On the long and seemingly never-ending list of gym owner tasks, creating quality content often gets overlooked. Some owners say they don’t have the time. Others are unsure of where to start.
But one thing’s for certain with all gym owners: Having a solid content strategy can be a game-changer. Not only for your business’ brand awareness, but for increasing gym revenue and retention as well.
The interesting thing is that most entrepreneurs overthink their gym content strategy. But truly, it doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, a little work up front - along with the power of repurposing - can yield months’ or even years’ worth of content.
Five Steps to a Powerful Gym Content Strategy.
Today, we’re breaking down your gym content strategy into five simple steps that you can start implementing. As you’ll see, some of the tactics will help to build brand awareness. Others are aimed at increasing gym revenue or driving retention numbers.
1. Understand Your Audience.
The best way to deliver the right message to your audience is to understand exactly who your audience is. One effective way to do this is creating buyer personas.
If you’ve never heard of buyer personas before, here’s a fun way to think about it. You know that one member that you wish you could clone? The one that just fits the culture and vision you have for your gym?
Now imagine, instead of crafting marketing messages that appeal to everyone, you wrote them as if you were speaking to that one member. Creating that copy would be easier, right?
You could use that member as an example of your buyer personas (sometimes referred to as your target avatar). Pinpointing things like goals, challenges, schedule, etc. will help you envision the person you’re speaking to with your gym content.
This may also help you figure out where to distribute content. For example, if your target audience is 40+ dads who want to get fitter, you could probably leave SnapChat off your marketing channels list.
2. Set Clear Goals.
At the risk of sounding like a mediocre self-help book, the best way to achieve goals is to set some.
One of the benefits of sharing gym content online - be it your gym blog or social media channels - is that engagement is trackable. In our analytics-driven society, you can access all the pertinent info. How many people read your blog? What type of posts get the most engagement? Everything is measurable.
With that in mind, make your goals as clear as possible. Instead of “grow social media following,” try “add ten new members weekly to our online community.” Or replace “get more eyeballs on our blogs” with “use various distribution channels to get at least 100 views on every blog this month.”
In addition, be sure to include realistic timelines and benchmarks with each goal. Making each element measurable will help gauge effectiveness and track progress.
3. Create Quality Gym Content.
Of the steps listed here, this is the one that we tend to overthink the most. And while coming up with ideas might take some effort, the concept is really simple. Create valuable content for your audience.
Once you’ve determined who your target avatar is and which platforms they’re on, think about the type of content they might want from you. Here are a few dos and don’ts to get you started:
- Do remember to stay in your lane. People will likely be looking for content related to fitness, nutrition, mobility, etc. You may love astrology, but if you start writing blogs about the moon and stars, you may confuse people.
- Don’t scare people away. You probably have some total baddies in your gym doing incredible things. But remember, joining a new gym can be intimidating. If your gym culture is welcoming for every fitness level, avoid filling your feed with shirtless jacked dudes doing snatches and bar muscle-ups.
- Do make a plan for consistency. If the last time you sent a gym newsletter was 2019, it might be wise to start reviving it with a quarterly cadence. Creating a plan to publish content weekly only works if you then publish weekly. One of the keys to a solid gym content strategy is being able to stick to it.
Ultimately, your goal should be to develop diverse and engaging content. Try experimenting with different formats like blogs, videos, podcasts and social media posts. If it resonates with your audience’s interests, they’ll keep coming back for more.
Pro Tip: Have you downloaded your free social media AI content prompts yet? You get a whole year's worth of social media content that takes the guesswork out of using AI!
4. Start with the 80/20 Rule.
Do you know the difference between content that’s aimed at providing value, versus promotion or sales? For valuable gym content specifically, here’s the difference:
- When creating valuable content, think of the four Es. You want to educate, engage, entertain or empower. These could be things like how-to videos, nutrition blogs or telling your gym members’ stories.
- When creating promotional content, you’ll generally have a revenue goal in mind. Examples include an upcoming apparel pre-order or info about your gym member referral program.
When creating your gym content strategy, start with the 80/20 rule. This means 80 percent of your content provides value to your audience. The remaining 20 percent is promotional. Over time, you’ll be able to measure which topics resonate best, and iterate as needed.
5. Repurpose Content Creatively.
Repurposing is they key to getting the best bang for your gym content buck.
When you’re taking the time to create quality content, you want as many people to see it as possible, right? So don’t just post that amazing member highlight once on Instagram. Explore as many was as possible to distribute it on different channels to reinforce your brand message.
For example, the first step is making sure you’ve covered all the bases in one platform. Don’t just post a Reel; share it to your Stories. You’ll then see the option to share it on Facebook and Threads. Maybe turn it into a YouTube video, and put it into a “Member Highlights” playlist on YouTube. Repurpose it into a blog and a testimonial on your website, or share on your Google My Business page.
That way you can maximize the lifespan of your content and consistently refresh your content in different formats.
One more thing: Check out the Social Planner, a tool in PushPress Grow that allows you to schedule and publish content. This can be done across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google My Business.
Pro Tip: Want to find out more about Social Planner and the other ways automation can help take tasks off your plate? Book a demo with our team today!
