How to Turbocharge Your Gym Memberships This Week with Facebook Ads

How to Turbocharge Your Gym Memberships This Week with Facebook Ads

04 Jul, 2021

In the digitally-connected world we live in today, there are a number of ways gym owners can market their fitness club—one key way being Facebook ads for gym leads.   The difficulty with Facebook ads for gym leads, however, is getting the attention of the intended audience in a crowd of posts from their friends, family, and other brands trying to break into the same space. Many gym owners might have taken the popular social media platform’s ad tools for a test run, but plateaued with their results because they just couldn’t come up with a strategy that would set them apart. And, ultimately, get them the gains in new gym members they were hoping for. 

Facebook ads for gym leads barbell

If that’s your client, we’ve got you covered and we’re glad you’re here with us today. That’s because we’ve created a ready-made funnel that’ll help you max out lead generation efforts—all by using Facebook ads to increase membership sales this week. Are you ready to kick things up a notch (or two)? We thought so. Let’s get started… 

Why Should I Take the Facebook Ads Route to Generate More Gym Memberships?

Well, if you really know us and what we’re about, the appropriate question to ask is… why wouldn’t you take it?! You’ve read it here. You’ve read it there. Heck, the proof is in the pudding in so many places across the webosphere that Facebook ads can take your business far, especially when it comes to increasing foot traffic and conversions. I know, I know. Why in the world would you pay to play to get your audience to see your message on the social media platform? But, it’s absolutely, positively, 100% worth it. Why? Well, to get right to it, 1.28 billion people log onto Facebook daily. DAILY. What does that mean for you? The chances of your local target audience being there are extremely high, which helps make it that much easier for you to successfully reach them with your offer. Now, after reading that last paragraph, I’m sure you’re in this for the long haul. Right? I figured. Here’s what you’ve been waiting for… 

A Jaw-Dropping Offer (JDO) to Drive Lead Generation & Gym Membership Sales

Oh boy, are you in for a real treat today. We’re opening up our Facebook strategy vault just for you to share the formula you need to turbocharge your gym membership sales this week. First, we’ll dive into the first component: a jaw-dropping offer (or JDO as you’ll see around here). It’s the “it” thing that’ll make the Facebook user stop in their scrolling tracks and geek out over your ad, compelling them to click. But, this can’t be just any offer you pull out of thin air. Nope. It actually needs to be two things:

  • A narrowly targeted, irresistible sales offer that compels your people.
  • A product or service of perceived high value to offer for free (or at little cost).

So, let’s start with the first requirement. You need to determine who exactly it is you want to target. With a fitness club, there are many different audiences you can appeal to—fitness enthusiasts, high school or college athletes, working parents; you name it. But, you must focus on one audience at a time and build an offer that’s exclusive to them. In this case, we’ll focus on moms—specifically moms between the ages of 25 and 45, who have grade school or high school kids. 

Woman working out with trainer

 Because their kids are between the ages of 6 and 18, they have more free time and flexibility to go to the gym than those with young children at home. So, now that we’ve pinpointed who our people are, let’s move on to the second component: the offering. The most compelling and feasible service you can offer to this type of clientele is a 2-week free trial to your gym. Simple enough? Let’s keep moving...

The Mighty Facebook Ads for Gym Leads Funnel You Need for Serious Gains

To attract your intended audience, you need to set up a simple four-part Facebook ad for gym leads funnel, which include: 

  • A well-targeted Facebook ad
  • A landing page (aka opt-in page)
  • A thank you page
  • And, a simple follow-up email sequence and text message

Consider it a mini-triathlon of sorts—when you don’t complete all stages, you won’t be rewarded for your efforts. Therefore, let’s walk through each part of effective Facebook ads for the gym leads sales funnel to ensure you come out a winner. 

