It’s easy to spend a lot of time on social media without achieving much. However, if you want to create a successful fitness marketing strategy, you should plan and target your posts carefully. Check out these gym promotions ideas to increase membership, brand awareness, and social media engagement. Then read all the way to the end if you’d like to download free ebook resources for advanced promotions.
Gym promotion ideas: interactive apps
Gamification is an established trend in digital marketing and it’s no surprise. Branded games provide users with entertainment while allowing brands to tick off a variety of marketing objectives. Apart from increasing engagement, brand awareness, and online presence companies also get to expand their mailing lists. Here’s an example of how gyms and fitness centers can use a prize wheel to entertain online communities.
It’s normal that we all associate prize wheels with… prizes! But here’s a very creative idea for gyms: use our Spin the Wheel app to invite your social media followers to draw their daily exercise!
To attract more participants you can raffle a prize between all of the entrants. Fitness kits, gadgets, and accessories will be popular with sports enthusiasts!
Do you like the idea? Try our Fitness Wheel DEMO and if you like it create your own promotion using our tools!
Take a look at the following example. The South African gym chain Edge Fitness regularly launches interactive games and shares them in their social media accounts. Their objective is to attract new customers to their gyms in a fun and engaging way, paired up with incentives like membership discounts and prizes.
Get leads and convert new customers
You need to find new clients and sign them up. And we know that social media and email marketing are the two most effective ways to do that. But how do you attract online followers and subscribers?
Start with a simple social media giveaway. Offer a desirable, on-brand prize for users who comment on your posts, on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Remember, every social network has a slightly different audience. So think carefully about your target market when you create your promotion.
Here’s a great example we found on Instagram. To win some workout gear, this gym’s followers were asked to comment and describe their favorite way to work out.
Social network algorithms reward brands for high-quality interactions. What does that mean? Well, Facebook Likes aren’t enough. So ask your followers interesting, open-ended questions. Encourage them to share photos and videos. You want them to create original content that builds up your brand.
Gym promotion ideas: Collect email contacts for your database
Once your social media following has started to grow, it’s time to build your mailing list. Use your social media as a starting point to collect email addresses and contact details. Then you can stay in touch with customers more reliably, and target your fitness marketing campaigns more precisely.
Use a classic Entry Form giveaway. You can ask participants for details like their email, location, age, gender, and even favorite sports. Then offer an exciting, relevant prize in return. Remember – if you ask lots of questions, motivate customers with a bigger prize.
Here’s an example from the Easypromos platform. A new gym decided to expand their email database by offering a tempting prize. Everyone who registered then received a free day pass for 2. What’s more, they had a chance to win an entire month of membership for free.
When you create giveaway apps like this with Easypromos, you’ll receive a unique link that you can share on all social networks and devices. Encourage your social media followers to join the promotion, and switch them over to email marketing.
Gym promotion ideas to reward your faithful followers
The best advert for any business is a happy customer. And that’s especially true for fitness marketing, where you’re selling customers an experience. So run exclusive promotions to reward your loyal customers, and encourage them to spread the word. When social media influencers talk about your product, brand, or service, the public takes those recommendations seriously.
Try an voting contest or a Photo Contest. Your followers can join in by posting content with your chosen hashtag. This has two big advantages. First of all, you can ask followers to demonstrate your products and services for free! And secondly, you’ll build a fun online community that people want to join.
If you want to combine photos, videos, and even comments in a single fitness marketing giveaway, then try a Hashtag Contest.
Sponsor events, challenges, and races
Make an impact on your community by taking part in local events. Sponsor sports days, challenges, runs, and races – or even create your own! Team up with other brands and events to share the publicity and raise your profile even further.
Think about which events match your brand image. Could you sponsor kids’ sports days, challenges for adults, fun activities for beginners, or something more serious and professional?
Here’s a fun example from a drinks company, created with Easypromos. They ran a giveaway of gear and entries for a local marathon. The promotion advertised the event and the brand at the same time.
Celebrate sports seasons and holidays
Make the most of local and international holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or Christmas. These festivals are a great opportunity to boost sales while showing the human side of your brand. Look out for key dates in the fitness industry, such as New Year, or the start of summer. You can tie into major sports events too, such as the World Cup or the Olympics.
Try running themed contests that combine the holiday with your branding. Ask users to comment or share photos about what the special day means for them. Run a holiday gift giveaway, or ask your followers about their holiday plans with a survey. Then dress up your promotion with photos, videos, and even emoji to highlight the holiday theme.
If you’d like to run a sports betting pool, as seen in this example from Easypromos, try our DEMO and learn more.
Showcase new products and services
Every business is different. What makes your brand special?
If you’re announcing new products, services, or facilities, then a social media campaign is a great way to start. You can also use social media giveaways and online promotions to spotlight existing products.
Try offering a giveaway, based on social media comments or a registration form. You can share goody bags, free samples, or an experience at your facility. The beauty of these campaigns is that, even if only one user wins the prize, everyone who participates has learned more about your brand.
Get into inbound marketing
The hard sell is finished. Customers don’t respond well to aggressive fitness marketing tactics. Instead, use inbound marketing to contact and assist customers.
Start by identifying leads: people who are already potentially interested in your brand. Then share content, giveaways, challenges, and rewards to educate them about your brand and encourage them to sign up.
In this survey, created with Easypromos, customers were asked about their location, age, and favorite places to work out. The brand could use the information to understand their target audience better. Then they would be able to target promotions, contact customers, and get more sign-ups.
If you’re interested in inbound marketing, read this article to learn more about the basics.
Now take your fitness marketing to the next level
In this post, we’ve discussed some simple ideas for fitness marketing on social media. Just click on the different contest types to try out demos and get more info! If you’re ready to get started, then create your Easypromos account and start drafting promotions for free. And in case of any questions, you can Online Chat with us!
To get even more marketing objectives, professional promotions, and practical inspiration, download our free ebook.
