(Editor's Note: This sponsored article is part of the Club Industry report, "Technology: Agent of Growth for the Health and Wellness Industry," which can be downloaded for free by going here.)
Marketing your gym is a crucial part of running a fitness business. Word-of-mouth marketing still plays a big role in acquiring new customers, but you’ll need to focus on impactful marketing efforts that differentiate your gym or studio from the competition. Optimizing your marketing efforts will help you win new customers and expand brand awareness.
Below are some of the best and cost-effective tips for fitness marketing.
1. Create a user-friendly website. The internet is the first or second contact point for over half of your potential customers. To attract web users, you need a user-friendly website that’s easy to navigate, informative and has a presence on dominant search engines.
2. Deploy an effective local SEO marketing strategy. SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing your fitness business, and it brings a significant return on investment. To optimize your website to rank favorably locally, implement these tactics:
- Use local keywords in your website's content
- Use a consistent name, address and phone number (NAP) across your site and citations
- Create many local citations
3. Optimize your fitness business for voice searches. Chances are your customers are finding your business online with voice searches. It’s estimated that a billion voice searches are conducted each month, and most mobile voice searches focus on local businesses. That’s why every business should optimize its local voice search on platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google Assistant. It’s not just about optimizing voice searches for general questions but helping customers find your business. A 2018 survey by Bright Local found that:
- 50 percent of people used voice search to look for local businesses over the past year
- 74 percent who use voice searches looked for a local business every week
- 46 percent of the voice searches done daily looked for a local business
4. Deploy an effective content marketing campaign. In the fitness industry, keywords relating to fitness are quite competitive. Ranking for a phrase such as "how to do a push up" will not get you many targeted results. Why? Because 99 percent of the time, the people searching for this key phrase are not in your local area.
Using words that incorporate the name of your city can help you attract the right people. “Best outdoor workouts in Tampa,” “Best hikes in Orange County,” and “Where to buy the cheapest meal replacers in the Tristate Area,” are good examples.
An easy start is to create a blog and write about fitness in your local area.
5. Use chatbots, AI and voice automation tools in fitness marketing. Artificial intelligence is at its peak, and chatbots are taking over. Below are benefits of integrating chatbots and AI into your marketing campaigns:
- Improve customer support
- Interact with an unlimited number of customers at once
- Advertise directly to your clients' Facebook inboxes
- Create personalized messages for your customers
- Showcase your products and services
- Provide access to offers, discounts and partnerships
- Coordinate and schedule fitness classes
With these tips, you can lead your fitness business into the modern era.
BIO
Tim Sebold is the vice president of digital marketing at soolis, an advanced marketing agency specializing in chatbots, voice automation (Google Assistant and Alexa), email marketing, pay per click and content marketing. A 31-year health and fitness veteran, Sebold has worked in almost every aspect of the fitness industry, including for two fitness manufacturers, a fitness distributor and a software company. He also ran a large health club chain. He has extensive marketing, management, business development, operations, leadership, budgeting and direct sales experience. Sebold can be contacted at [email protected] or 443-735-1446.