Social Media — Page 3

5 Social Media Trends your Gymnastics Club needs to be aware of

April 18, 2014 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

The social media landscape is evolving rapidly, and therefore, your social media marketing strategy cannot remain static. Instead, it’s important to reevaluate business goals, social media campaigns, platform results and revise your strategy at least once a year. Since the gymnastics business is largely around the school year, it may be a good idea to re-think your strategy with dates that follow the school schedule.

Being aware of trends in the social sphere can help you design better strategies, apply the most effective tactics and choose where to invest your staff as well as financial resources. Here are the top five social media trends every entrepreneur needs to think about for 2014 and beyond:

1. Diversify. You’ve probably seen headlines about Facebook’s algorithm changes. If you currently operate a brand or business page, one study found that only six percent of followers currently see your posts. Experts suggest that that number will continue to plummet, eventually reaching one percent.

This bid by Facebook is aimed at increasing advertising dollars. But it highlights a potential weakness in many business’ social strategies: overdependence on any single platform puts you at the mercy of that platform’s whims. Whether it crashes or simply changes its rules, too much is at stake.

2. Google+ is for real. If there’s one social network businesses should pay specific attention to, it’s Google+, which is already playing a more important role in Google’s organic ranking algorithm. I expect this trend will continue.

To the surprise of many across the SEO industry (search engine optimization), Google’s Matt Cutts confirmed in a recent video that Facebook and Twitter have no impact on SEO rankings as a result of crawling and accessibility issues. So it stands to reason that if Google wants to use social signals for organic search rankings, it could easily mine Google+ data, where its crawler access is unhindered.

Google+ is also the best way to get access to Google Authorship, which will play a huge role in SEO by the end of the year. Google Authorship helps the search engine identify your content, attribute it to the correct author and build a portfolio for each author that may include what many are calling “Author Rank” — algorithmic scoring based on author expertise and publishing history.

In most cases, an image of the author appears next to their content in search results, which also increases visibility and click-through rates.

3. Integration of social media, SEO, and content creation. The online marketing industry is moving away from the idea that social media, SEO and content marketing happen in isolation. Social media marketing decisively impacts how content is seen and shared.

Content creation and marketing have direct implications for your SEO performance — especially in light of Google’s latest algorithm updates. It’s important that you think of the three pillars of online marketing — SEO, content and social media — as a system that works synergistically to increase visibility, build your brand and ultimately garner customers and sales.

4. Visual content will win. An estimated 63 percent of social media comprises imagery. As such, visual platforms are playing an increasing role in social media for businesses. One study found that 29 percent of Pinterest users bought an item after posting or re-pinning it on the network.

Video content is also hotter than ever, with the addition of networks like Vine and Instagram featuring microvideos. Infographics are another effective promotion tool for businesses with both a bounty of data and absorbing stories to tell.

Not every platform will be right, but spending the time to find the visual angle to your business’ story and experimenting with different content formats can help revitalize your social media marketing strategy.

5. Social media as a brand builder. Social media channels should be managed according to a brand-oriented approach. Building your brand on any platform impacts your SEO and improves sales over the long term.

Are the visuals of your social media accounts consistent with the rest of your visual branding? Is your account name or any other copy branded? Are you regularly filtering your status updates to ensure they’re on-message and consistent with the overall brand that you’re building? Focusing on building your brand through your social interactions should be a key focus this year.

If evolutions in social media have taught us anything so far this year, it’s that entrepreneurs with flexible and engaged approaches will have the highest ROI. Take the time to understand general trends and focus on core goals, but also take action to experiment with specific tactics that will grow and change as your business evolves.

Thoughts about Twitter.

March 31, 2014 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

You check it.

50 times a day—usually between events or during break—and use it to follow everyone from your best friends to your favorite gymnasts (and I hope you follow me @tretrosi and @gym_momentum). But how much do you really know about Twitter, and the people behind it?

At the SXSW conference in Austin earlier this month, Kevin Weil, Twitter’s Vice President of Product, Revenue, revealed the surprising reasons his company has been so successful—and what you can learn from Twitter’s big ideas.

1. The company follows a secret code …
… but Weil will reveal it anyway. “We think there are really four things that make Twitter unique: that it’s public, live, conversational, and widely distributed,” he says. “Everything we’re doing now and in the future is in service of those things.” Recent examples include showing photos and videos in timelines—rather than users having to click to see the images—and introducing Vine last year. “Vine is a great example of those four things applied to video—people sharing their lives and their creativity in 6-second loops—and it’s almost become its own sort of art form. We love what we’re seeing there.”

