Fitness Business Marketing: 6 Tips for Valentine’s Day

It’s no surprise that stress levels were up in 2020. COVID-19. It has led people to self-isolate, worry about their finances, and fear for the future. According to a recent IHRSA survey, 69% of female and 57% of male fitness club users are feeling more stressed and are looking for ways to release some of that extra pressure they’re feeling.

With this year’s Valentine’s Day spending expected to exceed $25 billion in sales, and more and more people focusing on their health and wellbeing, it’s the perfect time to build a fitness business marketing campaign that focuses on driving couples to try your fitness studio and virtual services together!

Here are 6 fitness business marketing tips to boost virtual class attendance and raise on-demand video revenues for February and beyond.

Promote your intro deals for couples

With over 200,000 health clubs worldwide (and easy online access), the competition is fierce. Converting new clients is the goal and when you get more couples in, you double your revenue.

The secret of how to market a fitness business starts with the intro deal. An introductory offer is just like it sounds: a one-time offer to introduce your business to prospective clients and a chance to convert them into long-term visitors. In a traditional marketing plan for fitness businesses, the introductory offers draw in new clients—and they work for virtual services, too.

How can you make your introductory offers more attractive to couples?

• Get your members to include their partners with a BOGO (buy one, get one free) deal. There’s no additional cost to them and you get the chance to impress them both—it’s a win-win.
• Offer perks as incentives like branded towels or water bottles. Seeing your logo will also remind them to keep coming back to your business.
• Make dealing with you super simple. With easy ways to register, book, and check in for in-person or virtual services, WellnessLiving’s Achieve Client App makes becoming a client—and staying one—a snap.

Sell gift cards like crazy

Research shows that gift cards boost your bottom line, so include them in your fitness business marketing strategy all year long, especially around Valentine’s Day. Here are some stats to show you what we mean:

• 59% of recipients spend more than the value of the gift card.
• 79% of people bought at least one gift card as a holiday purchase.
• From 2019, gift card sales have been growing at annual rate of 15.4%.

So, include a gift card strategy as part of your marketing and watch your revenues rise. Pro tip: the easier you make the process, the more sales you’ll see. With WellnessLiving, it’s easy for clients to buy from your online store. Once they visit and select the gift card type (service, product, or dollar amount), couples can buy:

• Virtual gym memberships and workshops.
• Class-specific packages like 10 on-demand videos or five virtual classes.
• Bundles for two like matching workout gear, couples classes, or events they can attend together.
• Valentine’s gifts for their partners like equipment, merch, and more.

Monthly challenge for February

Double the fun for couples with a monthly challenge that’ll get them motivated to join—and win—together. The challenge could be the number of hours spent with your business or a specific goal to achieve, and the couple that wins gets a prize like:

• Discounts on virtual services
• Free equipment rental
• Merchandise like branded apparel
• Early access to a new class, product, or virtual event

Choose a simple way to get couples joining in on the fun. With the expert tools from WellnessLiving, you can simply set up a monthly challenge, motivate clients, and monitor your challenge. Here’s how we can help:

• Use our leaderboard to get participants fired up. Clients can track their progress and see where they rank in the challenge to keep them motivated to win.
• Get them hooked on earning rewards with our winning loyalty program. Customize your program and inspire clients to invest in you to earn prizes that suit your budget and your business.

Offer a free Valentine’s Day virtual class

Giveaways are always a hit (think discounted virtual classes, add-ons, or free meditation tools). They don’t have to be complex or expensive. Offering something for nothing shows new clients you’re invested in them and February is the perfect time to share the love. How can your business benefit by offering a free class?

• The more people you get through your doors, the more conversions you’ll see.
• Get them trying online workouts and on-demand or in-person classes.
• Offer a service and bring your community together during stressful times.

Create targeted campaigns

How do the pros target their marketing plan for fitness businesses? Creating targeted campaigns means attracting the type of customer you want to develop for years to come. Start by focusing on couples and be as specific as you can with the demographic you’re looking for.

Next, create content your clients will love and get set to launch your campaign with automated marketing. Everything is online these days and your fitness business marketing needs to be too.

At WellnessLiving, our automated marketing tools will get your message where it needs to go. Here are a few of our features:

• Email marketing: With about 80% of marketers reporting an increase in engagement over email marketing in the last 12 months, email is still gaining momentum. Simply create customized, targeted email campaigns with Valentine’s promotions to attract couples to sign up.
• SMS/push notifications: Get eyes on your message right away when you send Valentine’s offers directly to clients’ mobile devices. Include event reminders and links to your blog and promo details to create engagement and get more people signing up.
• Website: Promote your February specials (like hot deals for couples) on your landing page. Include our lead capture widget to collect info from prospective clients and reach out later with targeted marketing.

Share on social media

Looking for the best advice on how to market a fitness business these days? Reach your community quickly and effectively on social media. From Facebook to Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, users spend an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media per day. Be where your community is and get the attention of your clients’ other halves when you show up in their feed. Here are a few ways to make the most of social media for your fitness business marketing:

• Post Instagram stories to promote your February specials and intro offers.
• Get your clients talking with Instagram and Facebook polls. Ask your community how they de-stress, practice self-care, or incorporate fitness into their couple time.
• Feature videos with client testimonials and blog links to drive interest in your business.
• Post relevant content like tips to stay in shape for Valentine’s Day or workouts for couples to try.

Couples unite to grow your fitness business

Get couples in the mood to give your business a try with the right marketing plan for your fitness business. Motivate them with intro offers and free virtual classes, and monthly challenges. Also, get more couples with targeted campaigns and through social media. Use tools like WellnessLiving’s automated marketing and watch them fall in love with your business.

How else can WellnessLiving help manage your business? Book a free, no-commitment demo today to learn more.