Methods
Recent surveys have indicated that over 80% of brands in all fields are either using or in some way benefiting from Content Marketing. It has become too big to ignore, influencing the way that potential members are finding and selecting their gyms.
So how can a gym or fitness club owner incorporate content based marketing into their marketing strategies? We are going to cover off a few of the most accessible and impactful methods that can be implemented swiftly.
Today we are going to look at some of the methods that we have found bringing in the most success to Independent Gym owners. We will spend a little bit of time focusing on how they have found success with each type.
Our goal is just to provide an overview of what has been working for gyms up and down the country, but if any of these are of particular interest, please don’t hesitate to message us and we will try and expand these in a later blog on Gym Owners Forum event!
Blogs and Vlogs: The art of 'Expertise' Content Marketing
We will start with the obvious one.
The humble blog and its cousin, the vlog (or video-log).
Interestingly descended from the word ‘Weblog’ in the 90s, the humble dotcom term has shaped marketing strategies across every industry.
Able to communicate impactful information and have it reach the audience for the lowest possible cost, it is no wonder that this has become one of the go-to tools of independents in many fields and industries.
In our talks with gyms, we have found that they have used blogs to communicate everything from local knowledge to sharing expertise, publicising events and equipment to news and developments in the area.
If an independent gym wants to get their thoughts out there through an official channel, they would be hard pressed to find a better option. Not only is creating the blog or vlog itself very affordable, requiring only a word processor, a website and the relevant expertise. But also between being easily shared on social media and easily located on search engines, the reach has never been wider for the average independent.
So that is the good news for blogs and vlogs.
The downside? Well as we hinted at before, the downside is that within the fitness industry, content-based ‘lead marketing’ for gyms is very competitive.
Our industry is an industry of people who know their stuff and do a significant portion of their business through their websites.This can lead to a feeling of oversaturation. Something that is key to keep in mind when gyms make content. Only the best will do!
From our experience and conversations with gym owners, we think that there are two key points to help independent gyms blogs and vlogs stand out.
1. Make a real contribution
No half measures, no clickbait, no imitations.
The information that an independent gym is putting out should be quality. This might be the first time a potential member ever comes across content from your gym. Make it count! Vague clickbait or the same workout jpegs that they saw on twitter earlier in the week won’t cut it!
Every independent gym should be a hub of talented and experienced individuals, with valuable expertise to contribute…So use it!
The blogs should represent the same fitness expertise and excellence that can be found within your gym.
These blogs should embody what a gym has to offer to prospective members. Expertise and information that can improve their life and offer value in a way they can’t get anywhere else in the area. So show it!
A useful thought exercise is something we call ‘The bookmark test’. Does the blog provide valuable enough content that someone who is interested in the subject would want to bookmark or favourite it on their browser so they can return to it. If the answer is yes, the content is on the right track.
2. Keywords
All that high-minded idealism aside. The second point is a lot more pragmatic and practical.
And that is Keywords.
The best content in the world won’t draw a business any new custom if it can’t be found. As mentioned earlier, blogs trade in keywords and that is especially true in the fitness industry.
With prospective customers often searching very specific queries, whether it is related to an exercise, or a class, or an exercise machine. It is necessary for the content to be precise and purposeful in the language that is used.
In addition, a successful blog should try to mention the location of the gym or fitness club it is trying to promote. A lot of searches are local, so the more that the gym or fitness club can be linked with the specific area, the better.
Blogs can be a powerful tool in the right hands. Find the motivated and talented people within your independent gym and ask them what they would write about if given the chance. Before long you could find that your blog has become a key part of your marketing strategy
Events as Content Marketing: Real, Virtual, Hybrid
Hosting events might not sound a lot like ‘Content Marketing’ to many independent gym owners, but events can be a powerful driver of a Content Marketing strategy. Independent Gym owners have a significant asset that many businesses would kill to have. Their gym!
A gym is a big public space with many positive connotations. People want to be seen there. People associate it with discipline, improvement and health. It is a great place to host events, and if it looks good (which, come on, it really should look good) then people will want to be seen in it.