2. The brains behind the brand break a sweat together.
Twitter seems to roll out new features at lightning-speed—which makes sense, since its HQ is made up of highly active athletes. Weil, for example, usually runs 8 to 12 miles in the morning—often with his coworkers. “My morning run is an opportunity to connect with friends and colleagues, or if I’m alone, it’s an opportunity to collect my thoughts and plan for the day,” he says. “Running gives me balance, and leaves me with energy and enthusiasm for the coming day in the office. Twitter is a wonderful place to work, and extremely high-energy. Being a long-distance runner helps me keep up with my coworkers!”

3. They strive to stay head of the tech curve.
Weil has a big prediction for where technology is headed: “I think we will see various forms of Internet-connected devices and sensors become so prevalent that they fade into the background of everyday life,” he says. “Cell phones already have, and the world is massively different than just 7 years ago because we each carry in our pockets an always-on connection to the rest of the world. Wearables are another example of this, and they’re clearly in their infancy. I can’t wait to have more real-time information about myself, my health, and my fitness from wearables. I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”

4. They can’t function without collaboration.
Weil’s favorite business motto: “Strong opinions, weakly held.” In other words, Twitter rose to be one of the most popular services around because the company valued collaboration. “We work every day to create new experiences for hundreds of millions of users, and it’s important to be bold, to be willing to suggest and defend big ideas,” Weil says. “But it’s equally important to have the humility to ask questions, to welcome others challenging your ideas, to look honestly at data whether it supports or refutes your idea, and ultimately to learn from our users.”

I personally started viewing Twitter and other Social Media at first like at novelty. But now it is an integral part of my marketing plan. Marketing, like gymnastics, is a dynamic environment. You are moving forward or backward. There is no such thing as staying the same.

I recently was asked to MC the University of Calgary International Cup. The FIRST thing I did was start using a hashtag (#UCIC) to encourage the audience and the athletes to get involved before, during and after the competition. I look forward to growing this at future competition.

How do you use Twitter?

What has been your most successful post on social media?

Share your thoughts, keep the momentum going!

Talk Less

December 27, 2013 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

I have always believed in a few cliches

Actions speak louder than words

Lead by action

When I was teaching in an elementary school I told the kids to BE A VERB.

A very clever student said asked if “delinquent” was a verb.

I said NO, it was an adjective. But, I pointed out, that “detention” could be used as a verb.

The moral is that we need to be active in our coaching. Our gymnasts do not want us to just talk and talk. Drs Joe and Sue Massimo point out that one of the things our athletes want out of us is MINIMAL VERBIAGE. I do not know if it is an AMERICAN thing or just a coaching thing but we seem to believe that why should we say something in 5 words when we can use 50?

So for New Years- Try Being a TWITTER COACH.

Twitter Coaching:

As you know the goal of Twitter is get your message across in 140 characters or less. Over the years some of the best coaches I have seen are what I now call Twitter Coaches. Great coaches are great teachers. They get their message across in a very succinct on point manner. Seldom do great coaches speak in paragraphs, they speak in sentences that are very direct and intended to elicit a specific behavior.

– Tell your gymnasts what correction they need to make without a lengthy speech.

– Give them a correction NOT an observation.

example: A professional says “you need to squeeze your left knee”.

v.

A parent says “Your leg was bent”

– Keep your corrections to a minimum- A GOOD gymnast will only be able to make 1 correction in a routine.

-A GREAT gymnast may possibly be able to make 2.

If you give more, they probably won’t make ANY or each one a little.

As a rule, take your gymnasts AGE and realize you have you have that in SECONDS to make your correction. A 12 year old has about 12 seconds of attention to make a correction. A 5 year old has about 5 seconds. (ALL BOYS are 5!)

Be a twitter coach and improve your coaching effectiveness. By the way follow me on Twitter @gym_momentum and @tretrosi.

