We all need to blow of some steam every now and then. That’s why it’s good to regularly hit the gym. There aren’t many things that beat the feeling of (exhausted) satisfaction that comes from completing a full-on workout in which you’ve pushed yourself to the edge.
The advantages of regular exercise are common knowledge (and backed by science). Visiting your local fitness studio helps you control your weight, keeps a load of health conditions (such as heart disease, diabetis and many more) at bay and boosts your mood and energy. Oh, and it helps you sleep better, gives your sexlife a little nudge and…well… it’s fun and social.
There is just one catch: most of us need some help to actually GO to the gym. Despite knowing that it’s good for us and makes us happy, most need some help to stay motivated to not skip leg day, or work on our six pack.
1. Why Use Social Media For Your Fitness Studio
As owner of a fitness studio, you have a great opportunity to help people become the best version of themselves. You hire the best instructors you can find, ensure the fitness equipment is in perfect condition. Every day, you balance on the fine line between creating an atmosphere that motivates people to push themselves, while still being friendly and welcoming.
Your influence does not stop at the door of your fitness studio, though. If anything, 2020 and 2021 have taught us that people do want you to stay in touch. Many fitness studios went online to offer their subscribers online lessons, training schedules and excercises that can be done at home.
Fitness wasn’t a new topic on social media. After all, fitgirls have been around from the beginning on Instagram and other social media channels. Many became influencers with a broad audience. Many fitness studios, however, did not fully embrace the power of social media. Often, they didn’t even use social media – other than to announce that they are open during Christmas (or not).
1.1 Build Your Brand
Social media offers you a great opportunity to build the brand of your sports studio. You can build a presence on social media that helps lure people to your sports studio. Social media offers a platform to interact with (potential) members and share your programming.
1.2 Be A True Fitness Influencer
Some fitness studios are returning to their old ways. Now that more and more countries come out of lockdown, they focus on what’s going on inside the fitness studio again.
What a missed opportunity!
What a waste!
You have learned how to use social media (more) effectively. Why let that knowledge go to waste? Why not be a true influencer about fitness and health? Because let’s face it: you are so much better than 99% of the fitness influencers. Why? Because you actually have the background. You know about anatomy, sports and exercise. You have the diploma’s on the wall that prove that you know what you are talking about.
And more than that: you have a fitness studio. This allows you to do so much more than those Instagram influencers could possibly do.
You have the potential to become a true influencer. Share exercises with your customers, share nutritional advice.
Listen to people in your fitness studio and you will have plenty of inspiration for useful social media posts. Do you notice that everybody is suddenly discussing a new dietary trend? Chip in with your expert knowledge. Notice that many newcomers ask the same questions? Or do you see that people tend to “hit a wall” after a certain time of training? Help them break through that wall and become even stronger.
Walking around your fitness studio, you will find ample inspiration for awesome social media content. Soon, you will become an authority in your field!
1.3 Be A Friend
The most successful people and companies on social media are those who fill their feed with a mix of information, entertainment and motivational. Social media is about being a friend. Sometimes you goof around a bit, other times you just listen to your friend, perhaps give each other advice, and sometimes it’s time to have a serious chat.
For fitness studios, it is recommended not to overdo the entertainment bit. It would be easy to swamp your timeline with funny viral videos. And yes, content like that can go viral, helping you grow your online audience. However, not everybody has the same sense of humour. Besides, most jokes you could share aren’t all that new. It’s quite well possible people have already seen them.
Most important, though, people want to get to know you, and learn more about fitness. That’s why they decided to subscribe to your fitness social media challenge. Nobody wants to be friends with someone who’s always a clown and never serious. People want to be friends with you, because you take them seriously.
1.4 Motivate Them For Their Workout
Another reason why you should definitely use social media is that people need to be motivated. Perhaps not those die-hards who visit your gym every day, but the majority of people need someone to push them a little. Nudge them in the right direction using motivational images. Help them overcome whatever it is that holds them back and ensure they keep visiting your fitness studio (and extend their gym membership)
Keep in mind that people can have different sources of motivation. Some get their motivation by looking at photos of famous body builders, but others might just get intimidated by six-packs.
Some people visit your fitness studio to lose weight. Others want to improve their stamina or strength. Another person might visit the gym to clear their mind, whereas the social aspect might be the strongest reason for someone else.
Make sure the fitness motivationals you share on your social media cover all these bases by alternating the main message. Did you post a loss weight success story? Perhaps now it’s time for something about how your gym is a place where friendships are forged. Was yesterday’s post about getting the perfect apps? Then make your next social media post about someone who managed to beat diabetes by exercising under your supervision.
1.5 Get More Members
Using social media gets your fitness studio more members. When done right, people who are looking to join a gym will probably start with an online search. And that’s where they see you, engaged in an interesting conversation with members, offering excellent support. They might notice how your members are recommending their friends to join your gym. What better quality mark than happy customers?
2. Fitness Templates
Having knowledge about your topic is the first step. I guess we can safely assume that we can check that box on our roadmap towards your status as expert on social media.
However, becoming an online authority is not just about knowledge. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of influencers out there who have zero knowledge, yet managed to get really influential. Their secret? Presentation!
To succeed on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, you need to create content which is perfectly suited for those channels. Creating such content is an art. Your content needs to be clear and understandable. It must have an instant appeal, meaning it needs to look attractive.
The tricky thing is that each social media platform has its own requirements. Image sizes that look great on one social media might look terrible elsewhere. And as if those technical differences aren’t challenging enough, there is the matter that each of the main social media platforms have a specific audience. When using TikTok, you are talking to a completely different demographic than, for instance, Facebook.
Luckily, you do not need to go back to school to be able to really make it online. Just use one of the social media fitness templates. These templates make design a lot easier.
2.1 Canva Fitness Templates
Canva is a free-to-use graphic design platform which is used by many companies, professionals and students to create presentations, documents, posters and –you guessed it- social media posts.
The Canva Fitness Templates (Limited Edition) are a collection of 100 Fitness Tips and Hacks Templates, 100 Workout of the Day-Templates, 50 motivational and inspirational quotes and 50 templates about a healthy lifestyle and food. That's a total of 300 templates! Every template can be edited, so feel free to add your logo or change the template in whichever way you want.
2.2 Photoshop Fitness Templates
The Photoshop Fitness Templates are specifically designed for fitness studio owners like yourself. Grab the template, add your own text and image and you are good to go. This template makes it really easy to use images from your own gym or (with their permission) your clients. This means your social media posts are more relatable and create a strong emotional and social bond with your followers. Another little added benefit: if someone recognizes themselves in your social media post, they are more likely to share it with their friends.
3. Free Templates
Alternatively, you could choose to use one of the many free social media templates for fitness studios. Free templates are less versatile than those you paid. And besides, the free ones are probably used by many of your competitors though. However, even with these limitations, free templates can be very helpful. Using them allow you to get a better feel of what works (and what doesn’t) online. They allow you to start building your online presence without having to make any financial commitment. It’s a really great, risk-free way of getting started with social media.
Curious about free social media templates for fitness studios? Have a look at these 25 Free Canva Templates for your gym.