Author: IPSTUDIO

Now in the Zoom marketplace!

At IPSTUDIO we believe in the power of the fitness community and the owners & operators who make boutique fitness possible. We’re beyond proud and excited about the release of our new Live by IPSTUDIO™ x Zoom integration that helps studio owners & operators do more in less time so that they can focus on what matters most, their clients and studio. By connecting Zoom to Mariana Tek IPSTUDIO helps bridge the gap between Zoom and Mariana Tek making event creation and meeting distribution possible in seconds. 

From manual to automated in minutes

A super simple user interface makes getting setup and running Live by IPSTUDIO easy, quick and effective. Live by IPSTUDIO™ x Zoom integration helps bridge the gap between Zoom and Mariana Tek making event creation and meeting distribution possible in seconds

Integrated with Mariana Tek

Live by IPSTUDIO™ creates and injects Zoom meetings into your Mariana Tek Livestream schedule. The days of manually managing Zoom URLs is over. 

Zoom meetings securely delivered

Registered attendees will get an email with the Zoom link 30 minutes before class. Links are delivered with a password embedded to help attendees get in easily and securely.e

Get in touch today!

Published March 23, 2020

The demand for wellness and fitness products/services has grown ten-fold in the last decade. with the advent of new exercise modalities, a societal desire to experience the process of self-improvement with friends & family, and the existence of software that can streamline the experience —  boutique fitness has consistently shown that it’s in a renaissance period.

Where Are We Now?

With the arrival of the coronavirus (covid-19), the fitness industry has been forced to adapt, while the anxiety of changing times looms. once again, clients are resorting to home-based, individualized workouts to get their daily burn in. All of a sudden, it feels like years of progress towards the establishment of the brick & mortar boutique fitness industry is in jeopardy. With headline after headline highlighting that the future of fitness has changed  — business owners have been forced to think outside the box on how they’ll continue to serve clients in a new world.

Luckily for owners, fitness has had a cohesive relationship with the digital world in recent times. with the most expensive real estate in the world now existing in the palm of our hands, and a client-base that already spends a significant amount of time there — it’s clear that success lies in becoming a tech-enabled business. and management teams have done just that, with heavy investments in the production and distribution of video content via a branded website/social media to capitalize on clients’ sustained desire for fitness consumption. 

At IPSTUDIO, we’ve witnessed the use of a multitude of platforms to do so, and the results have been encouraging to say the least. studios have been able to successfully reconnect with their clients via live streams or on-demand libraries through platforms such as: zoom, instagram, facebook, zype, and vimeo. It’s been really amazing to see the level of client engagement studios have been able to maintain through such mediums, and to see a clear path for their future.

However, these mediums of distribution have not come without their downsides. the digital real estate and share-ability these platforms provide, comes with the challenge of monetization. live streams via social media simply can’t be monetized, and streams hosted via zoom require instillation and can be shared freely amongst those looking for a free viewing. on top of this, none of these solutions offer a native integration with a cms, booking platform, or business management software built for boutique fitness.

The Way Forward

To solve this problem, we created Live by IPSTUDIO™ & On Demand by IPSTUDIO™.

Live & on-demand video solutions built specifically for boutique fitness. these products exist as end-to-end integrations that allow clients to buy, book, and view content/streams all without having to leave a studio’s website.

With the primary benefit of this being that all attendees will need to login using their credentials with the studio’s booking platform, and will need to have purchased access to the content/stream to participate. studios will now have the flexibility to share links to live streams & on-demand content freely, without having to worry if viewers are paying customers or not. On the on-demand front, users will get to browse, view, and favorite content in a modern video library. studios can now return to offering credits & memberships for services through their website, and once again can track activity & purchases through their booking platform’s reporting module. Digital content will also remain compatible with classpass, and other class-based distribution networks. 

We quietly rolled out the first versions of these integration products over the past week, and the amount of positive feedback we’ve received so far has been substantial. turnaround time with the setup process has also been kept low, and since our soft release last week we’ve already launched a double digit number of studios.

