8 Gym Promotion Ideas You Can Do Right Now
Host a live Q&A over Social Media
A great way to get exposure for your fitness business it to utilise the power of social media as an outreach and engagement platform. Whilst your gym likely has its own social media pages that are filled with photos and videos, take a break from your regular content and host a live Q&A session! This option is available on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok, and allows you to talk to your followers in real time. Whether you leave it as an open forum or set a particular topic, this is a great opportunity to boost engagement whilst showcasing the knowledge base of your team.
Collaborate with Local Businesses
Whether your gym is part of a larger national franchise, or an independently operated business, your target audience is within your immediate geographic area. If you are looking for a way to reach out to new customers, collaborating with other local businesses is a great way to connect with new people. This could be a joint promotional offer, where members get a discount on their meal at the coffee shop next door, or new members get a reduced joining fee if they spend $50 at the bookstore down the road. Talking with other small business owners to see what would be most beneficial is a great first step!
Refer a Friend Promotion
Create a refer a friend promotion for members that is worthwhile and encourage them to bring along a new workout buddy. Whether it is a cash reward, a complimentary membership month, or even free merch – any kind of incentive can work! In addition to this, you could offer a free trial period for prospective members where they can come in along with an existing member for a week at no cost. This ‘try before you buy’ method can often increase the chance of purchase and is simple to manage.
Host a Fitness Challenge
Hosting a fitness challenge at your gym is a great way to entice new members and retain existing members. Setting a structured challenge gives people an incentive to join, and creates a friendly competitive environment where members often thrive and achieve results. Whilst this requires a fair bit of planning by the team at the fitness club, it is a highly effective strategy and a worthwhile investment. This is also not a one-off promotional idea and can be repeated throughout the year for the benefit of new and existing members.
Share Success Stories
Social proof is an important part of marketing, and sharing reviews, testimonials and success stories of your members is a great way to get potential members across the line. Whilst people have varying motivations for joining the gym, ranging from fitness and lifestyle to strength and physique goals, sharing a broad range of success stories is a great way to showcase what people can achieve at your gym. Pairing these with before and after photos also increases the element of social proof and can help build a positive reputation for your fitness business.
Open your Doors
People often want to get an idea of what your gym offers before committing to a membership. Whilst offering gym tours to potential members is a great tool, you can take this one step further and host an open day for prospective clients. Throughout the day you can run free classes hosted by your team, invite in suppliers and other local businesses to showcase their products, and let the public get to know the existing gym community.
Investigate Corporate Partnerships
Corporate wellness programs are a great way to increase membership numbers and create another stream of revenue for your fitness-based business. Whether this is running one-off events for corporate groups or offering a discounted/bulk membership rate to organisations who want to include a gym membership as part of their employment package – there are plenty of opportunities in this space!
Revamp your Digital Presence
Finally, take a look at your gym’s digital presence. This includes not only social media, but websites and apps as well. A poor user experience on your website, or a forgotten Instagram page can be damaging to your overall brand image and may be creating a barrier for potential members. Ensure that everything is up to date, easy to use, and showcasing your business in its best light.