Saving Collegiate Gymnastics

December 13, 2013 by Sarah Chrane 1 Comment

SIGN THE PETITION

It seems as though every year, there’s another college gymnastics team facing elimination. Just last year, Wilson College eliminated their team and Gustavus Adolphus was threatened. In 2011, Rhode Island College’s women’s and Cal Berkley’s men’s teams faced extinction, but were later saved by community outrage. In 2009, MIT’s men’s and women’s teams were eliminated. In 2008, URI announced their gymnastics team’s elimination. Now, Temple University has announced their decision to cut men’s gymnastics. And these schools are just a few of the many programs that no longer exist or risked no longer existing. Gymnastics is almost always one of the first sports on the chopping block when colleges and universities feel that budget cuts and other restrictions need to be made, but why? Gymnastics is growing in popularity but the opportunities for gymnasts to compete collegiately are shrinking year after year. Despite the dominance of USA gymnastics in the world with dozens of Olympic and World Championship medals from the past few years and the exponential growth of athletes participating in the sport, those who hold the power to make decisions in higher education seem convinced that gymnastics is a dying sport.

While it may be obvious to those involved with gymnastics that the sport isn’t dying, it may not be so obvious to those who don’t understand it. And let’s face it: gymnastics is not an easy sport to understand. Its concepts, skills, and scoring are difficult to grasp and comprehend, especially if one has never been involved in the sport in any capacity. Most people do not know the difference between a double back and a double full and couldn’t even pronounce Yurchenko or Tsukahara, let alone understand and differentiate between the two. They don’t get it, and I can’t really blame them. What I can find fault in is the inability to even try to understand it. Most college gymnastics programs are low on the totem pole of athletic priorities. They are poorly marketed, poorly funded, and set on the back burner in favor of the more “popular” sports. As a result, they don’t bring enough revenue and become candidates for elimination. But if you don’t water your plants and give them enough sunlight, how can you ever expect them to grow and blossom?

Saving collegiate programs is a cause I’m passionate about because I’ve lived it. In 2011, I was a junior at Rhode Island College and a captain of the gymnastics team when the school announced its plans to eliminate gymnastics at RIC, effective the 2011-2012 academic year (which would have been my senior year). Let me first preface my story with saying that I was never a naturally gifted gymnast. In all my years, I’ve encountered dozens of gymnasts whose natural ability for the sport astounds me, but I was never “that” kid. The sport didn’t come easy to me, and, like many gymnasts, my body was working against me via stress fractures in my back and other injuries. But what I didn’t have in natural talent, I made up for in passion and drive for the sport. I desperately wanted to compete in college, and I found a home in Division III gymnastics. Unlike Division I or II, Division III does not give athletic scholarships. I would have never made a Division I or II team, but after looking at several Division III programs, I decided on Rhode Island College due to its relatively close proximity to my home state of New Hampshire, its situation in the city of Providence, and its reasonable cost and wide array of majors. I’ll admit, my first two years at RIC were tumultuous. There was almost a revolving door of coaches and gymnasts, but by my junior year, I felt as though our program was gaining ground and stability. Our team had a lot of heart, passion, and love for the sport and for each other. We had several promising recruits lined up for the next season and things were looking up. And then, tragedy.

March 30^th, 2011 was a day that I will never forget. My team was called into a meeting with the Athletic Director and we were told, “The good news is that we will be adding two more women’s sports to RIC. The bad news is that we are cutting gymnastics” as if the addition of two more sports that I had no interest in would somehow soften the blow. “Devastation” does not even begin to cover it. I had worked my entire life and had overcome so much all to have it ripped away just before my senior year. My teammates were looking to me as their captain for answers and I had none. We were all blindsided, hurt, and betrayed by the decision. I can remember walking into the athletic training room and sobbing in front of our dumbfounded and stunned trainers and fellow athletes, who shared in our shock and outrage. After the initial shock wore off, I started thinking, “well, that’s that. I guess we’ll just have to start a club team next year, right?” Wrong. Student Community Government had already finalized their budgets for the following academic year, so funding a club team would have been next to impossible. That’s when my roommate and fellow captain, Angela, had an idea. She said, “why don’t we try to save it? What do we have left to lose?” and she was right.

So the next morning, I created the petition. Within 11 hours of its creation, it had over 1,000 signatures. That’s when we knew that we had a chance and that we were onto something big. Then I wrote to every single Division III coach in the country, and the coaches of all the Division I and II teams we regularly competed against and asked them to help us, and the response was overwhelming. Many of those coaches went out of their way to send letters and emails in support of our cause. In addition to the online petition, we sent written forms of it around campus. We went around the dining halls, in the quad, in the dorms, everywhere. It was passed around classrooms, lecture halls, and sorority meetings. Many of our fellow students were outraged that the school would eliminate a sports team. But I knew that I needed more than signatures to reverse the college’s decision.

