If you’re like most gym owners out there, chances are the recent pandemic brought a lot of adaptation to your business. Most fitness studio owners feel that members transitioning to online options has become a simple, flexible, and convenient way to stay healthy and still get everything done in a day.
Although the change to online fitness workouts was once a stressful thing, it is now part of daily life for many wellness enthusiasts. And thanks to online fitness studio platforms, live and VOD (video on-demand) classes have made online workouts the preferred choice compared to in-studio activities.
But many fitness businesses still feel that people walking through those studio doors are more profitable and valuable. And it is definitely valuable. But gym owners still have to adapt to having some type of online version of their business. Why? Well, the online fitness market has boomed since COVID-19, and it’s here to stay. The virtual fitness market is expected to reach a massive $79 billion by 2026. This is thanks to people having adapted to in-home workouts. In addition, the rise of smart devices across the globe has made live streaming classes accessible and fuss-free.
So, if you don’t adapt to having online fitness workouts, you may get run over by studios that do. It’s a changing world out there, and facing new technology and platforms can be daunting. But it’s necessary if you want to continue being creative and innovative for your clients.
In this post, we’ll be looking at why a virtual component is worth having for your fitness studio. We’ll also share the best online fitness streaming platforms to keep your business healthy and fit in 2023.
Is a Virtual Component Worthwhile for Your Fitness Studio?
Workouts at home have gained popularity since 2020, but they have actually been around for many decades. It’s something we all did at some point in time.
Think back to those aerobics classes on television in the 80s. Do you remember them? Those were technically virtual workouts. They may not have used a desktop, laptop, or smartphone. But your fitness instructor was virtually coaching you. It’s the same concept with live and video on-demand platforms today.
Although times have changed significantly, the concept of virtual fitness sessions is the same as they were back in the day. But with today’s technology, we can do much more in measurement and customer engagement. Here are a few reasons why adding a virtual component to your fitness studio is a good thing:
1. An extra revenue stream
This is possibly the most obvious advantage of starting to train members online – more revenue. Online fitness video platforms allow you to train new and existing members via a library of content. This means that all your fitness content, customer data, marketing efforts, and additional merchandise is tracked via one platform. It becomes easier to keep track of all business elements in one spot, so you can use your time to service customers efficiently and build relationships with them, thereby adding more revenue to the profit pool. Platforms for online fitness classes are all about taking care of mundane operational tasks so that you can diversify your revenue streams and make more profit daily.
2. A robust brand
Building your brand from strength to strength shows people that you’re willing to evolve your fitness business with the times. This impresses consumers and helps them understand that you’re all about putting their wellness needs first. By creating in-home fitness sessions for them, you’re helping clients avoid the need to travel for their workouts and adding value to their daily lives by being a company that fits into their schedule. As a result, members start to see you as an indispensable and robust brand.
3. Increased member retention
If you have an online fitness platform, you’ll get access to hosting a video on-demand library, in addition to your live streaming classes. This library allows members to log in and access your on-demand fitness sessions whenever they like (similar to how you would access a series or movie on Netflix whenever you want). If you create rich and engaging content, your customers will return more regularly. This means that your member retention numbers remain high, and your revenue from online fitness sessions remains stable.
4. Heightened adaptability
When you adapt your fitness business to one with new service solutions for your members, your business becomes agile. This agility makes your company more resilient and, of course, adaptable to change (whether that change occurs due to internal or external environmental factors). You want your fitness studio to handle elements like a pandemic, and be sure that it will still be profitable despite the challenges you face. Technology like online fitness streaming platforms can help with that.
5. Increased training efficiency
A platform for online fitness classes helps you manage your time efficiently during the week. You can schedule live classes and one-on-one appointments according to when it is convenient for you and your students. This allows you to pre-plan your curriculum and set your training sessions up for success prior to the actual session. Online training is also great because you don’t need to worry about booking equipment or facilities in advance – it’s all done from your home or office. This saves money and gives you flexibility – pretty neat, right?
Top 5 Best Online Fitness Streaming Platforms to Help Your Business Stay Healthy
Now that you know why online fitness platforms are great for your business let’s dig into which ones you should consider signing up for. The truth is, if you wanted to, you could just make a few training videos and upload them to YouTube. But this streaming giant doesn’t give you the opportunity to earn recurring revenue easily. With live and VOD streaming platforms, you can be sure that revenue will be generated as soon as someone signs up for a membership with you.
With that said, we’ve listed our top five online fitness studio platforms below. We based these five platforms on the following criteria:
- Ease of use
- Simplistic setup process
- All-in-one platform
- Revenue stream types
- Branding capabilities
- Affordability
1. Mastera – All-In-One Online Fitness Studio Platform
Mastera is a modern online fitness platform that helps you run your fitness teaching business with ease. The platform is designed to provide you with all the tools to schedule bookings, host live classes, sell memberships, and grow your business with various revenue streams.
