Gym owners have plenty of options when it comes to marketing their fitness businesses, but they’re not all created equal.

10 Powerful Marketing Techniques That Will Transform Your Gym Into a Success

The best way to turn a new or struggling gym into a successful fitness center full of enthusiastic clients is to utilize a variety of marketing techniques, not to focus on just one. Read on to find out about ten techniques that really work and choose from among them to create a powerful marketing campaign.

1. Create a Stellar Website

The majority of Americans research businesses online before choosing which ones to trust, so the best place to start is always with a well-designed, user-friendly website. Most of the digital advertising for your gym will redirect to the site, so it needs to be informative, easy to navigate, and visually appealing to keep potential clients interested.

Gym owners can either hire a web designer, or they can use digital tools to create websites themselves using customizable templates.

2. Local SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most cost-effective techniques for getting a gym’s website in front of as many people as possible. Its purpose is to improve organic search results so that when people search for related terms, the gym’s site will rank high in the local listings. Local SEO techniques include:

• Using local keywords
• Ensuring that the gym’s name, address, and phone number are correct and consistent across platforms
• Creating tons of local citations
• Creating and maintaining a Google My Business page
• Search engine optimization is a specialized field. While it’s usually fine for gym owners to create their own websites, they should trust the pros with optimizing them.

3. Content Marketing

The world of content marketing for fitness-related keywords is quite competitive, but that doesn’t mean local gym owners shouldn’t consider it a viable option for increasing membership. Try to keep the content locally relevant by using the city or town’s name as a keyword, and share the content widely via local forums, social media accounts, and email lists.

4. Video Content Marketing

Today’s most popular social media outlets rely strongly on video content, so creating high-quality videos is a great way to increase viewership. Try taking videos of people working out in the facility, live-streaming classes, or filming interviews with instructors, personal trainers, or loyal brand enthusiasts who frequent the gym.

As with written content, video content should be shared across as many platforms as possible.

5. Maintain a Social Media Presence

Social media marketing has been around since the early days of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These days, almost everyone uses at least one social media platform, so this type of marketing campaign can be more effective than ever.

Take full advantage of social media by maintaining a presence on all the most popular platforms, and think about reaching out to influencers who can widen the brand’s reach.

6. Set Up a Referral Program

Sometimes, a gym’s most avid marketers are actually its members. If the gym already has an enthusiastic membership base, try incentivizing them to get the word out by creating a referral program. When members refer family or friends, reward both the existing and the new member by offering free merch or discounted access.

No matter what type of incentive will be offered, make sure to publicize the referral program so that members know they should take advantage of it.

7. Gym Promotions

Gyms often create promotions by offering large membership discounts to people who sign up soon after the new year so they can take advantage of New Year’s resolutions, but there’s really no bad time to offer promotions. Just keep in mind that people are more likely to respond positively if the promotion is only available for a short period of time.

Allowing promotions to run year-round diminishes their perceived value.

The key to offering promotions is to ensure that as many potential new members as possible see them so they can take advantage of discounted pricing. Try adding extra incentives during promotional periods, taking out paid ads on Google or Facebook, putting up a billboard, or sending out direct mail postcards to nearby houses.

Billboards and traditional print advertising campaigns can be especially effective in competitive areas with tons of other gyms.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing programs allow business owners to compensate third-party publishers who generate leads. These third-party publishers are called affiliates, and they are paid on commission. It’s a great strategy for getting new clients in the door because people are more likely to take advice from content creators and others that they already know and respect.

Don’t assume that affiliate marketers for a gym will always be workout enthusiasts. Doctors, physical therapists, personal trainers, fitness apparel stores, and even supplement providers may also be interested in participating in the program.

When working with businesses, gym owners can sweeten the deal further by offering heavily discounted memberships in addition to or instead of commission fees.

9. Weekly Newsletters

Newsletters aren’t just for existing clients. They can also be used to reach out to old leads that never purchased memberships or former members who have canceled but are still subscribed to emails. Make sure each weekly newsletter contains up-to-date news, promotions, fitness advice, and other relevant content that keeps readers interested.

10. Remarketing

If someone visits the website but doesn’t make a purchase, he or she is still a more promising lead than a random Internet browser that has expressed no interest in fitness at all. Take advantage of that interest by using remarketing to pursue leads. Remarketing platforms can include traditional social media platforms, Linked In, and Google Display Network.

Conclusion

It’s easy for gym owners who aren’t particularly Internet savvy to feel overwhelmed by all of their options when it comes to creating an effective marketing campaign.

When that’s the case, the best solution is to work with a professional who has plenty of experience with all the different methods for marketing gym services online and in person.

The results provided by marketing experts offer a fantastic return on investment, so don’t be afraid to spend some money to make money.

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