Whether you’re a gym, personal trainer, or supplement company, you know only too well how competitive the fitness industry is.
That gives extra weight to how you spend your time marketing yourself.
It’s not enough to throw an ad on Google and wait for the profits to roll in.
You need fitness business marketing ideas that get your business in front of your target market.
Here are 32 fitness marketing ideas that you can use to promote your business.
32 Creative Fitness Marketing Ideas
I’ve broken down these fitness marketing ideas into the following categories:
- Community
- Social media
- Content marketing
- Online
In the Community
If you’re a gym owner, in-person trainer, or a physical store that offers fitness equipment or supplements, it’ll be important to get out into the community.
You’ll want to come face-to-face with your target market, which can help to build a better relationship with those that will be buying your service or product.
What’s more, it’ll put a face to the business, making the customer interaction feel more human and genuine.
Here are some ways to market your fitness business within the community.
1. Sponsor an Event
Get involved with the local community by sponsoring a charity event. You and your team can also participate in a charity event such as a fitness walk/run.
2. Offer a Free Group Class
New to your local community and want more people to come to visit your facility? Consider holding a free group fitness class for new members.
If you’re a personal trainer, you can hold a group fitness class within the community at a local rec center. You can arrange for a park workout for beginners as well.
3. Fitness Fair
Hold a health and wellness fair, and offer free consultations with local dieticians, personal trainers, and other health professionals.
This will be a perfect opportunity for you to do the next thing on the list:
4. Network and Collaborate
Despite the prevalence of online networking, word of mouth and referrals still hold the most weight.
Admittedly, the fitness industry is super competitive, but there are plenty of opportunities to set up a win/win for you and other businesses.
Network with other fitness businesses in your area and discuss how you can benefit from one another.
For example, if you’re a gym that specializes in strength training and you don’t offer classes, collaborate with a yoga or Pilates studio in the area. You can even offer a discount or special deal for that studio’s members if they sign up for a certain number of months in advance.
5. Free Samples
Give away free samples of your products or services at local businesses such as gyms or supplement stores.
6. In-Store Events
Host in-store events such as health workshops, cooking demonstrations, and fitness challenges.
Social Media
Love it or hate it, social media can be a powerful marketing tool.
Here are some creative fitness marketing ideas that you can do with your social media platforms.
7. Targeted Ads
Let’s get the most obvious ones out of the way first:
You can use targeted ads on social media platforms and other websites (e.g., Google AdWords) that are relevant to your target audience.
This is a pay-to-play method, but for most fitness businesses, this is a must.
8. Use Hashtags
Another obvious one but don’t forget to use relevant hashtags on social media platforms, especially Instagram.
For example, you can post motivational quotes on Monday and follow it up with the hashtag #FitnessMotivation.
This allows you to get your content and your business in front of potential customers.
9. Social Media Contest
Okay, now let’s move to the more fun fitness marketing ideas.
Make use of your social media platforms to reach out to potential customers by holding a social media contest that offers a prize to the winner.
For example, you could hold a transformation contest with a prize for the most weight lost.
If you are a supplement company, you could hold a contest to see who can post a picture of themselves with your product in the wildest places (e.g., jungles in Peru, mountains in South Korea, Eiffel Tower in Paris, etc.
10. Share Client Victories
Instead of directly promoting your business, talk about the success of your customers. This helps to create social proof and attract new clients.
11. Video Content
Create engaging video content that promotes your business. This works really well with Instagram and TikTok.
For example, you could give a tour of your gym facility.
You can also post an exercise tutorial, workout demonstration, or a how-to on your equipment.
12. Incentives
Offer incentives for referring new customers such as a discounted memberships for referrals who sign up.
13. Discounts
Offer discounts for bulk purchases of your product or service.
For example, you can offer a bundled price for group exercise classes, personal training sessions, or a three-month supply of your supplement.
14. Facebook Live Videos
Use Facebook Live to give workout demos, cooking classes, or tips on healthy living.
15. Instagram Stories and Highlights
Showcase customer success stories, behind-the-scenes footage, or promote special offers on your Instagram Stories or Highlights.
