Marketing for gyms: main strategies to attract and retain more students
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 3:43 am
You may have noticed how quickly the fitness market has been growing in recent years. You may have even started working in the field because you noticed this growth and wanted to learn more about marketing for gyms.
But why is this important? According to the 2019 International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) survey , Brazil ranks third in the fitness revenue ranking.
With all this development, it is common for many to be interested in entrepreneurship, and this is where the problem arises: with so much competition in the market, how can I attract students to my gym?
Waiting for your customers to visit or call your business for prices and information is no longer an option. Gym marketing is a solution to make your brand stand out and to attract and retain your members.
Continue reading and discover how to apply marketing to gyms efficiently and get good results.
Know and work towards your audience/persona within your gym marketing
Knowing your students well is one of the most important tasks for the success of your gym marketing strategy and involves more than knowing about their behavior, you need to discover their desires, needs, pains, purchase objections and interests.
In marketing, this study is called “persona study and creation.” Personas are characters that help companies better understand their target audience and define an ideal customer profile.
To create your persona, you can conduct a survey with your current students, or, if you already have a website and social media profiles, you can collect this data from your audience using tools such as Google Analytics and Facebook Insights.
By knowing your audience, you can define the tone you will use on social media and your brand's positioning. This study also helps you discover which topics are of greatest interest and likely to generate engagement.
For example, if your audience is mostly young people, opting for australia business fax list more interactive and modern communication will achieve better results than something more rigid and formal.
You need to be active where your customer and future customers are
Once you have defined your target audience, the next step for successful gym marketing is to be where your members are . Your gym probably doesn’t need to be on every communication channel out there, as there are so many of them that you’ll hardly be able to produce quality content on all of them.
Social networks like Instagram and Facebook are the most popular nowadays and are almost mandatory. You can use these resources to promote your service, as well as create a connection with your students who will probably post selfies and hashtags about their workouts at your gym.
Another platform that can be very effective for marketing your gym is YouTube. This channel is a favorite among those who watch videos online and you can use it to give workout tips to those who are at home, thus increasing the awareness of your brand.
Invest in relationships
More than just exercising and taking care of their health and appearance, people are looking for integration and a sense of belonging , and one way to work on this in gym marketing is to invest in your brand's relationship with the student.
The content you create on your social networks should not only seek to sell a product. Look for tips, topics of interest to your audience and utilities that can help them. A great way to do this is through blog posts.
This method consists of making a company attract, relate to, convert and retain customers through relevant content that educates the market, entertains the public and, above all, solves the problems of its consumers.
Remember that it is just as important to attract new students as it is to retain those who are already enrolled . To do this, invest in personalized contact, such as messages on special dates and discounts that convey the idea of exclusivity. The SCA System has communication resources that make the routine of teachers and students easier, such as personalized notifications of promotions, events, classes and monthly reminders. In addition, it is possible to create a virtual showcase and promote partner products directly on the online platform.
Cultivate a base of contacts of legitimate interest
One of the best strategies for gym marketing is to combine platforms and means of communication . Email is often the destination for many potential students who are generated by the content published on the blog.
Keeping in touch with potential customers via email in order to instigate and captivate them more and more can result in higher enrollment numbers.
Create in your blog reader or social media follower the need to provide contact information via email or phone number in exchange for content that helps you achieve your goals.
It is important to work with different groups of senders. After all, not all contacts have the same interests. Another important detail is the personalization of the message. Remember to create a relationship with your potential customer.
Good content ideas for emails include:
Invite to a trial class;
Indicate new modalities;
Promote promotional packages;
Promote events that are open to the public and free of charge;
Present the day-to-day life of the academy, so that the student wants to be part of it all.
Get to know Google tools
Google tools can be very useful for marketing your gym. The platform is the most widely used search engine in the world and will be an excellent showcase for your business.
Have you heard of “Google My Business” ? This is a free registration platform where you can make your gym appear in search results and on Google Maps for local searches, attracting new students from the region.
Another resource that can be explored a lot is Google Ads , a sponsorship investment tool where it is possible, for example, for you to be present in searches that people make on Google.
Using these resources has become quite common due to the limitation of so-called “organic growth”, or natural growth of social networks, which is also present on Instagram and Facebook.
Within the ad manager of these platforms you can segment your audience and direct your ad directly to the audience you want to reach.
Within Google, it is also possible to create remarketing strategies , a digital marketing strategy that allows your Google Ads ads to appear more than once to users who have already shown interest in your website.
