Gym social media marketing: how to build a social media presence that will grow a community

Fitness studios and gyms need to have an active online presence to stay relevant in the digital world, gym social media marketing is central to success for overall gym marketing. Don’t know what to post on your social media platforms? Here is all you need to know to rock your digital marketing game.

The role of organic gym social media marketing in today's marketing mix

When customers, clients, or prospects look for a brand online, it is their website and social media pages that are the first ports of call; particularly in the B2B marketplace. 

That means your brand’s online image plays a vital role in influencing the opinion of prospective buyers. 

Having a strong Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, or Snapchat plan that’s fed with timely and relevant updates, and engaging social media content create a buyer base.

In short, ignoring the importance of an active and engaging gym social media marketing presence in favor of strong search engine optimization and online ranking isn’t possible in today’s market. A strong social media presence influences your fitness center or gym’s search results and can help your brand get featured at the top of relevant search terms. 

A well-designed organic gym social media marketing plan should be the foundation of your digital strategy to help your gym build customer relationships and strong prospects. Remember that the purpose of your organic social media is to create a community of loyal customers and followers through posting relevant feed content, images, videos and links.

Your IG profile is your new website

Did you know your IG (Instagram profile) can serve as your new homepage?

Just like your website converts visitors into buyers or customers, your IG profile converts visitors into loyal followers. The social media platform is a powerful forum that can be your main gym social media marketing channel with fantastic features to drive engagement. It is one of the most used millennial search engines for people looking for reliable fitness centers.

An active page sells - a dormant page says you're not vibrant

Gone are the days when people used to find information in the thick yellow pages of a dictionary. Nowadays, social media pages have become an integral part of everyday business.

And who doesn't like the idea of free advertising? 

From aesthetics to vocabulary to imagery, an active social media page is an ideal forum to shape a narrative about your brand and build its image. Serving as a primary point of contact, an active page allows customers to find you online, reach out to you, and ask queries.

Improve your members' network effect with tagable, sharable content

Like any other marketing forums, network effects have an important role to play in the failure or success of your gym. In fact, it’s one way to scale your fitness brand’s customer base, value proposition, and market share, generating profits. 

Focus on designing an effective business model that can create go-to gym social media marketing strategies for your customers. Keep in mind that you can only harness the power of the “network effect” when you increase the number of fitness enthusiasts or members in the gym.

So how can you do it?

Branding your gym: considerations when evaluating the perception of your business

The easy way to improve your members’ network effect is to post shareable, taggable content on your social media platforms. This is an effective way to create a strong member’s network, be it by posting regular updates, or offering discounts.

Best platforms for gym social media marketing 

Facebook Groups

A powerful marketing tool, Facebook groups can attract and engage customers with exclusive content.

Private IG

Do you like sharing exclusive videos of workouts and exercise? Make use of a private IG to control who can access the content you post.

Discord

Unlimited categorization and freedom make Discord a great option for fitness marketers. You can make servers with various channels where potential leads and fans can discuss fitness-related content.

Slack

Put notes, create social media sharing plans, and engage with your fitness team on an individual level. Slack is another great option to improve gym social media marketing.

Native app

A branded app may also help you engage with and grow your community. You don't have to build on someone elses's social network

What to post on your gym social media marketing?

Member shout-outs / profiles

Gym socia media marketing is an art, to trigger the emotions of the viewers. An ideal way to inspire, motivate, and encourage people to get into a body transformation program is to share member shout-outs on your Facebook and Instagram.

People inspire people and seeing someone achieve body goals can get you better engagement, thus placing your fitness studio in front of a much larger audience!

Additional workout programming

There is nothing better than offering followers something EXTRA to persuade them. The more you tell them about your workout programming, the more they will be interested in joining your training. 

Design a comprehensive fitness program and share it on your social media to help people learn exercise science and metabolic adaptation to drive a desire to get fit.

Nutrition challenges

How about boosting your gym social media marketing strategy with some unique nutrition challenges such as:

• Eat more veggies and fruits
• Increase muscle mass
• Cook healthy meals
• Burpee, squat, and pushup challenge.

“Bring a friend" promotions

Offer a discount to your members for bringing a friend as a gym partner.

This easy yet effective gym social media marketing tactic can definitely increase your customer base.

“Tag a friend" engagement content

Whether it’s a new workout program you’ve started recently or a free one-hour crossfit class you give as a demo, post it using the hashtag “tag a friend” on your IG or Facebook to reach an audience who doesn’t follow you.

Summing up

Post engaging content offers, and campaigns on your social media channels to attract, engage, and convert visitors into customers.

Links

https://www.columbussocialmedia.com/columbus-website-activity-makes-a-difference

https://www.revlocal.com/resources/library/blog/here-are-9-social-media-ideas-for-your-gym

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2020/10/05/promote-instagram-account-free

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