If you are a studio owner (or affiliated with a studio leadership team) looking to integrate digital video into a booking software, we encourage you to reach out to ipstudio at hello@ipstudio.co for help. we’re taking a long-term approach to these services.

Based on all indications, most studio’s we’ve worked with view the emergence of digital offerings not only as a long-term solution, but as a viable stream of revenue for the years to come.

The topic of fitness studios using Live and On-Demand offerings to reignite revenue streams needs no introduction. Yet, with professionals services costing an arm and a leg, and the need for on-going production, most studios have no choice but to take a DIY approach to introduce content of their own. So we’ve put together this brief guide, to help studios that are stumped on how to do this.

Before kicking off the daunting task of turning your fitness studio into a movie studio, there are a number of considerations that need to be made across both hardware & software, and the endless number of options on the market. Luckily for you, we’ve taken the liberty of distilling your options down to an affordable list of equipment and free software so you can get back to what you do best 💪.

🚨 Disclaimer: This is a round up of simple out-of-the-box solutions we’ve seen studios use. If you’re seeking a professional audio-visual setup through the use of soundboards, streaming encoders, audio press boxes, or multi-angle broadcasts, we recommend consulting a specialist.

Affordable Equipment

• We’ve seen Logitech’s line of webcams really fulfill the need for a crisp HD stream for computer based streaming. Hard to go wrong with this specific model that has been in and out of stock since COVID-19 arrived.
• The Zoom Q2n-4K Handy Video Recorder can be found in stock with many different audio & visual equipment distributors, and is a cheap and reliable camera for studio streaming. The camera comes with a pretty solid built in microphone which should cover your ambient audio needs depending on your studio environment. To connect this to a computer as a webcam you’ll need to grab a quality HDMI cord and HDMI to USB-C converter (or HDMI to USB depending on your computer). Such an implementation will allow you to also connect any other cameras you have laying around that support an HDMI connection (Such as a DSLR).  
• While not the most affordable option in terms of relativity, the Mevo Camera is growing in popularity as an out-of-the -box camera for streaming beginners. Worth taking a look if it’s in the budget, and you are new to the space.
• It’s hard to shoot a crisp class session without proper lighting, and therefor we highly recommend getting your hands on a proper studio light or ample natural light. There’s no need to feel required to obtain a specific model, some lighting is better than no lighting.
• For those looking to produce professional on-demand content, it can’t be done without a headset microphone. Without one, you’ll fall victim to diction-less, across-the-room audio, that errodes the value of so many great on-demand workouts that exist on the market today. This is a great option for those looking to get there hands on an affordable wireless option. 
• Finally, if you’re truly strapped for cash, you can’t go wrong using an iPhone. Arguably the best camera on the market for such a price point, and allows you to shoot all the way up to 4k at 60fps (However, we recommend shooting video at 1080p and 30 frames per second to keep your file sizes more manageable).  By ensuring that you shoot in studio lighting or natural light, you’ll be sure to achieve a quality product.

Free Software

• iMovie for Mac is hands down the best options for any post-production that does not require special effects. From cutting/pasting, to audio/visual overlays, to basic color correction- these softwares are a one-stop-shop for video post-production. Simply export with a reasonable file size, and you’ll be ready to upload your content into a video hosting platform of your choosing.
• Streamlabs is a great open source resource for studios seeking a branded streaming experience (and have the bandwidth to manage it).  It’s a great tool for live streams that feature multiple angles, branded overlays, and additional features. Checkout their site to see more info than we could ever include here.
• Fiverr is a digital marketplace for sourcing micro gigs, especially in regards to video services such as branded intros, outros, and graphics/music. Overall, many of the services on Fiverr can be used to provide end users with a branded viewing experienced.

With any solution you pursuit, it’s imperative that there is a strategy in place for monetizing through your primary booking platform – your user experience and customer satisfaction depends on it. 

This is where IPSTUDIO can help. If you’re interested in an integrated approach to live and on-demand video, contact us today at hello@ipstudio.co.