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- 🔥 Why Local Influencers Are a Cheat Code for Social Growth and School Growth
🔥 Why Local Influencers Are a Cheat Code for Social Growth and School Growth
Stop playing on hard mode—start growing your school by partnering with people who already have your community’s trust.
Adam Kifer
April 22, 2025
Hello, kickers!
🚀 The Kick is Here: Growth Strategies You’re Probably Overlooking
This week’s edition is all about unlocking growth using what’s already around you—from local influencer marketing to the simple tools that make your business faster and smarter. In our feature article, Why Local Influencers Are a Cheat Code for Social Growth and School Growth, we dive into how you can tap into trusted voices in your community to drive enrollments without spending a fortune on ads.
Plus, we’re highlighting leadership insights from some of the sharpest minds in business in What’s Kickin’ on Social, real campaign wins in Relentless Results, and a powerful book on elite leadership habits in What We’re Reading. Let’s get into it and start growing in smarter ways—together. 👊🔥
🔥 Why Local Influencers Are a Cheat Code for Social Growth and School Growth
If you’re running a martial arts school and still trying to do all your social growth and marketing alone, you’re playing the game on hard mode. The truth is—local influencers are the cheat code.
No, I’m not talking about trying to get attention from million-follower accounts in L.A. or hiring overpriced content creators. I’m talking about real people in your community who already have a local audience that knows, likes, and trusts them.
When you tap into that circle, you’re not just getting exposure—you’re borrowing trust. And in today’s marketing world, trust is the new currency.
What Is a Local Influencer?
Think:
• The mom who runs a local parenting blog
• The youth pastor with a big teen following
• The realtor who dominates the community Facebook group
• The fitness coach with 5K followers and crazy story engagement
• The high school football coach who posts highlights every Friday
They’re not famous—but they’re locally respected and watched. That’s influence. And it’s influence that drives enrollment when used correctly.
Why It Works
1. Trust Transfers Faster Than Ads Can Convert
You can spend $500 on Facebook ads to cold leads—or have one trusted local influencer mention your school and get 10 DMs from people who are already warm.
2. They Show the Experience Through Their Lens
When an influencer brings their child in for a trial, documents the experience, tags you in stories, and posts a picture of their smiling kid holding a board—that’s content gold.
3. It’s Not Just About Followers—It’s About Reach
If an influencer has 1,500 highly engaged followers who all live within 10 miles of your school, that’s way more valuable than someone with 100K followers in another state.
How to Find Them
• Search your city on Instagram and TikTok using location tags
• Scan community Facebook groups for consistent posters
• Ask your current members if they follow or know anyone that fits this profile
• Check engagement, not just follower count. A small, active following beats a big, passive one every time
How to Activate Them
• Invite them in: Offer a free trial for their kid or themselves
• Give them value: Outfit their kid in a uniform, offer a photo op, and make them feel part of the community
• Ask for the post: Don’t assume they’ll promote you—make it a trade of value
• Reshare their content: Boost their post, tag them back, give them exposure too
Bonus Tip: Make It a Campaign, Not a One-Off
Run an Influencer Week.
Line up 3–5 local influencers and stagger their visits throughout the week. Have your coaches hype it up. Create a hashtag. Make it a mini social event inside your school. Turn it into content you can drip for weeks.
Final Word
Local influencers aren’t just good for your social media. They’re good for your enrollment pipeline. In a world where paid ads are getting more expensive and harder to convert, local influence is the leverage play you’ve been sleeping on.
It’s time to wake up.
So here’s the question:
Who in your town has the trust you haven’t tapped into yet?
Find them. Invite them. Partner with them.
Because in this game, connection is the real growth strategy.
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Impakt Mastermind Live: Nashville 2025 – Are You In? |
If you’re serious about transforming your business in 2025, this is your invitation to the most impactful event of the year for martial arts school owners: |
Impakt Mastermind – Nashville Live Event |
This isn’t just another seminar—it’s two powerhouse days of strategies, breakthroughs, and real-world tactics to grow your school and increase enrollments fast. |
You’ll learn from an expert speaker lineup including: Adam Kifer |
Ticket Options: |
General Admission: $497 VIP Experience: $1497 (Only $497 for first-time attendees with code: Bring a Guest: Just $297 |
Whether you’re looking to refine your systems, scale to multiple locations, or build a team that can run without you, Impakt Live will give you the tools and the roadmap to get there. |
Lock in your seat now: impaktlive.com |
Let’s make 2025 the year you stop playing small and start leading with IMPAKT. |
The Kick’s pick of the hottest headlines in social this week:
This week’s lineup is a mix of clarity, confidence, and practical strategy—from building better businesses to learning how to handle stress and stay present as a leader.