So I started researching. I read up on NCAA rules and regulations and educated myself about Title IX. I discovered that my school was guilty of some ethical violations and discrimination that were unacceptable under Title IX. Due to the excellent reputation and subsequent popularity of the Nursing and Education programs, at the time I was a student, RIC was approximately 66% female. Title IX states that athletic enrollments should be a reflection of the student population. It wasn’t. My calculations revealed that though RIC’s student population was 2/3 female, their athletic enrollment was over 50% male. Despite the fact that gymnastics was being cut and two more women’s sports (swimming and golf) would be added, the school would only be gaining one sport. Even if the new sports produced the amount of athletes they said it would produce (spoiler alert: they didn’t), that was not enough to tip the scales. Ethically, we as a team had always felt that we had been treated unfairly. The athletic department refused to send gymnasts to Division III Nationals when they qualified, they refused to replace our matting and equipment to comply with NCAA regulations, and we had to travel in vans to our away meets that were often over six hours away while other sports teams got coach buses to travel a fraction of that. We were underfunded, under appreciated, and underrepresented. It wasn’t due to lack of coaching or talent that the program wasn’t succeeding. It was because the athletic department didn’t care enough to equip it with the tools to help it succeed, and then they turned around and cut it for not being “successful”.

After documenting all of this, I decided to research gymnastics teams that had been cut but were later saved because I felt that precedence could be an important card to play. I found that Brown University, West Chester University, and Southeast Missouri had all had their programs cut and reinstated. But the two cases that really struck me were those of Brown, our Providence neighbors, and West Chester, a team we regularly competed against. Both of these teams took their cases to court and won. Reading their legal cases was like looking into a mirror and into my own situation at RIC. The similarities were shocking.

Title IX and the cases of Brown, West Chester, and SEMO were my heavy hitters. But I also had statistics showing that gymnastics was on the rise, statistics comparing it to swimming and golf, letters, testimonials from the petition, and written essays by my teammates on why gymnastics is important to them and why they ultimately chose RIC. Angela and I compiled all of this into a binder and set up meetings with the vice president of the college, who oversaw athletics. There were three meetings in total. During the first two, we presented our case. I knew that arguing for my program to remain indefinitely would be tough, so I suggested a compromise: a two-year trial period where we could prove that gymnastics was a worthy asset to Rhode Island College. All I wanted was a chance. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, angry calls and emails were inundating the administration, the petition was growing, and our cause could be seen in the local papers and on dozens of popular gymnastics websites and blogs.

It was the third meeting where we would hear the final verdict. I can still remember the butterflies, the heartbeat resounding in my chest, the sweaty palms and shaking hands, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. But despite the odds, despite the dozens of programs who had been cut before us, and despite all those who had doubted, discredited, and dismissed us, our request was granted. Rhode Island College Gymnastics would live to see another two years. The next season was the best of my career and the best season for RIC in years. I was named ECAC gymnast of the week once, scored several personal bests, and qualified to Division III Nationals on floor (yes, they actually sent me). Our coach was named ECAC Coach of the Year. The two-year trial period that I fought for is up, and 5 National Qualifiers, 4 Academic All-Americans, 1 Coach of the Year, and 1 Rookie of the Year later, Rhode Island College Gymnastics remains alive today.

To this day, I still can’t believe that we did it. But there are still days where I fear for the indefinite survival of the program. More so, I fear for the survival of college gymnastics as a whole. I want to one day live in a world where the sport I have devoted my entire life to is not constantly fighting for survival in the NCAA. I want to one day live in a world where gymnastics is as dutifully marketed and appreciated as basketball or football. I want to one day live in a world where administrators will actually make an effort to understand and appreciate gymnastics. I want to one day live in a world where we can go just one season without seeing another team’s petition to be saved from elimination. I want to one day live in a world where gymnastics athletes can be treated with fairness, equality, respect and with the same reverence that is given to athletes of more “popular” sports.

Cutting a sport, regardless of whether it’s gymnastics or football, or whether it’s a men’s sport or a women’s sport, is never, I repeat, never the answer. It is a cop-out. Denying athletes the right to participate in a sport they have worked tirelessly to succeed in and to represent their school with dignity and pride in is the biggest and most reprehensible disservice a college administration can do. Knowing how incredible and how valuable my experience as a college gymnast was, I want future gymnasts to have the opportunity to share in that same experience. I want there to be options available for gymnasts who want to continue competing after high school. If the elimination of programs to be a popular trend, that will not happen.

