Pete Campbell has no problem giving out advice. As a personal trainer it's generally his job, and with a self confessed inability to stop talking, he's never shy to tell his clients everything they need to know about muscle building, weight loss or healthy eating. In recent years, he's been able to spread his voice further, building a large following on Facebook and Instagram, and posting a string of funny and informative videos on YouTube. According to Pete, building this kind of online presence is crucial for any modern business, and just as he's eager to advise his clients in the gym, he's happy share a few tips of how to do so with Way out West.
Pete says, 'In any entrepreneurs path these days you have to be well hooked in to the social side of things, alongside actually knowing the trade you’re in. If you’re really good at your trade but no one knows about it, then it’s not going to get you far.'
He explains that personal training came first for him, but that the social media presence quickly became a necessary part of the bussiness, as well as something he really enjoyed.
It was a long journey to personal training, but whenever we got there I realised that even if you had the qualifications it was a very saturated market and it was hard to stand out. That’s when I tried to go down other avenues by trying content creation, and videos were the thing that I found I could get into which no one around me in the local market was willing to do, and it made me stand out.
When it came to creating online content, Pete realised that in order to be successful there could be no half measures. He decided that he'd have to put himself front and centre and not only be on camera but be open and honest when doing so.
He says, 'The first thing I began to do was try and grab attention through photographs of transformations – my own transformation of initially going from overweight to not overweight. I found that this grabbed attention, and if I was willing to talk about that particular journey to the camera then people really get sucked in. Then I could tell my own story and other people’s stories documenting them alongside my own day-to-day activity.
'People are innately interested in each other’s stories and what we do, and if you’ve got a half interesting story and are willing to put yourself out there in a vulnerable position then people really respect it and are willing to listen to what you’ve got to say. Once they’re interested in what you’re trying to say they’re more likely to be interested in what you do for a living, and that’s the business aspect.'
With this in mind, as well as trying to let his personality and life come across naturally in his videos, Pete also takes a businesslike approach to social media when it comes to ensuring his content is regularly updated.
He says, 'I try and keep some sort of social strategy, such as putting out a couple of snap-chats a day. I like to use Instagram and Instagram live, but primarily what I’d been known for are my videos, and I try and mix them up. I have some video blogs of my day and what I get up to, which I put up every so often, and apart from that there are exercise demonstrations and cooking demonstrations. Generally, i'm just trying to mix entertainment, humour and useful information about fat loss, health and fitness.'