Marketing existed since ancient times. In ancient Rome, the gladiators were paid to wear products and in China, the members of noble families were persuaded by merchants to endorse their products. There is no doubt that an effective marketing strategy is key to the success of any business. Marketing has been evolving dynamically and will continue to do, therefore businesses need to adapt quickly to stay competitive. Magazines, posters, billboards, radio, TV, telephones were once the most popular channel of advertising and today mobile phones and desktops have replaced them.

The technique of marketing and advertising have changed but in principle, everything remains the same. The end goal of any effective marketing strategy remains to grab the attention of people and create brand awareness. Marketing strategy is central to the success of any business and fitness businesses are no exception. Every gym manager wants to grow their business. Your gym is only as good as their gym marketing plan. You can have the best gym in the world, but if nobody knows about it then you won’t be around for long. Every gym has to expand their customer to manage its finances. An effective and well-planned gym marketing strategy can help you generate leads, build a reputation and expand your business.

In this article, we will discuss 9 top fitness marketing ideas to attract new customers and boost engagement, discuss what a gym marketing plan exactly is, its benefits, and changing scenario in respect of the COVID global pandemic.

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• What is a fitness marketing plan and why it’s important?
• COVID pandemic, internet and fitness marketing
• 9 top fitness marketing ideas to attract new customers

What is a fitness marketing plan and why it’s important?

A fitness marketing plan is the first step in creating a successful marketing program for any fitness business. It acts as a guiding document to lay out the objectives that your gym marketing efforts will focus on. It involves establishing goals for your gym ad campaign and reviewing the progress through ongoing review and evaluation of results.

Fitness marketing is crucial since it helps in developing a relationship with your target audience. It assists you in locating potential clients and, perhaps, converting them. Where many fitness businesses get stuck is when they don’t realize gym marketing should be ongoing. This isn't a one-and-done situation. That revelation can be frightening because it implies that you'll have to spend time tweaking and implementing your marketing strategy regularly.

• Fitness marketing allows you to generate leads through fitness ads and hence boost your sales
• It will help you manage your gym finances better as everything goes according to comprehensive and detailed planning.
• An effective fitness marketing strategy will help you build a reputation for your fitness chain through enhanced brand awareness.
• It will help you make better and more informed decisions and keep a check on progress.

COVID pandemic, internet and fitness marketing

The Fitness business has been affected by the Coronavirus. In changed scenario gym owners have to adjust rapidly or risk being left behind. The everyday routine of the customer has shifted. Consumer behavior and requirements are changing as more people work from home. For a better relationship, technology is the answer. Digital gym promotion strategies such as social media posts and blogging can go a long way towards promoting awareness and generating buzz around any physical fitness equipment or service you offer. More and more businesses have adopted the hybrid business model in the last few months, hence, innovation accompanied by a vigorous gym  marketing campaign can help you target those left out customers.

You can start offering online classes, video modules, nutrition tips or start selling home workout equipment. There is no dearth of opportunities. The internet has shown to be one of the most effective means of reaching out to people, and gym owners may use it to market their club in a variety of ways. There are various methods for internet fitness marketing – social media marketing, blogging, YouTube videos, etc. Here check out the latest post-pandemic stats that are affecting gyms in America, as we continue navigating through the impacts of COVID-19.

9 top fitness marketing ideas to attract new customers

With so many fitness marketing platforms available to the fitness sector, you can use plan your fitness marketing strategy based on the number of your gym members, budget, and success across all of them. We have compiled a list of 09 fitness marketing tactics guides to save you time by summarizing the most effective methods here.

01. Sharing success stories of customers

Success stories are powerful and in the fitness industry, they can make a big difference. When your potential customers read about your existing client’s success story – it is surely going to influence their decision making. Customer reviews, feedback, and interviews can help improve client trust and loyalty. Today's consumer is smart and he does not trust easily but according to a 2017 survey by Brightlocal, 84% of consumers trust reviews just as much as personal recommendations. The same study found that people read up to 10 reviews before making a purchase. Thus, it’s very clear that consumers want to learn from other people’s experiences before trusting you enough to do the same. Therefore, brand differentiation is important, and sharing the success stories of your previous client can be a useful fitness marketing strategy.

02. Blogging and SEO

Content is king and content marketing is a twisted art. Many fitness businesses around the world have reaped the fruits of good SEO-based gym marketing. Unique, high-quality, interesting, and relevant content can contribute significantly to the success of your gym business.  But how to do it? Well, don’t worry we will journey through your whole process. If you have a running gym business website - search engine optimization can improve your fitness studio website rank well in search engines like Google for searches related to your products or services. The goal of SEO is to get your website to the top of the first page of results. Ideally, you want it to be one of three topmost links. It is done by publishing original content around your target keywords, as well as earning links from other authoritative sites online. Content marketing and SEO go side by side. Content marketing is a great way to advertise your gym business to consumers by providing them with helpful or interesting information. You can create content in the form of blogs, videos, infographics, and virtually any online format. This will help bring traffic and engage with potential clients.