I am living, breathing proof that with a little grit and determination, saving a program is possible. But I was not alone in the battle. I could not have succeeded in doing what I did without the help of social media and the thousands of members of the gymnastics community who took a little time out of their day to support us, be it by signing a petition, making a phone call, writing a letter or email, or sharing our cause with their contacts. We cannot continue to sit idly as gymnastics programs disappear one by one. The situation for men’s gymnastics programs is especially dire, and right now, it is Temple who needs our help. Sign their petition, send a letter to their administration, and get on the phone and start calling. As for the other programs around the country, do your part in supporting your local college gymnastics team. Send a donation, attend a meet, and follow them on social media. The more the community remains involved, the more of a chance we have in keeping NCAA gymnastics alive.

Sign The Petition to Save Temple University Gymnastics

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sarah was a gymnast for 16 years, throughout which she competed at the state, regional, and national level. She went on to compete Division III collegiate gymnastics for Rhode Island College, where she was a two-year team captain, ECAC gymnast of the week, national qualifier on floor exercise, and Academic All-American, as well as being one of four senior athletes chosen as a Senior Athlete of Distinction at RIC’s 2012 Commencement. She graduated cum laude with a B.A. in English. Sarah continues her passion for gymnastics as a coach at Spectrum Gymnastics Academy in Londonderry, NH where she also runs the gym’s blog. She also is a level 9 rated judge and hopes to earn her level 10 rating next season.

Follow her on twitter: @GymCoachSarah

A Great Pod Cast.

October 22, 2012 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

This morning while running on the treadmill (which at times seems a metaphor for my life) I was searching for a podcast to listen to during the rest of my workout.

I stumbled onto GymCastic Website and Pod cast. In their latest podcast they talk about changes in the vault code, gymnastics portrayal in the media and talk to Jonathan Horton about his scooter gang, triple doubles, body hair in men’s gymnastics and which of his teammates is the most unique person he has ever met!

Podcast 6

It is a fun and entertaining show. Ended up listening to it while raking leaves and mowing the lawn!

Jessica O’Beirne‘s mission in life is to make gymnastics as popular as the NFL. No, seriously, she’s not kidding. She also works tirelessly to assure that gymnasts know they can continue to do the sport throughout their lifetime for health, fitness and fun over at masters-gymnastics.com. The site maintains a list of every adult gymnastics class, open gym in the country and a world wide masters meet calendar. Follow her on Twitter @OtotheBeirne or @AdultGymnastics , Facebook.

Blythe Lawrence of Gymnastics Examiner is a freelance journalist from Seattle. She writes for Universal Sports and you should follow her on Twitter @GymExaminer because she is at every gymnastics event you’ve ever wanted tickets to.

Spanny Tampson is one of the most beloved gymnastics-satirists in the game. Her montages are legen…wait for it…dary. Experience it all on her popular blog Spanny’s Big Fake Smile. Like her on Spanny Tampson Facebook, or follow her on Twitter @SpannyTampson where she hunts down #fouryearfans and punishes them.

Uncle Tim writes the blog that would be Spanny’s boyfriend… if it were straight. Uncle Tim Talks Men’s Gym and Twitter @uncletimmensgym. His official biography reads as follows:

Loves: Jordan Jovtchev’s shiny leotards, Philipp Boy’s face, Louis Smith’s hair, Jake Dalton’s toe point, and a good triple full.

Obsessed with: Tim Daggett. Who isn’t?

Hates: This is an abridged list… Double pikes off parallel bars, double-twisting double layouts off high bar, bent legs, flexed feet, sloppy handstands, bad round-offs, bad spelling, wedgies, and little kids who fart in your face while you’re spotting them.

Hidden talents: I can do a standing back tuck on the high beam even though I’m a boy. Oh, and I’m great at making alcohol-infused desserts, and I speak a lot of languages, and I can eat a large pizza by myself in a single sitting.

Craziest gymnastics moment: When I was in undergrad, I was a poor schmuck, but I studied abroad anyway. On my last day in Rome, I was running low on cash, so I did what any former gymnast would do: I went to the Coliseum, set a hat on the ground and started doing gymnastics. I made 40 euros that afternoon and I had myself a nice meal by the Spanish Steps. (FYI: this happened many years before Emily Kmetko needed train fare on Make It or Break It. She’s the copycat–not I.)

Most private thing I’m willing to admit: I have a big gymternet crush on Spanny Tampson. Who doesn’t?

Enjoy! Keep the Momentum Going by sharing your favorite gymnastics Podcast or website!