Did you like our tips for ensuring good gym marketing? Follow our blog and don't miss out on content that will help you and your business grow even more.
But why is this important? According to the 2019 International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) survey , Brazil ranks third in the fitness revenue ranking.
With all this development, it is common for many to be interested in entrepreneurship, and this is where the problem arises: with so much competition in the market, how can I attract students to my gym?
Waiting for your customers to visit or call your business for prices and information is no longer an option. Gym marketing is a solution to make your brand stand out and to attract and retain your members.
Continue reading and discover how to apply marketing to gyms efficiently and get good results.
Know and work towards your audience/persona within your gym marketing
Knowing your students well is one of the most important tasks for the success of your gym marketing strategy and involves more than knowing about their behavior, you need to discover their desires, needs, pains, purchase objections and interests.
In marketing, this study is called “persona study and creation.” Personas are characters that help companies better understand their target audience and define an ideal customer profile.
To create your persona, you can conduct a survey with your current students, or, if you already have a website and social media profiles, you can collect this data from your audience using tools such as Google Analytics and Facebook Insights.
By knowing your audience, you can define the tone you will use on social media and your brand's positioning. This study also helps you discover which topics are of greatest interest and likely to generate engagement.
For example, if your audience is mostly young people, opting for australia business fax list more interactive and modern communication will achieve better results than something more rigid and formal.
You need to be active where your customer and future customers are
Once you have defined your target audience, the next step for successful gym marketing is to be where your members are . Your gym probably doesn’t need to be on every communication channel out there, as there are so many of them that you’ll hardly be able to produce quality content on all of them.
Social networks like Instagram and Facebook are the most popular nowadays and are almost mandatory. You can use these resources to promote your service, as well as create a connection with your students who will probably post selfies and hashtags about their workouts at your gym.
Another platform that can be very effective for marketing your gym is YouTube. This channel is a favorite among those who watch videos online and you can use it to give workout tips to those who are at home, thus increasing the awareness of your brand.
Invest in relationships
More than just exercising and taking care of their health and appearance, people are looking for integration and a sense of belonging , and one way to work on this in gym marketing is to invest in your brand's relationship with the student.
The content you create on your social networks should not only seek to sell a product. Look for tips, topics of interest to your audience and utilities that can help them. A great way to do this is through blog posts.
This method consists of making a company attract, relate to, convert and retain customers through relevant content that educates the market, entertains the public and, above all, solves the problems of its consumers.
Remember that it is just as important to attract new students as it is to retain those who are already enrolled . To do this, invest in personalized contact, such as messages on special dates and discounts that convey the idea of exclusivity. The SCA System has communication resources that make the routine of teachers and students easier, such as personalized notifications of promotions, events, classes and monthly reminders. In addition, it is possible to create a virtual showcase and promote partner products directly on the online platform.
Cultivate a base of contacts of legitimate interest
One of the best strategies for gym marketing is to combine platforms and means of communication . Email is often the destination for many potential students who are generated by the content published on the blog.
Keeping in touch with potential customers via email in order to instigate and captivate them more and more can result in higher enrollment numbers.
Create in your blog reader or social media follower the need to provide contact information via email or phone number in exchange for content that helps you achieve your goals.
It is important to work with different groups of senders. After all, not all contacts have the same interests. Another important detail is the personalization of the message. Remember to create a relationship with your potential customer.
Good content ideas for emails include:
Invite to a trial class;
Indicate new modalities;
Promote promotional packages;
Promote events that are open to the public and free of charge;
Present the day-to-day life of the academy, so that the student wants to be part of it all.
Get to know Google tools
Google tools can be very useful for marketing your gym. The platform is the most widely used search engine in the world and will be an excellent showcase for your business.
Have you heard of “Google My Business” ? This is a free registration platform where you can make your gym appear in search results and on Google Maps for local searches, attracting new students from the region.
Another resource that can be explored a lot is Google Ads , a sponsorship investment tool where it is possible, for example, for you to be present in searches that people make on Google.
Using these resources has become quite common due to the limitation of so-called “organic growth”, or natural growth of social networks, which is also present on Instagram and Facebook.
Within the ad manager of these platforms you can segment your audience and direct your ad directly to the audience you want to reach.
Within Google, it is also possible to create remarketing strategies , a digital marketing strategy that allows your Google Ads ads to appear more than once to users who have already shown interest in your website.
Did you like our tips for ensuring good gym marketing? Follow our blog and don't miss out on content that will help you and your business grow even more.