🔥 Jadi Tention – Let Me Do My Job
Jadi speaks on the power of letting coaches do their job!
👉 Watch Here (Facebook Video)
🔥 Mike Walker – The Power of the Grid Framework
Mike breaks down how using a simple grid system can create powerful clarity in your business.
👉 Read Here (Facebook Post)
🔥 Leila Hormozi – Stress Is Care on Steroids
Don’t write off stress and anxiety as weakness. Leila reframes them as indicators of how much you care—a perspective that shifts how you lead and respond under pressure.
👉 Watch Here (Facebook Reel)
🔥 Kasim Aslam – Multi-Million Dollar Habits
Kasim shares rapid-fire insights on what it really takes to build a 7-figure business: no-fluff advice from someone who’s done it.
👉 Read Here (Facebook Post)
🔥 Dave Kovar – Don’t Miss the Moment
In the chase for big goals, we often overlook the power of the present. Dave shares a heartfelt reminder to appreciate the journey—not just the outcome.
👉 Read Here (Facebook Post)
💥 Take what speaks to you, apply it, and pass it to your team. Growth doesn’t always come from more—it comes from better.
😂 Martial Memes
These memes hit home for all of us martial artists and gave us a good chuckle. Click on the image to view the original account that posted each meme. Enjoy!
Have a MEME that you want featured? Send them to us at [email protected] or tag our instagram account @thekicknewsletter.
📖 What We’re Reading: Be The Unicorn by William Vanderbloemen
Great leaders don’t succeed by accident—they succeed because they build habits that consistently set them apart. In Be the Unicorn, William Vanderbloemen identifies 12 data-driven habits that top leaders and performers share—and how you can apply them in your own organization.
For martial arts school owners, this book is packed with practical insights on how to become the kind of leader people want to follow, not just work for. Whether you're leading a team of 2 or 20, the habits outlined in this book will help you create a school culture built on clarity, trust, and momentum.
💡 Key Takeaways for School Owners:
✅ Top leaders are clarity machines – Unicorn leaders communicate clearly and consistently. They don’t leave expectations vague.
✅ Curiosity drives progress – The best leaders never stop asking questions. They're constantly learning, adapting, and improving their process.
✅ Responsiveness wins – Vanderbloemen found that top-performing leaders respond faster, follow up better, and stay visible when others go quiet.
This is a must-read if you're ready to level up your leadership and operate your school with more focus and less friction.
📖 Grab your copy here: Be the Unicorn on Amazon
📈 Relentless Results: Real Wins from Relentless Media Agency Clients
This week, we’ve got three powerful wins from school owners working with Relentless Media Agency (RMA)—and they prove one thing: with the right tweaks and strategy, momentum can shift fast.
🚨 Christopher Breward – Quick Optimization, Instant Trial Sale
Christopher was seeing low lead-to-trial conversions this month, so he reached out. Our team stepped in, made a few quick optimizations, and within just 1–2 hours—boom, a trial was sold! 💥
Reminder: If things feel slow, don’t sit on it. A quick check-in can change the game.
🥊 Dan Pribble – Crushing It at Oak Hills
Dan’s Fitness Kickboxing campaign just hit beast mode. After a strategic pivot, he pulled in:
✅ 56 leads in just 7 days
✅ $2 per lead—his lowest CPL ever at this location!
This is the kind of growth that happens when you trust the process and adapt with speed. Huge shoutout to Dan!
📉 Jason Covey – 40% Drop in Cost-Per-Lead
By dialling in his campaign strategy, Jason dropped his CPL from $25 to $15—a 40% decrease that’s already paying off. This kind of progress proves that the small tweaks are what lead to big wins over time. Let’s go, Jason! 🚀
👉 Want results like this? Book a discovery call with RMA and let us help you turn cold leads into real growth.
📬 Have Something That Is Kick Worthy?
We know our readers have great ideas, insights, and stories to share! If you’ve got something that’s "kick-worthy"—whether it’s a success story, a marketing tip, or something that’s helping your school thrive—submit it to us at [email protected]. Your content could be featured in an upcoming edition of The Kick and shared with martial arts school owners around the world!
🔥 That’s a Wrap for This Week!
Growth doesn’t always mean doing more—it often means doing the right things with more intention. Whether you’re starting a local influencer campaign, implementing smarter systems, or simply showing up more present with your team, every small move counts.
So here’s your challenge for the week: find the strategy you’ve been sleeping on—and start activating it. Until next time, stay consistent, stay curious, and as always… keep kicking it forward. 👊🔥 #TheKick