Had to add a picture taken in Rome during my trip a few weeks ago

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Support Your local Book store

April 24, 2012 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

I am sure you’re rolling your eyes in anticipation of another “Save The Bookstore” rant. I am a proud Book Store Geek and a big believer in BUY LOCAL so your fears may not be unwarranted. I am not going to wax nostalgically about an almost-extinct breed of shopping destination or beg you to support them as an act of charity. What I want to share is what I have discovered (at east in my area).

LOCALLY OWNED BOOK STORES ARE GOOD FOR YOUR GYMNASTICS BUSINESS.

As much as possible I frequent a number of local book shops (Bald Face Books, Riverrun Books, Water St Books). Whether I am looking for a quick read or something that is going to make me really think I am always able to find or order what I want. I do try to avoid the big stores like Barnes and Noble but on occasion I have to go there to pick up a travel book. I do shop online for more technical books and I do have an iPad and I read on that as well. To me, the experience at my local book stores far out weighs the few dollars in savings I may get at a large chain. I also know that the money I spend there flows back into my gym.

10 (and a 1/2) REASONS TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE.

1. THEY ENTERTAIN KIDS.

Bookstores are goldmines for parents. A well-stocked children’s section can engage a kid (and their parent) for a serious stretch of time. Many have story hours and some post children’s artwork. In your gymnastics business you are always looking for new customers. So are bookstores- Try to do some cross marketing with them.

2. THEY STOCK LITERARY TREASURES.

You could hunt for rare, vintage, and signed books online, but it can be easier and more reliable to do this through your local book store. Parents in the lobby of my gym are ALWAYS talking about a “good find” whether it is a good price on a new scarf, or a new book.

3. THEY BRING CELEBRITIES TO TOWN.

Local bookstores bring in up and coming authors as well as the famous and established authors to do book signings. I live in a town of about 25,000 people and have been able to see many authors at our local store. Steven King, Dan Brown, Stephen Greenblatt and Joe Hill just to name a few. Who else was there? Many of the parents of kids I have in the gym and it is ALWAYS good to be seen in the community.

4. THEY EDUCATE YOU.

It’s one thing to buy a cookbook. It’s another to buy the cookbook and watch the author’s technique in action and taste the result. Events like this are happening probably once a month in a book store near you. There are experts speaking and answering questions. Again, you will see many of your current and hopefully future clients at these things PLUS you get smarter.

5. THEY HAVE REAL PEOPLE ON HAND TO HELP YOU

While online-only booksellers do make individualized recommendations, these are based on algorithms. “Algorithms still can’t match the human brain for book recommendations,” says John Jenkins, manager of the MIT Press Bookstore. Bookstore staff members help you navigate what’s there. During this time you are talking to them about what you do- and when they are helping the next customer, “Oh, you have kids? That is great! I was just helping the person who owns the gymnastics club in town. What a great person.”

6. THEY OFFER GREAT BOOK GROUPS

Book clubs/ groups are made up of a lot of people you want as customers. (They can also be made up of some crazy people who have too many cats but they just add a little spice to life)

7. THEY CAN HELP YOU WRITE

Bookstores are logical locales for writing workshops. This year (thanks to this web site and working on my “Coach as Educator” book) I have spent more and more time writing. There is always room for improvement. Whether it is a blog for you gym’s website or a newsletter for parents we can all improve our writing skills.

8. THEY KEEP YOU IN THE KNOW.

“Independent bookstores that are really thriving are using social media to spread the word about books and more,” says Bruce Shaw, publisher of Harvard Common Press. If you’re one of the 16,000 + twitter followers of Harvard Book Store (@harvard-books) you’re amount the first to learn about book releases, big name speakers coming to town and topics and articles that have the reading world buzzing. Get in tight with a guy like that and have an occasional tweet about an upcoming event at your gym. HUGE benefits for you!

9. THEY REWARD LOYALTY

Deep discounts aren’t just an online phenomenon. Many bookstores offer loyalty programs for repeat customers that can add up to significant savings- and you don’t have to worry about shipping fees. Do you have a loyalty program at your gym? (I don’t but as I write this I am thinking about it). Someone who signs up with us for the school year? Maybe give them a discount card to the book store and see what the bookstore can do for us.

10. THEY SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY

Bookstores tend to be very involved in the community. They support local nonprofit efforts and if I ever need to know what is going on in town, I ask Tom at Riverrun Books in Portsmouth.

10.5 THEY SELL ONLINE TOO.

We are all busy and sometimes want the books sent to us or downloaded to our e-reader.