03. Social media and PPC

Social media marketing is crucial to the overall success of your fitness marketing plan. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram present huge opportunities to reach and connect with your target audience. Eighty-one percent of American adults have a social media profile - meaning the chances are high that at least part of your audience is active on social media. You can also use social media for advertising.

The first step is to build a good social media profile for you. Post stuff that attracts customers or people want to see like educative posts on fitness, you can take pictures of the studio while you’re holding class and publish the images online. Post stories of your fitness classes and even share things about your daily life to increase personal engagement with your students. You can ask your students for their Instagram profiles and tag them to further reach more people. Once you’ve established a presence, the next step is to market the content using free viral and paid gym marketing campaigns. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are the most preferred channel for fitness marketing. Here’s guide to start a fitness Facebook page that will make your clients go WOW?

04. Highlight your digital services

With rumors of the new wave of pandemics striking now and then, many fitness enthusiasts are still reluctant to return to the gym and many are happy to continue their online exercising regime.  Most studios have adapted a hybrid fitness model. A hybrid fitness model in the fitness business combines the best of both disciplines. A hybrid fitness business combines online classes with in-class experience. This is achieved by offering a live stream of a real-time class to members at home. Depending on local restrictions, you can offer some in-class spaces along with live-stream/on-demand spaces. Therefore, you need to keep telling your potential clients about all the online services you offer like video modules, online classes, online diet plans, etc.

05. Creating a user-friendly website

Your fitness business website is one of the most essential parts of your fitness marketing. It’s your home online, and potential customers to your website for information about your services. For successful gym marketing, you need to build a website that is simple, easy to access, and navigate. Each fitness studio needs a website. In 2018, 61% of consumers said that they’re more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site. If you don’t have a fitness website, you can use the class schedule and membership and class-pack sales pages of your yoga studio booking software as your web presence. Here are 13 essentials of a 2022 gym website.

06. Incentivize your existing customers

Fitness incentive program customer incentives are rewards that a gym or fitness studio gives existing members or potential-interested clients for completing certain brand-building behaviors. Reward points, discounts, freebies, gift passes, and referral bonuses are a few examples. Fitness incentive techniques can help you encourage and bond with existing customers and attract potential clients through lucrative offers. It is like a loyalty program aimed at rewarding your customers for sticking with your fitness business. It has to be part of your gym marketing plan if you are just starting ass it helps you gain traction and reach. Here are 7 fitness incentive techniques that you can use to expand your gym business.

07. Gym co-marketing

Collaboration with other fitness brands can assist you in promoting each other's brands and services. Co-marketing  will save you both time and money. It will broaden your reach and expand your customer base and influence in the eyes of your partner's customers, who may soon become your new customers. Leveraging your partner's reputation can help your brand appear more legitimate and trustworthy. You can partner with a fitness clothing brand or local fitness equipment shop. You can use fitness incentives like referral discounts, gift cards, free trial or bonus days.

08. YouTube channel and video content creation

With social media outlets all promoting video content, it’s needs to be incorporated into your fitness marketing strategy. Video content allows prospective clients to see what workouts are like in your gym, your club’s facilities, and how much fun your clients are having! You can also go live on Facebook or Instagram. Youtube fitness videos are another way to gain recognition and popularity. YouTube has become many people’s best friends during the lockdown. It can help you reach a large number of people, YouTube ads are also a good way to an advertisement online with good reach. Many Youtube fitness channels have a million subscribers. Therefore you surely cannot miss video content creation while deciding your fitness marketing strategy. If you want to know about know about the best cameras available in the market to film your workouts, here is the list.

09. Influencer marketing

It’s nearly impossible to scroll through social media without spotting an influencer showing off their clothes, makeup accessories or their muscles.  As the world around us gets more digitally advanced, influencer marketing has risen to prominence and businesses are investing more time and attention to it than ever before. Fitness Influencers on Instagram and Facebook are some of the most regular users with the most engaged and active fan bases. They have something to offer to both fitness businesses and fitness enthusiasts. Fitness businesses often rope in gym influencers to promote their product or service.  Fitness advertising through Instagram fitness influencers is highly suitable for sports and fitness brands because of the rising popularity in wellness and health. Here are 11 fitness influencers to inspire and motivate you !

There are hundreds of ways that you can market your gym, especially in the digitally connected world we live in now. Finding the right marketing strategy for your gym or health club is not easy and there’s no one-size solution. But these few ideas can give you the ground to get started. In the end, it’s your journey, what may apply to you might not bring the result to someone else. You may also find that your skill set makes one form of gym marketing more powerful than the others. Therefore, just take a deep breath and get started!

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