The fitness industry is a competitive space to be in which can be a challenge while making your gym stand out. People tend to be picky about their gym preferences and may try several ones to find the right fit for them. Whether your gym has an existing customer base, or looking for new visitors, a kickass marketing strategy is essential to connect with customers and be the gym that people choose to stick with.
Your marketing strategy is what will both inform and excite potential customers of all that your gym has to offer – and highlight what makes your business unique. More than just promoting your gym’s services, your marketing plan helps to build a personal connection with your customers so they feel right at home at your gym.
We’ve got a few marketing strategies for you to exercise – with simple, handy tools to maximize your efforts. Combining different offline and online methods is a great way to expand your reach and keep drawing in new customers. Read on to get the ball rolling on your fitness marketing strategy:
1- Distribute posters and flyers smartly
A well-designed flyer or poster is still one of the most effective ways to reach your specific target audience. Consider putting up flyers around your community or reaching out to related local shops/businesses that will place your flyers in their store. Picture this: someone going for morning walk/run is sure to catch your poster while grabbing a quick breakfast at a local cafe.
Identifying areas where your target audience is likely to visit is a great place to start. Are there any related health food stores or restaurants that draw in similar customers as yours? Once you have identified popular areas, you can partner with these businesses to place your promotional material!
Which is why it’s essential to make your poster as eye-catching as possible. Make sure to use clear fonts, colors and graphics so your potential audience gets all information easily. More importantly, highlight exciting deals, programs, and discounts instead of general information about your gym to encourage new sign-ups.
If you’re confused about where to start designing, we’ve got a few gym flyer templates for you to start customizing:
2- Use social media effectively
Leveraging social media is an integral part of any marketing plan. People are very likely to comb through your social media pages to find out about your timings, staff and trainers, workshops/deals, or additional services. Which is why it’s super important to pump up your social profiles with relevant content. Here are a few you can try:
- A gym tour showing off your space and equipment
- Introduce your trainers
- Short reels and videos of training sessions
- Training tips and fitness advice
- Motivational posts to uplift your audience
- Keep your followers updated on upcoming workshops/training sessions
- Giveaways for equipment or classes
For a gym, social media is the perfect place to highlight what makes your gym unique. Is it your trainers? Equipment? Nutrition and meal guides? No one knows your gym better than you; use social media to highlight your strengths creatively!
A word of caution, though – there may be a tendency to share a lot of promotional material which may be off-putting for users. Try to balance out your content with a mix of different messages, such as motivational or informative posts that help audiences feel more connected to your brand.
Start your fitness graphic design posts with these hand-picked gym flyer templates:
3- Publish seasonal email campaigns
Emails are one of our favorite ways to connect with customers. It’s a great way to drip feed information and content to your audience over a period of time and build excitement. To make your email marketing even more successful, plan your campaigns around major seasonal events that are associated with fitness.
For example, a lot of people make fitness goals around the new year or during the summer. Plan your campaign with messaging tailored for the occasion. As an added incentive, you can launch special discounts or training programs around seasonal events to pump up your audience even more!
Similar to your other marketing content, you’d want your email designs to be visually appealing to encourage clicks, opens, and boost sign-ups. Kickstart your fitness promotional emails with this fitness email template:
4- Launch online ads
The best thing about online ads is that they can be targeted right to your specific audience group. You can add filters on demographics, interests, and behaviors to make sure your ads reach your intended target group.
Try launching social media ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to expand your reach and boost engagement with your gym promotional content.
You can also try out display advertising by using eye-catching banners and videos on relevant websites or fitness-related platforms to attract audiences specifically interested in fitness. Make sure to highlight your key information with actionable text.
Here are some gym banners to get you started:
5- Offer free trial periods
Almost every gym or fitness center offers a free trial period – it’s a classic marketing technique to bring in new customers. But, how do you make your trial period unique enough that customers choose to subscribe for a membership?
You may want to reconsider your customers’ experience during the free trial period – are they getting the full feel of your gym’s equipment and services? Consider your free trial duration – is it sufficient for new customers to get familiar enough with your gym?
Free trial periods are also a good time to gather feedback from people visiting your gym for the first time and implementing new changes. This helps to keep your gym fresh and build a positive customer relationship. Try out these gym flyer templates to promote your free trial packages:
Let’s hit the gym!
In a dynamic and competitive fitness industry, it’s crucial to stay on top of your marketing plan and continue adapting to the latest strategies. More importantly, remember to track the results of any strategy you roll out, whether it’s online ads or social media performance – these will help you optimize future marketing campaigns.
Lastly, have fun while experimenting with different strategies! A marketing plan is always an on-going process. With a proactive approach, you can drive growth, attract new members, and foster long-term relationships with your gym community. Best of luck💪
Qasim is a senior editor at PosterMyWall. Qasim is a reader and writer during and after work, and likes to explore a wide range of topics and niches. Outside of work, he likes to meditate, listen to good music and journal.