1. The Facebook Ad

This is where that JDO will be on full display for your audience to see (and get pumped up about). And, no, it doesn’t need to be fancy-schmancy and there’s no need for you to spend hours beating your head against the wall hoping copy ideas come falling out of it like candy from a piñata. Your ultimate goal is actually pretty simple: get those clicks = LEADS. And, the most effective ad type to do just that is Consideration, with the ideal objective being Traffic. That means you’re focused on sending people to a destination on or off of Facebook for lead generation. 

Facebook ads for gym leads setup

 Easy enough? Yup, it really is. So, we’ve knocked out the ad objective, and next, we’ll focus on targeting. This is where the segment we discussed earlier (moms, ages 25-45, with grade school or high school kids) comes into play. To begin attracting leads in your neighbourhood with your 2-week free trial offer, you’ll want to use the following targeting options: 

  • Your city +10 miles (in this case, we used our local town. But, you’ll need to determine the radius based on where you live.)
  • Women ages 25-45
  • (06-08 years) Parents with early school-age children (demographics)
  • (08-12 years) Parents with preteens (demographics) (13-18 years) Parents with teenagers (demographics)
  • Moms of grade school kids (demographics)
  • Moms of high school kids (demographics)
Facebook ads for gym leads targeting

Of course, there are a ton of additional targeting options you can choose from once you find yourself getting a steady flow of leads through the door. These seven targeting options, however, are the strongest for this type of funnel to get you up and running in no time. And, once your targeting is set up, it’s on to the ad creative! Again, as I mentioned earlier, you don’t need to make this 10x more complicated than it needs to be because it doesn’t need to be anything extravagant. It simply should get your audience to take action and move them to the next step of the funnel—providing their contact information to opt-in to your email list and receive the special offer (aka JDO). After that point is when you can reach back out to them to schedule their gym visit and offer other services. Facebook ads for gym leads exampleIn the ad example above, there are components you can definitely clone to save you some time (yes, we’re giving you free rein!) to build a champion Facebook ad that brings you the leads you’ve been hungry for. 

  • The Ad Headline— is super simple. States the offer clearly and brand name serving it up.
  • The Main Ad Copy—pinpoints whom this ad is for, speaking directly to moms. After all, it’s tough to find the time to focus on yourself when you’re busy taking care of your family.
  • The Ad Image—keeps things light, with a fun play on working out. It’s not always easy to get yourself to the gym when you’re craving your favourite treat (in this case, a hearty sandwich) to get you through your bustling schedule (we recommend looking to stock.adobe.com for royalty-free stock images).
  • The Ad Description—again, states the offer clearly with a bit more information while using more language to reel in the target audience (a mention of “now that the kids are in school”).
  • The URL—is easy to read and is a custom domain. That’s important as you want to be sure to avoid extension URLs (ex. .clickfunnels). They’ll cost your ad more in the long run because they’re ranked poorly Web of Trust.
  • The Call-to-Action Button—by choosing Sign Up, you’re preparing the audience to dish out their contact information to get their free 2-week trial.

Once your audience clicks on the ad, they’ll be redirected to an opt-in page that’s purely designed to get their name, email, and cell phone number, in exchange for the offer. 

2. The Landing Page (Opt-In)

It’s no longer enough to simply send your audience to your standard sign-up form on your website. For that reason, we recommend you set up a designated page for this exclusive offer so your future gym member can sign up fast! This is critical to the success of your Facebook ads for the gym leads funnel. 

Facebook ads for gym leads landing page

 Check out the landing page (opt-in) example above, which you can copy for your own offer to build up leads with ease. And, let’s walk through the three reasons how this page works to your advantage: 

  • The background image and page text are consistent with the ad that led your target there. The high-quality photo is a blurred fitness facility with feminine workout attire—pink and purple running shoes, and bright coloured equipment. And, the page copy simply reiterates the offer.
  • The target is being asked to provide very minimal information—name, email address, and phone number. Thus, steering clear from overwhelming the user and causing them to click away from the page. All before they fill out the form and claim the offer.
  • And, there’s scarcity. This is very important. In this example, we’re only offering this trial to 15 people, getting the user to opt-in faster while pushing them into the gym.