It sounds rudimentary, and that is because it is. But we are always amazed how often this is overlooked.
Gyms are the perfect place to host events and those events have value outside of the initial day themselves. Whether it is in-person, virtual or some combination of the two,
In order to make this work, an independent gym needs to take stock of every asset it might have. That might be a desirable location, a specific area that looks very ‘instagrammable’ (if you’ll pardon the term). It can even be simpler still, such as a coffee bar or a large events space.
All the Fun of the Fair
Whether it is a fair about healthy food, supplements, local fitness enterprise or all of the above. A fair can be a great way to reach out to local businesses and local people at the same time.
Partnering with local food distributors, cafes, restaurants or healthy takeaways can be a great way for a gym to act as a nexus and a hub for the local community.
It also provides plenty of opportunities for content, endless throw-backs and favourable shots of the gym. While this can be a pain to organise, we have found that the benefits make it more than worthwhile for well-located independent gyms!
'Topical' Events and Charity Events
Whether it is the Olympics or the Tour de France, Valentines Day or the London Marathon.
A Topical event is easy to market and will get people through the doors. It only has to be vaguely connected to the event at hand as well. We have seen independent gyms get very creative with their event days.
These days are cheap and cheerful, giving people the motivation they need to do something they otherwise wouldn’t do. Add in a charity aspect and not only will there be some more positive buzz on social media, but suddenly you’ll be drawing everyone out for a good cause. A win-win!
Open days
It is an old classic, but it is a classic for a reason.
It works.
Open days are a great event for the area to see what a gym is made of, invite people in, publicise it in your area, invite local people of note.
All too often we have heard the refrain of ‘We didn’t realise how nice it was on the inside’ or ‘We have been meaning to come in here for ages’ when we visit independent gyms and they have visitors from the local area.
People run on an incredible amount of inertia and an open day is a great way to buck people out of their day to day routine and into your gym! Meeting the locals and getting positive word of mouth out in both real life and social media can be invaluable for some grass-roots ‘content marketing’ for an independent gym.
If possible, have someone on stand-by to film parts of the day. That footage could be invaluable when uploaded to your social media channels.
The Podcast Boom
You might have noticed everyone has a podcast these days.
And if you can’t beat them, join them right?
Joking aside. The Podcast has exploded in popularity, becoming one of the premier forms of ‘Content-led Marketing’.
In a recent survey, it was concluded that over 50% of content-led marketers who have adopted and utilised podcasts as a marketing tool have described it as one of their most effective content mediums they use.
But we have seen a lot of Independent Gym Owners wrinkle their faces at the idea of a podcast.
“Isn’t it a lot of effort?” is a frequent response. Alongside the perennial: “Who will even listen?”
And while we won’t say it is effortless, it has never been easier and there has never been such a large consumer-base for podcasts.
The fitness industry always trends towards younger people, and this new generation consumes podcasts for everything. Cooking, TV shows, transport, politics, you name it, there is a podcast.
This is a generation that has grown up with a very different form of advertising, one where YouTubers ‘sponsor’ and ‘endorse’ products and one where businesses make their own content to be consumed.
A lot has changed in the last ten years. Back then podcasting was a niche with only a few official outlets. Still very much the domain of iTunes and Apple. Recording, editing and then releasing a podcast was a lot of work and there was no guarantee it would be downloaded (not streamed!) onto more than a few devices.
Now both recording and distribution has been made simple. Multiple websites can allow a business to upload a podcast once and then have it put onto all major streaming services, including the all important Spotify.
As it often goes, this meant that businesses were able to test the water with comparatively little time and effort. In turn, businesses learned that there was a market for these podcasts and so a content marketing method was born.
The success factor has come from the casual nature of podcasting and the expertise of the people talking on the podcast.
Expertise, as we have already established, is something that independent gyms have in spades, and that they should be leveraging way more than they currently do.
It might be hard for we denizens of the fitness industry to imagine, but a conversation between two people within the fitness industry, about the fitness industry can be informative and compelling to members, prospective members and fellow industry-denizens.
That is a broad-base of appeal!
And it has been shown that these listeners transfer into searches.
