An informed gymnastics class is a happy gymnastics class! That’s why gymnastics class communication tools can provide big value for your club.
We’ve already written about how gymnastics skill tracking software can help you solve issues that trigger gymnast drop-outs. Today, we’re going to talk about how you can use gymnastics class communication tools to keep your gymnasts and parents informed.
Your members are often busy with school, family, friends and more.
One of the easiest ways to keep your gymnastics club members happy is to pass along quick updates about your club.
When your membership receives a message notifying them of upcoming scheduling changes or events, they’ll be appreciative of the advanced notice! Once they know change is on the way, it’s easier to shift their expectations. This can be especially helpful for parents with young kids.
We’ve put together a list of some gymnastics class communication tools that can help you keep your members informed.
Good gymnastics class communications example
Picture this: At the end of the night, two coaches attempt to move an old heavy springboard for the vault. They struggle with it until a supporting piece breaks. The coaches try, but they can’t fix it.
Now you’ll have to remove the springboard and vault from class rotation until it’s properly fixed. What do you do next? If you send an update to all family and club members, parents have time to tell their athletes about the equipment change.
As a result, the gymnasts who love the vault will have time to adjust their expectations. This means when it’s time for their gymnastics class, they are much less likely to be upset that the vault is temporarily out of use.
And of course, when gymnasts are happy, coaches can focus on skill development!
Even if you think an update about your gymnastics club isn’t important to your members, it’s best that you share it and let them decide.
Takeaway: When you communicate with your members, your classes run more smoothly!
3 Keys to Good Gymnastics Class Communication
There isn’t one communications style that works best for everyone, so you have to choose the style that works best for you.
Many people like to get updates about their gymnastics club on social media (we’ll have more on that below). But you shouldn’t feel forced into a type of communication you’re not comfortable with.
Could you imagine if an introverted administrator felt forced to do a Facebook live stream for all their gymnastics class updates? Yikes! That administrator is going to feel uncomfortable and their discomfort may even distract from the message they’re delivering.
There are a lot of challenges in managing a gymnastics club and coaching kids, but live streaming certainly doesn’t have to be one of them! So, pick the platforms you’re going to be most comfortable with, then follow these three keys:
Be specific
Tell your members all the details including the when, why and how. Remember to be specific and try to answer any questions you think your gymnastics membership may have. If your update causes people to ask questions, you’re going to be making more work for you and your coaching staff. So, anticipating and answering any common questions up front can save a lot of time.
Stay on point
Try and reduce your message to the essentials. Remember that your members and their parents are busy folks so make sure they can quickly get the gist of your message. If people are in a rush, they’re less likely to read or watch your entire update. With this in mind, try and mention all of the most important details at the beginning of your message.
Target your message
Identify who your update is intended for right from the start. Your gymnastics club members and their parents will be happiest when they don’t spend their time reading updates that don’t apply to them. If you can leverage gymnastics management software to target your communications, that’s even better!
Good gymnastics management software gives you the communication tools to only target the members that are affected by your update, which is a good way to keep your members engaged (more on that below).
Communicating using Gymnastics Class Management Software
Uplifter’s gymnastics class management software offers a variety of ways for you to stay in touch with your gymnastics club members. Each method of communication offers advantages in different situations.
News Section
First and foremost, is your gymnastic club’s News Section. This area of your class management software allows you to quickly post class and club updates that each member can instantly see. When posting to this area, make sure your update is applicable to a wide audience because all of your members will be able to see it.
Targeted Email Tool
If you have a message that’s really only applicable to a small group, it’s best to use Uplifter’s targeted email tool. Using the targeted email tool, you can write a message and send it to select members or groups of members. This can be especially helpful if you need to update one specific class.
For example: what if there’s a power outage at your gym and you need to cancel your next gymnastics class? Calling everyone takes time. Even if it takes 1 minute to call and update each member, that’s a half hour just to update 30 people. So, before you dial your first gym class member you should send a targeted email to the entire class. That way, you immediately give everyone a chance to see the update. Once the email is sent, you can go ahead and call each member.
Phone Contact Database
Of course, this leads us to the most important way to contact your gymnastics class members: the phone. Although you may not call your members often, it’s extremely important to have up-to-date contact information in case of emergency. If you use Uplifter, you don’t have to worry about chasing each club member for their current contact details. With Uplifter, each member can quickly update their own contact information so you’ll always have the most up-to-date contact information.
Remember: Before you write an update for your club, it’s important to consider whether it’s intended for your entire club, or just a group of members. Why is this important to consider? Well, if your members receive updates from you that don’t affect them, they may learn to ignore your updates!
Gymnastics Class Communication Tools: Social Media
Social Media offers a lot of great ways to communicate with your gymnastics club members. Each social media platform offers something different so let’s dive into the specifics below.
Gymnastics Class Communications on Facebook
Facebook is the largest social media platform by a mile. With 2.27 Billion active monthly users as of the fall of 2018, your older club members and their parents are both likely to be on Facebook.
As of today, Facebook has greatly diminished the organic reach that a club or association can achieve with a business page. This means if you have a Facebook business page, your gymnastics club update may not be seen by many of your members. The reason for this is simple. Facebook wants to keep users engaged with content from their friends. So, you’ll have to consider if a Facebook business page is the best place for communications.
Of course, you could always boost your message by spending advertising money on Facebook, but there’s also another option.
Instead of a Facebook page, you may want to consider creating a Facebook group. Facebook groups have a much higher organic reach for group members which means your gymnastics club update will reach more of your club members so long as they are a member of your Facebook group. That said, it’s important to understand that the organic reach of Facebook groups could always change in the future.
Gymnastics Class Communications on Twitter
Twitter could be considered the world’s largest chat room. It’s a great place to share the latest information about your club, and interact with your club members who spend time on the platform.
Much like Facebook, you can easily share pictures and videos on Twitter. Unlike Facebook Business pages, tweets tend to have more organic reach which means your messages on Twitter are more likely to be read by members. However, Twitter isn’t for everybody. The platform only has a fraction of the users that Facebook has so just make sure you don’t put all your social media eggs in the Twitter basket.
Gymnastics Class Communications on Instagram
Instagram is currently the hottest social media platform heading into 2019. It’s a predominantly visual platform that requires photo or video content in order to post. On Instagram, your business can quickly share multi-media content updating your members on what’s happening at your club. Each posts allows a 2,200 character description so there’s lots of room to explain the context of your picture or video.
There are over 1 Billion active users on Instagram and the demographics tend to skew toward a younger audience. This likely means that a good deal of both your gymnastics class members and their parents will see your Instagram posts. Of course, Instagram’s organic reach could decline in the future, so it’s best to consider Instagram communications as “nice to have” instead of “essential.”
Tip: As with all club or association communications make sure you communicate professionally, even if a social media platform appears casual!
Communicating with your Gymnastics Class on your Website
What role does your club or association website play in communications?
Consider your website a “home base” where users can find links to login to your gymnastics class management software, and visit your social media profiles. Furthermore, think of it as a good place for prospective customers to learn broader information about your club.
This means your website should host information about gymnastics class registration dates, planned gym closures and gymnastics events.
If you don’t have a gymnastics club website, you can get a free one with your Uplifter gymnastics class software. Using the software, you can easily create a beautiful, mobile-friendly site that integrates seamlessly with your class software.
Have more questions about gymnastics class communication tools?
Contact us! We’re always happy to help.
