Every entrepreneur understands the anxiety of owning your own business, and the fear of failure and the stress of keeping yourself afloat with competitors around every corner. Especially in the fitness industry where getting and keeping members feels like a never-ending battle. That’s why Big Raven Media is here to help. Big Raven knows the ins and outs of fitness studios better than anyone. Our expert team has served clients at over 500 locations around the world. And now we’ve come up with five game changers for getting you more members at your studio or gym (or store or shop or other place of business, physical or virtual — we’re not just about gyms and fitness studios, you know!)
#1: Have A Kick-Butt Social Media Strategy
In a society that depends on the Internet to communicate with each other, social media is used for almost everything, from finding the latest news to sharing the gr8est brownie recipe ever! So if we’re already using this platform for sharing DIY coffee mugs it would be pretty smart to advertise on there as well, because that’s where the people are! And Facebook is the social media giant. With users ranging from pre-teens to grandparents, Facebook has an incredibly vast reach. As the owner of a membership business it is essential to capitalize on this medium when you’re trying to get new members.
There are about a million different possibilities when it comes to social media marketing. That's why it’s important that you have a well thought-out strategy for approaching this platform. Most of your activity will be on Facebook, so let’s outline the two basic types of posts: organic and paid.
Organic posts are those you don’t pay to boost to your followers. These are the simplest posts to create, but they are still important to consider in your strategy. Here are some tips to keep in mind when you’re making an organic post:
Timeline: The optimal time to make a Facebook post is between 1PM and 4PM. Your unpaid organic post isn’t boosted to your followers so the larger the audience, the better.
Goals: You should have a goal for everything that you put on social media. Whether that goal is getting someone to read a blog post or redeem an offer, make sure you know what your goal is and whether or not your post accomplishes it.
Measuring your success: If people aren’t engaging with your posts you need to rethink your content to meet your goals. Figure out what works for you!
Respond to posts: Responding to your posts shows that you care about your members and makes you more approachable!
The second type of post are those that you pay for, whether they are just boosted to your followers or are full-fledged advertisements. Here is what you need to know when you make a paid post:
Audience: Not only can you boost posts to your followers and their friends, but also to specific people based on their age, location and interests.
Click-Worthy Content: Your post needs to be persuasive and enticing to get people to actually click on it. This means using engaging visuals like video, pictures, and GIFs to draw people in.
#2: Make Them An Offer They Can’t Refuse!
Don’t keep recycling the same old promotion over and over — you need to mix it up! To get people’s attention make unique offers that are not only fun, but benefit your members and your business. Here are a few examples of innovative promotions to try:
Flash Special On Gym Anniversary
On the anniversary of your gym run a promotion where the first 20 non-members who show up receive a unique offer. This offer will vary depend on the size of your gym or studio, but make sure it’s alluring enough that people will actually show up! When these people arrive show them around, introduce them to the trainers and just let them get a feel for the space. You’re trying to get these visitors to stay with your studio even after their offer expires so make them feel welcome!
Free Training Day
First create a landing page on your studio’s website where non-members sign in to receive their free session. The session can be either in a group or one-on-one setting depending on your preference. Again, make sure these people feel welcome and comfortable when they come in to your studio — you have a potential membership on the line here!
Offer passes for new check-ins via Facebook
Social media is huge so when people check-in at your studio you’re getting fantastic brand exposure. Make sure you promote your offer on Facebook with an ad to draw people. Big Raven can help you with that. People are drawn to free offers like this one, but after those session(s) are over you need to convince them to stay and sign up for a membership.
#3: Re-Target and Follow Up With Your Leads
As much as we want our gyms to be at the forefront of everyone's mind, the truth is they're not. That's why retargeting is so important. People forget — it's human nature. Retargeting is when you advertise your brand to people who were almost leads. Leads are our speciality here at Big Raven Media. In the span of one month we racked up 1931 leads for a single client.There are different ways to retarget leads through Facebook ads, phone calls, emails, and sometimes a combination of all three. The prime market to retarget are those who clicked on your offer, but didn't buy in, people who visited your website, as well as people who took advantage of a promotion, but didn't buy a full membership. These are people who know your name so they are more likely to sign up with your studio.
#4: Make the time spent at your gym more than just a workout, make it an experience
Your studio has to stand out among the hundreds of other gyms and fitness centers you’re competing against. If you want people to stay committed to your gym it can’t be just like any old workout center. The trick is to make a visit to your studio a fun, engaging, and unique exercise experience. This means you need to keep your studio and equipment well maintained. And while aesthetics are important, you and your team are truly the heart of your business, so be welcoming and considerate to all your visitors! Go the extra mile to show your dedication to your business and to your members.
#5: Spread your offer to your ideal audience
So you have a great studio, an awesome team, and the perfect promotion but you don’t know where to market your offer. Finding people to sign up at your studio can be difficult, but you just need to know who to target and where to find them. You need to push your offer everywhere, and we mean everywhere.
Your Website: Make sure you have your offer listed on several different locations on your page including the home page, contact page, and services page.
Your Social Media Accounts: Like we said before, everyone and their grandmother is on social media so boosting your offer on Facebook will help you reach a larger market.
On your blog or podcast: Try writing an article or producing an episode specifically about your offer. Have a client describe their experience at your studio and the how the offer benefited them! Afterward, share it on your social media account(s)!
At your studio: Print posters and make small cards to display in and outside of your studio.
Paid advertising: Spending money sometimes feels like a hassle, but it’s necessary to actually stimulate your business. Big Raven Media will really help you out in this area with our SOARRR strategy. One of the best platforms for paid advertising is Facebook because of its enormity and specificity. Check out this (link) article for more information how we’ll help your studio SOARRR to new heights with our ad strategy.
Now that you have these five tricks under your belt it’s time for you to get out there and start bringing in new members to your studio! If you’re still having trouble taking off, turn to Big Raven Media. We’ll give you the boost you need to fly above the competition!