We’ve used this opt-in page layout in dozens of different industries. And, we’ve found it works like a charm every time. 

3. The Thank You Page

After the prospective gym member enters their information on the landing page and clicks the “Get Your FREE 2 Week Trial Now!” button, they’re added to your email list and redirected to a Thank You page. Instantly, you’ll notice it’s very similar to the opt-in page, with just a few minor changes. 

Facebook ads for gym leads thank you page
  • The page starts off explaining an email is coming their way soon with instructions on starting their 2-week free trial—encouraging them to call the office and state the code (“MOMFIT”) to redeem. The phone number on this page isn’t just any standard number. It’s actually a tracking number that forwards calls to the business in order to track the effectiveness of the campaign. You can set this up painlessly at CallRail.com.
  • Most importantly, in the end, we throw in a bonus stack with some added scarcity. It’s an additional freebie or special offer added to the original offer. But, it’s only given to the prospective member if they contact the office to redeem it within the next 48 hours. I mean, who wouldn’t want an extra 2 weeks added to their trial period?! That adds up to a FULL free month of membership.

Are you following how easy this is to get set up ASAP? Awesome. And, that completes the first three parts of our mighty four-part Facebook ads for gym leads funnel. The last part is what we consider to be the most important part of the process—the follow-up, helping clinch the leads who’ve already opted-in. 

4. The Follow-Up

Facebook ads for gym leads follow upYou’ll hear this a lot around these parts: if you go to great lengths to follow up with those who’ve opted-in to receive your offer, you’ll take your business to a whole new level. Doing so only helps remove any barriers that stand between your prospective members and actually going into your gym. Plus, you’ll make them feel like more than just a number on your reports. To get started with your follow-up process, you’ll need to send a series of two emails, as well as an SMS text message. No worries if you’ve never used SMS text messaging in your marketing efforts. But, you should absolutely consider adding it to the mix. It’ll put the tracking number in your lead’s hands, encouraging them to call right away—without pause. As for the emails, the first email they should receive immediately needs to restate the same information from the Thank You page. Repetitions are just as important to exercise as they are to your sales messages. And, the second email they should receive two days later needs to tell them what they’ll gain from claiming the offer while reminding them that it expires soon. (There’s that scarcity element again!) So, how in the world do you get all this set up? SendGrid is your trusted partner (or any other autoresponder tool you prefer), helping you get your follow-up emails up and running. That’ll wrap up your warm-up, easing you into the basic layout and flow of Facebook ads for gym leads funnel. 

Now, hit the machines!

woman working outOkay, or in this case, Facebook. It’s your turn to put this four-part Facebook ad for gym leads funnel into action, pulling you out of that plateau and lifting you up to get the membership gains you’ve been looking for. And, the best part? It’ll work no matter what phase of business you’re in.    Don’t forget, however, that at the core of this entire process is the follow-up. When you make time for doing it amid your busy schedule, and you’re welcoming and personable, you’ll stand out from your competition and avoid potential members slipping through the cracks. Just keep your energy level up! Because, once you seal the deal, the job isn’t done. You’ll need that second wind. After all, relationship building with your audience is a process. And, once you master it, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with in your industry. If you’re hooked on the information we shared here today, and are looking to stay ahead of any changes and curveballs Facebook will, without a doubt, throw your way, CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US TODAY so we can help you get more gym members asap using these Facebook ads for gym leads and some more amazing marketing things we know! Have questions on this funnel? We’ve got answers. Just drop us a message below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. And, be sure to share your results with us once you get your Facebook ads for gym leads to funnel into full swing!

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About the author

About
Ken Korte is the founder of NW Business Connection. Ken grew his digital agency by using online marketing and then went on to help other local businesses do the same with their business. Ken started NW Business Connection to help local business owners market their business online, so that they can get their best customers coming in more often.