16. Brand Ambassadors
Identify influential bloggers and social media users who are passionate about health and fitness and ask them to become brand ambassadors for your business.
Content Marketing and Your Website
Let’s move to one of your most useful and crucial forms of marketing: your website and the content you produce.
No matter what your niche is, a fitness website is a must (yes, even if you’re a personal trainer).
If you offer a service, a fitness website allows you to demonstrate your authority while answering client questions and giving prospects a chance to get in touch with you.
If you provide a product to customers, such as supplements and gear, your website offers a one-stop shop for purchases.
Here are some fitness marketing ideas for your website.
17. Optimize for Keywords
This should have been done when you set up your website, but when you’re starting a new fitness business, it can be tough to check all the boxes on your to-do list.
If you haven’t already, make sure your website is optimized for keywords that are relevant to your target audience.
This will help you rank higher in search engine results pages.
18. Fitness Blogs
Create informative blog posts about health and fitness topics that are relevant to your target audience.
For example, if you’re a personal trainer, you can write content about the most common questions you get from your clients.
19. Fitness Videos
Upload entertaining and informative fitness videos to YouTube.
Make sure to include links to your website or social media pages in the video description.
You can also place these videos in relevant blog posts. This will help with SEO and increasing traffic to your fitness website.
20. eNewsletters
Send out regular newsletters with tips, advice, and updates about your fitness business.
Be sure to include links to your website or blog in the newsletter.
21. Ebooks
Write and design ebooks about health, fitness, and nutrition topics that are relevant to your target audience.
Offer these ebooks for free on your website or blog in exchange for a prospect’s contact information (so you can send them newsletters, offers, etc.).
22. Podcasts
Start a podcast about topics that are related to your fitness business.
They don’t have to be a Joe Rogan-style four-hour interview. Ten to fifteen minutes dissecting a popular fitness topic is plenty.
Just make sure the podcast is packed with value and actionable advice.
23. Video Courses
Another lead magnet idea is a video course.
Again, focus the topic on what is relevant to your fitness business and target market.
24. Fitness Templates
Do you have awesome workouts, meal plans, and grocery lists?
Consider placing them into a downloadable fitness template and offer them on your fitness website and social media pages.
25. Infographics
Design infographics that provide relevant information to your target audience.
Share these infographics on your website, blog, and social media pages.
26. Resource Pages
Create a complete resource page that reflects your fitness business but is also going to be incredibly helpful for your target audience.
Be sure to include links to external websites, articles, etc. This also gives you a chance to do some affiliate marketing. Speaking of which…
27. Affiliate Marketing
Create an affiliate marketing program that offers commission for sales generated through referrals from affiliates.
Online
Here are some additional marketing ideas that you can do online.
28. Forums and Discussion Boards
Participate in online forums and discussion boards related to health and fitness such as Reddit and Quora.
Answer questions related to your niche of the industry. This gives you a chance to show your expertise and leave links to your website, blog, and social media pages.
29. HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
HARO is a website where reporters are looking for experts and sources to provide insight and quotes for their articles.
Once you sign up, you can seek out fitness-related questions and provide answers to these reporters in exchange for your business website being promoted.
30. Guest Posts
Write guest posts for relevant blogs and websites. Include a link to your website or blog in the author bio.
31. Get Published
Continuing with the idea above, submit articles about health and fitness to local or national publications.
32. Live Workshops and Q&A Sessions
Host live workshops and Q&A sessions on health and fitness topics. You can do this via Zoom, Facebook, or another social media platform.
Need Help Creating Some of these Fitness Marketing Ideas?
There are endless possibilities when it comes to marketing your fitness business.
The most important thing is to be creative and think outside the box.
With a little effort, you can easily increase your customer base and grow your business.
But some of these fitness marketing ideas require planning and execution.
As a fitness business owner, that might not be something you have time to do. Or maybe you’re just not interested in writing blog posts, creating social media content, etc.
If you’d rather focus on the internal workings on your business, I can help with your content marketing.
Let’s chat about your business and how I can help get your brand out there with high quality fitness marketing content.