Planet Fitness Tours

Planet Fitness Tours: Navigating the Gym Industry

Don’t skip leg day, or your gym virtual tour.

By all accounts, Planet Fitness tours were going to feel the pandemic. National chain, public spaces, personal juices. Gyms were among the first places to get shut down, and stayed down the longest. Sitting in an industry that was already worth a whopping $37 Billion dollars and growing certainly didn’t hurt. A quick peek on Planet Fitness stock (PLNT) shows healthy growth even before the pandemic- even rebounding in full and as of this writing hovering near pre-pandemic highs. So why did it win the pandemic? Gym owners- take note.

In all, why have about 17% of all gyms in the U.S. closed permanently in 2020, and one in four gyms facing closure? Why did so many gyms fall off in what was an otherwise robust and expanding market? In an industry that is ballooning in value, how could this be possible?

The State of the Market, While Marketing Gyms.

Several explanations are at hand. From January through November of 2020, approximately 2.5 billion health and fitness apps were downloaded worldwide, according to data from Sensor Tower — a 47 percent jump from the same period in 2019. This could largely be attributed to peoples increasing trend of looking online first when shopping online- which is perhaps seeping into customers shopping habits when looking for new gym options and places to self care. Awareness of the necessity for self care has risen dramatically, and consumers are aware now more than ever that they have options when it comes to their health and wellness. Planet Fitness, on the other hand, is working tirelessly in the opposite direction.

Opening 100 locations and having spent a stunning $61.3 Million on national advertising during the 2020, Planet Fitness was not going to be one of the “one in five” that closed or the “one in four” that was on the rocks. The Planet Fitness phone app had several updates successfully rolled out. When gyms were open locally, they were ruthlessly advertised with their ironclad sanitization routines front and center. They even sponsored the New Years Eve ball drop in Times Square.

One thing was clear- Planet Fitness understood clearly that it needed to fight in every unique and traditional way it could think of. From apps to PPC ads, Planet Fitness understood what it needed to do in order to be on the right side of post pandemic growth in the Gym, Health, and Wellness industries. Absolutely inhale attention. And the reason they pulled that off successfully is because they put their efforts in the right place- online.

Doubling Down on Online, on Gym PPC, and Gym SEO.

We know that consumers are interacting with brands in ways they never have before. Consumers largely expect the ability to visit a brand’s space online in order to collect and or submit any information needed to at the very least consider onboarding. Gyms without eight figure marketing budgets need to make a significantly bolder lasting impression with the very limited amount of attention that is afforded to them by the browsing potential client. And, because we’re operating in the online space- that means utilizing a trifecta of assets in conjunction with each other that are a proven method of success for gyms in the US. We used to be able to get by with robust social media accounts, and sustained positive word of mouth. As people shut themselves in, this becomes less and less of a possibility.

Local SEO and gyms, why do gyms need SEO?

Simply put, to supplement word of mouth. But first, a well built website. This may seem obvious, but there is a lot of psychology and engineering that goes into building websites. Not just to build them, but to make them appealing and easy to navigate by potential customers, and by the automated search engine curating algorithms that make the website visible on sites like Google and Yahoo. This is where local SEO comes into play, and it is far and away the best chance any small business has at standing out locally; online. SEO is a powerful tool when used by professionals with a proven background, and will scale any business that employs it. Over 98% of online search engine searches start on Google, so it is important to cater to the realities of the market. A gym, health and fitness marketing professional will optimize your core online presence, your website, to gradually lift your listings locally, giving you a native, organic build in growth online.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a strategy used to tailor the information about a company online, in such a way that it makes it easy to digest by the multitude of search engines. Search engines, like Google, love consistency- and they love a lot of it. Much like a successful workout routine, consistency over time is the one true ticket to success. A good example of this would be a company’s NAP, or “Name, Address, and Phone Number”. If your NAP appears different, on different locations online, you’ll be considered less legitimate by Google and other search engines compared to other companies in your area that exhibit consistency. An example? On your facebook, the address is listed as 123 Main Street, but on Yelp it’s 123 Main St. To the consumer, this can be an absolutely minor, negligible difference. In the world of SEO, however, it is truly massive. Little details like this and more are why it’s important to hire an expert- they know what they’re doing, and they certainly won’t accidentally make it worse.

