but their engagement, loyalty and demographic reach make them extremely valuable.
Can you outline a recent initiative that included a social media component?
We recently launched an online extension of our brand called Crunch Live. It's a subscription-based library of our top workouts, led by our best instructors. For the launch, we gave all our instructors PURLs to promote the new site as well as their individual workouts. The instructor who garnered the most subscriptions won a trip to Miami. It was a great way to leverage their networks of followers to create awareness and excitement as well as drive sign-ups.
How much pressure is there to show ROI with the social media you use?
No matter what media, we always feel it's important to demonstrate that our dollars are well spent. That said, we understand that social media doesn't always come with an initial monetary return and is more about developing a long-term online presence. It is also a relatively inexpensive form of media, aside from staffing costs and occasional promotions.
How did your organization approach the mapping of your enterprise to identify where social media should reside in the corporate structure? And how this would deliver an integrated approach to social media activity?
It was originally a responsibility of the PR department, but as social media properties began to introduce integrated ads and different forms of promotional contests there was a need for more involvement from other areas of the marketing department. Eventually this grew into a dedicated role.
What is your advice to organizations that are beginning to map their own corporate structure with the view to embedding social media activity within their enterprise?
First and foremost it's important to understand the business needs behind social media. Large companies that constantly have to deal with customer service issues and demands may need this role to primarily be a function of their customer service department. On the other hand, lifestyle brands that are interested in generating awareness and brand loyalty should structure this role as an extension of their marketing department.
As social media in itself continues to evolve, it’s important to find that niche role where it can help your organization reach its business goal, whether it’s customer service, brand engagement, promotion sales, website traffic, brand identity, etc.
Are there any specific tools you employ that help your business manage its social media activity across multiple departments?
We recently began using a platform called newBrandAnalytics to monitor social activity as it relates to reviews of our business - this could be anything from a Yelp review to a criticism or shout out on Twitter. It's been incredibly instrumental in helping us evaluate our member experience and work with our operations teams to make improvements to our business and customer service.
How do you see the management and development of social media in your company evolving over the next few years?
While we have a dedicated person responsible for social media, I think as both the company and the media grow, it will become more and more essential to integrate all areas of our business even further.
We are continually asking ourselves questions like - How does what our creative department is working on work in this medium? How is social media being represented in the new group fitness classes we're developing? This constant integration is what will continue to evolve over time.