To grow your studio, you need to go where the people are. And the people are on Facebook and Instagram. 

In episode five, Stu and Raechel dive into social media strategies that studio owners can implement today. 

And spoiler alert: It’s not just about paid ads. Organic, guerilla marketing is where we all need to begin. 

Go Organic

For studio owners who don’t have at least $900 per month to spend on social media marketing, organic marketing is key. And here’s how to get started: 

  1. Post regularly. Make one Facebook and one Instagram post per day for a few months. Once you’re consistent, go for two or three posts per day. Ultimately, you want your audience to see your studio’s content morning, noon and night. (Important: Make sure your content is consistent. The tone and voice should be the same for each post.) 
  2. Use Creator Studio. Creator Studio is a free service from Facebook that lets you manage posts, insights, and messages all from your Facebook Pages in one place. You can also use a paid service like Later. 
  3. Your posts shouldn’t just be photographs. Video montages are a great way to catch your viewer’s attention. (More on video montages later.)
  4. Want to automate your posts and manage engagement across multiple platforms effortlessly? Check out Mariana Tek’s Automated Marketing Tools to streamline your marketing management and free up time for more creative content.

Step Outside Your Studio 

If you rarely get out into your local community and host events, you’re missing a huge opportunity to gather leads and convert clients. Here’s what Stu suggests all studio owners do: 

  1. Connect with other local businesses and host a recurring workout. Breweries, seltzeries, and coffee shops are perfect companies to partner with. (PS: Stu says to aim for one event per week.) 
  2. During the spring and summer months, find the most popular park in your area and host a free workout every weekend. 
  3. Host events other than workouts. Stu suggests a “Hangover Breakfast” where you set up shop in the community area (think courtyard) of a residence community. You offer free mimosas and breakfast sandwiches and educate the patrons about your studio’s offerings. 
  4. Interested in expanding your studio’s local engagement? Explore our tips on building strategic partnerships with local businesses.

Get the Most Out of Paid Ads 

In the world of social media marketing, there are three stages to get familiar with: awareness, consideration and conversion. Here’s what they mean and how to use paid advertising properly in each stage so you don’t bust your budget: 

  1. The Awareness Stage is the stage when you’re simply trying to let your audience know that your studio exists. Create an engagement campaign that shows the world who you are and what problems you solve. Don’t expect tons of leads to come from this ad. This is an intro. 

    A montage video works well here. (Just make sure you make one new montage video per quarter to avoid ad fatigue.)
  1. The Consideration Stage is the stage when your audience has seen your ads several times, and now they’re considering trying you out. At this point, it might be a good idea to use a “self-awareness” ad. It could sound something like this: “We know you’ve seen us before. And that’s why we’ve made this ad just for you.” 

    Now’s the time to retarget the folks who watched the video in your engagement campaign and hit them with another ad. 
  2. Learn more about creating effective ad campaigns by exploring our blog on unique offerings that command high-end pricing.
  1. The Conversion Stage is the stage where you want to use the most aggressive ad yet. You’ve warmed up the audience, they’ve considered your studio, and now it’s time to use a conversion ad to convert them from a lead to a client. (Stu warns studio owners not to skip directly to conversion ads. They’re very expensive, and not nearly as effective as going organic first.) 

Landing Page Do’s and Don’ts 

Your studio should definitely have a landing page. It’s the place where you can tell the story of your brand and show potential clients what problems your studio solves. Here’s what you need to know: 

  1. Your landing page needs to have a “call to action” at the top. 
  2. Don’t put videos on landing pages. Videos typically don’t do well because every phone is a different size and the videos render differently. 
  3. The landing page should act as a dead end. In other words, no one should be able to click around on your landing page. Every click the prospect makes lessens your chances of conversion. So keep it simple and remove any headers/tabs. 
  4. Summarize your offering in 3’s. For example: “Strength. Conditioning. Recovery.” Or: “Efficient. Effective. Enjoyable.” Use the magic of 3’s sales tactic to generate leads and keep the page simple. 

Cheers to getting the word out!

For more insights on optimizing your landing pages, see our guide on key metrics for fitness franchises.

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Xplor Mariana Tek Profile Picture

by Xplor Mariana Tek

  • First published: March 15 2023

    Written by: Xplor Mariana Tek