How a Fitness Gym 83X-ed their monthly leads in ONE month with Facebook Ads

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Our client, a specialized fitness gym focused on high-intensity exercise and functional movement, was struggling to grow their monthly memberships and increase month over month revenue.

When they engaged J&H Creative Consulting, their marketing strategy relied solely on word-of-mouth, a referral incentive, and organic social media to grow their business. We quickly onboarded as their marketing strategist and analyzed their existing efforts for opportunities to strengthen their online presence and reach their target audience.

We made small but impactful adjustments in the way they showed up online to focus on building community, engaging their following, educating new and existing audiences, and reaching new, like-minded fitness enthusiasts who might be a good fit for their membership program.

Within 2 weeks the client was seeing organic growth on their social media platforms and engagement was up month over month. A more strategic approach to organic social media was already beginning to grow their audience and build their online presence, but as organic marketing goes, consistently showing up and strategically serving your small audience is a long game and can take months before converting this growth to leads.

They needed quick conversions to counter the industry-normal holiday fallout, and the increased operating costs associated with moving to a new location. 

Here’s how we did it:

The Strategy: Facebook Ads to Reach & Convert Local Fitness Enthusiasts

In order to grow their monthly memberships and revenue, we knew we needed a paid strategy to reach the right customers quickly and convert them to paying clients, while their organic strategy continued to gain momentum in the background, focused on long-term sustainability.

The client wanted to invest in a strategy that packed a punch. They needed quick, measurable results they could track and control, while remaining budget friendly.

Due to the nature of their business, an in-person, brick and mortar, membership based community, Facebook ads were a natural fit, allowing us to see results quickly, shift strategy to maximize spend, and target the local community based on distance to the gym and other targeting factors.

The Results: 83X ROI on Ad Spend and “More Leads in 1 Month Than The Entire Previous Year”

We ran just ONE campaign for this client, a/b testing two different targeting parameters, during a historically slow season for the fitness industry. From this, the client received and converted enough leads to see an 83x return on investment to date.

While we tend to focus on the metrics, this result is too powerful to ignore. According to Gym Owner, “In just [1] month, [J&H’s] efforts have resulted in more leads and a higher conversion rate than the entire previous year”.

While this ad set ran behind the scenes, the client continued to build upon their organic social media marketing by honing their brand identity, consistently showing up online, showcasing the positive customer experience and feedback, the facility features, BTS video, and more. We advised them on best practices, trending content, and how to leverage social media features that better reach and engage new audiences, while nurturing and educating their existing community.

When new customers found the gym via advertisement, and then organically viewed their social profiles, they were met with a strong brand presence, a clear mission, and a community they could see themselves in. This is the impact of an organic strategy that supports paid advertising.

What’s next?

Wondering what comes next after results like this? We don’t keep secrets.

At J&H we aim to build long-range strategies that work for the long haul, marrying organic and paid efforts to achieve both quick success (when needed) and sustainability.

As we mentioned, upon joining this Gym as marketing strategists, we immediately assessed their social media presence and found opportunities to better reach, connect with, and engage the local fitness community.

Through a handful of simple shifts in when, where, and how they showed up online, their online community is thriving, their lead pipeline through organic efforts (like Instagram and Facebook) is growing, and without paid advertising, they are filling their classes and their inboxes with new business.

According to Gym Owner, “The atmosphere of our gym and our social media pages have been infused with an infectious energy of positivity and fun. Our members have taken notice of the transformation and their praises are endless. Daily, I receive comments about the positive changes they observe both in person and online. “

Strategies often shift as business needs change, goals are missed or exceeded, economic factors impact a business, and more. 

But for now, the success of our initial strategy was so great that we plan to do more of the same in the future— Seasonal paid ad pushes to build their lead pipeline, and fill their classes during slow seasons and industry downturns, accompanied with consistent, organic growth on the recommended social media platforms to sustain their lead pipeline, serve their existing audience, and nurture new leads.

Take You Lead Generation From Underwhelming to Overachieving 

Are you wondering if this strategy might work for you? We can’t say for sure. BUT, in just 30 minutes, we can learn enough about your business and marketing efforts to put together a strategy that can change the trajectory of your growth.

Schedule a Free Discovery Call

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