Mastera is designed with modern trainers, instructors, and creators in mind. It has features such as Zoom integration for seamless live streaming. This way, creators can be sure that every fitness session runs smoothly, and they have access to all Zoom’s functionality and customers. The platform offers unlimited customers and content on its plans, a rather unusual feature as some online streaming platforms charge per customer or have storage limitations.
The platform also sets itself apart from others with its ability to sell physical and digital merchandise. This feature encourages multiple revenue streams and helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses with scalability. The Mastera team is available for customer support queries 24/7.
Top 5 Features of Mastera:
- Advanced class booking system
- Integrated membership management and payment processing
- Unlimited video hosting and content
- Customer messaging
- Sell digital and physical merchandise
2. Muvi –Online Fitness Streaming Software
If you’re looking to monetize your fitness video content, Muvi could be the answer. This online fitness streaming software focuses on video hosting and caters to live video streaming as well as on-demand videos. With Muvi, you can launch your own branded sessions with ease. Most Muvi users enjoy the fact that you can create a tailored on-demand workout library for members, which inevitably keeps them happy and retained.
Muvi is also big on apps. You can schedule your fitness classes which can be streamed on TV, mobile, or web solutions. The actual streaming capability is also quite good, with multilingual features. This means you can stream your fitness workout lessons in most languages using subtitles. Multilingual ability is great because it doesn’t limit your audience to a particular geographic area. Muvi has multiple revenue models, such as PPV (pay-per-view), AVOD, TVOD, and SVOD.
Top 5 Features of Muvi:
- Live streaming fitness classes
- Customizable fitness workout libraries
- Class scheduling via the fitness app
- Client messaging
- Stream with subtitles
3. Dacast – Live Streaming Fitness Platform
You may have heard of Dacast before. This platform is one of the most well-known online fitness class software today. Dacast is all ahttps://www.dacast.com/bout delivering professional broadcasting services to its clients.
Like Mastera, this white-label online streaming platform allows you to brand and customize your website with your logo and desired colors. You can also get paid from within the platform, and Dacast offers memberships for live streaming, VOD (video on-demand), OTT (over-the-top), and OVP (online video platform).
The platform focuses on providing secure video hosting services to its clients. The company also believes in having creative video monetization strategies on hand. Dacast is also known for its 24/7 customer support.
Top 5 Features of Dacast:
- Video APIs
- Excellent live streaming and recorded broadcasting capabilities
- Creative video monetization features
- Multiple device delivery
- Advanced analytics
4. Uscreen – Fitness Streaming Platform
Uscreen is known as one the of top fitness streaming platforms because of its high-quality streaming capabilities. The platform has been around for a few years and focuses on providing smooth live streaming capabilities to entrepreneurs around the world.
Uscreen has excellent video playback functionality – some of the fastest available in the market right now. You can offer live and on-demand streaming to customers and schedule classes via the OTT video platform. The company also provides various video monetization models with secure payment processing.
Creators can brand their platform according to their chosen colors and themes, and Uscreen provides tools to ensure that all content is managed without you having to do any complex coding. Uscreen is a good platform if you’re looking to stream videos to clients predominantly.
Top 5 Features of Uscreen:
- Smooth live streams
- Advanced class scheduling
- Fast video playback
- Payment integration
- Branding capabilities
5. Yondo – Live Online Fitness Class Platform
Yondo is a fitness classes online platform that provides a space where entrepreneurs and trainers can live stream classes with no fuss. You can sell on-demand videos via the platform and offer one-on-one sessions to members who may be looking for a more private and individualized experience.
Yondo is also encrypted, so all your webinar content is safe and secure at all times. The platform allows you to easily schedule a group or individual sessions, control pricing, and stream. You can communicate with your customers using the customer messaging feature. Yondo is a bit different in that it allows you to share videos with customers via chat, allowing you to build a more personal relationship with them.
This fitness class platform is also designed to help you create landing pages with bold titles and grand images to help attract new customers.
Top 5 Features of Yondo:
- Selling of one-on-one sessions
- Customer communication with video and text
- Video subscriptions
- Unlimited live webinars
- Pre-built landing pages
Ready to experience the best online fitness platforms out there?
Choosing an online fitness studio platform isn’t a tough task. All you have to do is understand what you want the platform to do for your fitness business and choose one that matches your needs and desires. As you can see, each of these five platforms has its own unique features. They’re all very capable of streaming fitness content. All you have to do is analyze which one would be a great fit for you.
From our experience, choosing an online fitness platform like Mastera is a good way to go because it is easy to set up, affordable, and helps you do much more than stream live and VOD content online. This way, you’re gearing up your business for success from day one, and you’ll never have to switch platforms as you grow.
If you’re ready to learn more about the setup process on a video on-demand platform, feel free to chat with our team at Mastera. We pride ourselves in helping instructors like yourself get up and running in the online business world. Our team has years of experience in the wellness industry, and we’re all about getting things done efficiently and empowering our clients every day.
Let’s get that online fitness studio ready to go so that you can make good decisions, save time, build multiple revenue streams, and scale your business with zero complexity! Schedule a demo with our team to find out more about how some of the best online fitness platforms work in today’s world.
Co-Founder, Gleantap & Mastera