The topics are endless and normally we find if you just set out a few topics of conversation and get the right people in the room, the conversation will flow nicely. Unlike a blog, it can be more freeform and anecdotal while still communicating valuable insight into the fitness industry.
It can also exist to deliver news about a gym or fitness club, a few minute segment either at the beginning or the end of the podcast is the perfect time to detail new equipment, renovations, classes or events. These topics could even spark a conversation themselves about the running of the gym or fitness club.
The last aspect is promotion. By putting up posters and sending out emails promoting the podcast, a gym can get a core group of followers interested in the podcast. In turn, just like with blogs, this will help with discoverability.
Of course, a podcast has some start-up costs and some expertise of its own. Recording and editing, as well as what we will loosely call ‘stage-presence’ will all go a long way towards making a podcast feel professional and distinct.
Much like blogs, we don’t recommend that independent gyms half-bake them in a rush to get content out. This content should embody the values of an independent gym, it isn’t enough to have expertise, it has to be delivered expertly as well.
In the same way that spelling mistakes and weird formatting will put off a savvy millennial or Gen Z from your blog, bad audio or listless conversation will turn them off ‘the pod’.
But for the independent gyms that get it right, they will be gaining access to a young and eager audience that is otherwise hard to reach!
Educational Videos: TikTok, YouTube Shorts and other educational video content
Educational video content is everywhere at the moment. The rise of TikTok and the YouTube Shorts format has transformed how younger people consume content and content-marketing has not turned a blind eye to this.
Whether it is the TikTok ‘how to’ or YouTube short ‘life advice’, short-form video is everywhere. And where the individual goes, a company can follow.
As we covered in the podcast section, this new cultural trend is just ripe for companies to get onboard with and many have already.
More people than ever before are discovering new businesses due to short form informative video content.
The rise of near limitless mobile data means that people are doing this everywhere and at every time of the day. Combine this with Instagram, Twitter and TikTok ever more efficient video integration and shareability and a Gym would be remiss not to capitalise on this effect and far-reaching trend.
Gyms are once again in an enviable position when it comes to producing this sort of content. Fitness is both specialised, accessible and popular with the younger demographics that consume these videos.
With a little bit of effort, you can put a PT or another member of staff in front of a camera at your gym and create something that will be shared tens of thousands of times.
As for what to show, we’ve listed ideas below for inspiration.
Facility tour: Showing off a Gym or Fitness club is a surefire way to get people interested. Unless a gym has large windows, local people can pass by every day and never know the great facility instead.
How to use equipment: education and entertaining: This can also help reduce gymtimidation if someone has never used a piece of gym equipment.
Exercise tips from your PTs: Short-form, well edited tips are the most shared and likely to hit the biggest audience.
Classes in Action: If a class is going on, ask for permission and then get filming!
Testimonials from the regulars: If regular customers are content and comfortable with saying a few words, the genuine enthusiasm they display can be a powerful motivator.
Meal preparation and diet tips and tricks: Whether it comes from customers or staff, a great way to share what works for the people who use a Gym.
Conclusion
And with that our overview of the most popular types of content-marketing comes to an end. Thanks for sticking with us.
This wasn’t an exhaustive article, nor did we go into anything in too much detail. But we are always eager to hear from both established and aspiring independent gym owners. If there is any subject you’d like to see expanded upon or you’d like to weigh in on, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
This decade promises to be a golden-age for content led marketing, there have never been so many affordable options available to independent gyms to make truly meaningful and impactful content.
Whether via the written word, voice or video, the consumer base for this material is growing rapidly and shows no sign of abating.
While we understand the reluctance from some, those that do embrace these mediums are helping to ensure that their expertise reaches a much wider audience than those who don’t.
Here at the Gym Owners Forum, we are keen to explore ways that independent gyms can utilise their unique skill sets and position in the fitness industry. Content-led marketing is just one of many promising ways that we believe independent gyms can distinguish themselves from their competitors.
We’re bringing together the expertise of hundreds of gyms from across the UK and Europe, to help gym owners grow their business.
Explore
Copyright © Gym Owners Forum 2024, Design By Unturned Stone Creative