Second move to make is gym virtual tours.

Secondly, engaging content. In the health and wellness industry, marking smart online means gym virtual tours. Simply put, the more time people interact with and on your well built website, the more likely they are to trigger a form submission, enroll, and complete next steps to sign up and get moving. Virtual tours are stunning and engaging ways to show off your space so people are truly getting as much of an impression as possible in the time they spend browsing your brand. When shopping for new places to exercise and self care, transplanting people into your space in a fully immersive and engaging way is going to sell them on all the features and amenities that make your institution the best in town- and keep you standing out from the crowd.

Gym virtual tours are oddly under utilized. Gym tours are relatively new to the industry, and owners typically assume someone needs to be in the gym so they can “lock them in”. This ignores the reality of the shopping and buying habits of people. Today, customers are selling themselves on products. In an era where every 6th post you scroll past on social media is an ad, a billboard every tenth of a mile, and commercials every 15 minutes on TV- people are really good at blocking out bad advertising. Especially if it has no relevance to them. 2021 gym virtual tours allow people to have their own experience exploring your space. With the ability to embed videos, pictures, and descriptions- not only is the tour an immensely powerful marketing asset, but it can be your flagship online presence. By providing your best foot forward during the shoot and the 24/7 open house nature of virtual tours, with unlimited viewing, make them unbeatable candidates as marketing assets for gyms.

Gyms can be intimidating places. Planet Fitness bills itself as the “judgement free zone”. We all know what it’s like walking into “your gym”, it can feel like a home away from home. People get comfortable, they know where their favorite weights and machines are, when and where their classes are, who teaches them and likely who they can expect to see. Considering that the gym can be a familiar place to those who frequent them- we feel equally apprehensive about walking into new gyms- someone else’s gym. A funny trick that is applied to real estate that is absent (by nature of the industry) to gyms- is that when you are showing off a house, any agent will tell you that the owner needs to leave. People feel insanely awkward about commenting on and touring a house with the owner standing there. These same emotions can easily be applied to the gym. So it’s quite easy for us to draw the conclusion between having a virtual tour, a remote and comprehensive way to show off one’s space- and the increased likelihood that someone will spend serious, meaningful time exploring your facility at their own speed, at their own level of comfort.

Making the marketing hat trick with gym PPC campaigns.

Third, to tie everything up, a well targeted and well funded PPC campaign can make all the difference in the world. The reality is, local SEO must not only be maintained but it’s effects build over time; PPC campaigns will transplant the brand exactly where it needs to be. This can be a crucial element. Running paid ads should be left to professionals, just like training a body, training an ad the right way takes skill and knowledge. Like knowing the difference between intent vs research. And with hard money on the line, every click counts. With that being said, a well funded PPC campaign to backup virtual gym tours on an expertly constructed website can make all the difference in the world.

Gym Digital Marketing Conclusion.

In conclusion, the combination of the well built website, the virtual tour, local SEO and the PPC campaign will have your rosters full, and the gym packed. You don’t need to be Planet Fitness and sponsor the next Super Bowl to be out and in front of a crowd. Utilizing this smart packet of marketing assets, executed by tried and true professionals, any business can expect growth.

Blindly throwing money into a Google and Facebook Ads fire pit is an easy thing to do for someone who is not well vested in the minute details and reflexes that can make or break a campaign. Taking any pictures with a cell phone (yes, even the mighty cell phone camera), can be a major marketing mistake. Taking the time to express your company’s wants and needs will help ensure that the right outcome is obtained for your business, while also meeting an appropriate budget.

Just like a good exercise routine, or getting a gym virtual tour, consulting with a professional will only ensure you are putting your time and energy in the right direction, developing good form, and building habits that will set your business up for a long and healthy life.

We post our blogs every week, so feel free to subscribe and make sure you are up to date on the latest trends in the industry. If you have any questions or concerns, leave them in the comments below! From everyone at Momentum 360, thanks for the love, stay healthy, and until next time, build Momentum!

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