The fitness industry is one of the most competitive niches out there.
Despite that, you’ve put in a lot of hard work to set up a world-class gym.
You’ve got the latest machines, the best interiors, cross-fit, a sauna, and great trainers.
But, you don’t have enough members yet.
One of the first reactions you might have is that people go to other gyms that are more well-known.
Or, that COVID ruined the fitness business.
The pandemic made everything remote, and for a while, fitness courses were all online. Or so we thought.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108538/online-fitness-video-usage-during-coronavirus-usa/
Statista says that there was no major change in fitness video consumption during 2020 – 2022. This means that people still value going to the gym.
But you’ll be surprised to know that a significant percentage of people don’t go to the gym at all.
In fact, only 14% of the American population, which accounts for 45 million people, actually have a gym membership.
As you can see, there are more than enough people that you aren’t reaching out to.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the different ways that you can generate new leads for your gym.
If you’ve struggled with the topic before, try out these ideas for yourself for better results.
The best way, however, is to leave the lead generation and marketing up to the experts while you focus on running the business.
Having a website and landing page is essential for any business. So if you don’t have one already, it’s high time you set it up.
Creating an online presence for your gym will help people in the area to find it. The website will help document the best features about your establishment.
Have professionally taken pictures of the gym, and showcase some clients too. You can also put up an application page for people to get a membership online.
Consider this – 57% of mobile users wouldn’t recommend a business if their website is unresponsive. And most people don’t even wait more than three seconds for your website to load.
https://websitesetup.org/news/website-load-time-statistics/
As shown in the graphic above, it is essential that your load times are as short as possible. This way, you’ll reduce the bounce rate and build brand credibility among visitors.
Now, a landing page is a part of the website that has a specific purpose.
People can come to this page from various places, like an affiliate, an ad, or your social media. The main objective is for them to give you their email ID.
But they’ll rarely do it for free. So, you need to give them something of value in exchange.
It could be a workout plan, a discount code, a free trial – anything that you can offer.
Send it over to their email and then, you have a lead that you can follow up afterwards.
https://instapage.com/blog/subscription-box-post-click-landing-pages
https://unlihow.com/10-examples-of-attractive-landing-pages-to-increase-conversions/
However, it’s important to have multiple landing pages that are tailored for individual audiences. The above image shows two versions of a landing page for Sun Basket.
Both these versions will have different copy, and can also have different offers that fit with the PPC campaign.
Refer-a-friend programs have become very popular recently. And as a gym, your clients are the best proof of your results.
Consider setting up a reward system where they get a discount on their monthly payment if they get a new friend to work out at your gym.
People buy from people they trust. And their friends are one of the best sources to pitch your services.
To promote longevity, you can also have a bonus reward at the four-month or six-month mark for the referential program. This can help maintain the cash flow and encourage people to continue working out there.
https://websitesetup.org/news/website-load-time-statistics/
Or as shown in the image, take inspiration from Vida Fitness to have a ladder referral program. This way, members will be able to earn more rewards as they refer more people.
This encourages them to get their entire friend group to the gym.
And it also gives them a prize to work towards.
If you can give the members a good experience, you’ll be able to spread the word about your establishment in various new circles.
This is one of the best and most unique ways that you can generate leads as a gym.
Inviting other people for a competition (functional fitness, strength, or a push-up challenge) is always fun.
And, it gives them a first-hand trial of the amazing atmosphere that you’ve built.
You can take their contact details upon registration. And this will allow you to send them offers or deals that they might find useful.
This also helps attract new people and sets up a conversation about your gym.
And once you get your name out there, it’s much easier to persuade them to try out your best services.
It might be a little too over the top to have a free gym session as the reward of the competition, though. Try to put something up for grabs that people actually need.
This will motivate them to participate much more.
Even if the winner isn’t a member of the in-house team, they’ll be advertising their success at the competition for you.
If you’ve not tried this lead generation tactic already, you’re missing out on a lot of fun and work done together.
What are you posting on your social media accounts?
There’s a huge number of people that look for good fitness content to follow.
And if you get it right, your page might be just what they need.
Here are some great ideas that you can try out for content on social media and YouTube:
- How to do exercises (bench-press, deadlifts and squats for example).
- Lifestyle guides to maximize gains.
- Diet to follow for cutting and bulking.
- Debunking myths about working out.
- Humorous content – fails, poor form, or simply funny content.
- Client transformations.
Having great transformations on your page is proof for prospective clients. You can also document comments from them about their experience.
Creating valuable content about form and exercise tutorials helps you improve your reach.
And this goes hand in hand with a good SEO strategy. By factoring in SEO marketing, your gym will appear on Google when the right keywords are searched for.
As a result, your brand will be much more visible to potential customers.
You can also have a blog that offers valuable content to readers. This increases your online presence, and you can also ask for visitors to sign up to your newsletter or email list for more useful guides.
Since you have their contact info, you can also send them offers and discount codes to join your gym.
Creating content is a free way to get an audience. But it also comes with its limitations.
To reach out to new prospective customers, an ad campaign is the best option.
Social media advertising can help you reach new people, but it’s still extremely limited.
So, the best solution is to invest in a pay-per-click ad campaign. Here, you only have to pay for an ad when someone clicks on it.
If you’re not familiar with it, a pay-per-click ad will appear during search engine queries or browsing other websites. For example, when someone close to your area searches for gyms or fitness, your brand name will pop up with its offer.
Look at the image attached above. There are a couple of results that show up when the user searches ‘gyms in Denver’.
Investing in a PPC campaign will position your site, or landing page, as one of the top results recommended to people.
This will increase its visibility and allow more people to come and find you.
If you’re in the holiday season, you can put up a special offer over a few weeks for new clients to avail. Moreover, you’ll achieve the desired results even if you have a tight budget for marketing.
To do this, you’ll first need to research keywords that are related to the fitness industry.
https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675436474/how-to-master-gym-advertising-using-ppc
For better results, direct your ads towards action-oriented searches like ‘buy gym membership Vancouver’ or ‘cheap gym memberships’.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to design your ad. Since people know what they want, it’s best to put up an eye-catching offer for people to gravitate towards.
Now, your website is key for brand growth. The ad will lead them to a custom landing page where they can sign up and access the offer.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/87380471/Web-Banner-Ads
But this is only one kind of PPC campaign that you can try out. Some other forms include display ads, when you’re visiting another site, through Google shopping, video ads and many more.
The image above shows you display ads that you might be familiar with through your own experience online.
But, it’s much easier said than done and they all require a lot of detailed management for success.
Managing a business is already a very demanding job in itself.
Marketing your brand across multiple channels is also extremely tedious, and can cost a lot of valuable time and energy.
So, consider leaving the lead generation, conversion and ads to the experts. This way, you’ll be able to attend to the business and maintain it regularly without worrying about new customers.
Book a demo call with us to learn how we can generate new leads for your gym right away.