Tips for Marketing Your Pilates Studio
We know there are challenges that come with business ownership. You’ve done a lot of legwork to get your studio running, and now you have to figure out how to market your Pilates studio. Don’t worry — we have you covered. These tips for marketing your pilates studio will get you on the path to taking a piece of the multi-billion-dollar Pilates pie for yourself!
1. Know your target audience, and cater your advertising toward them
This is a vital first step toward getting your marketing campaigns to take off. Who is showing up to your classes so far? Who lives in your studio’s community? Who usually does Pilates? We know Pilates is accessible to everyone, but early on it’s important to home in on the group of people you’ll most easily get to walk through your door. No matter what marketing channels you use, get inside the heads of your target demographic, figure out the easiest way to get their attention, and start there!
Let’s say you identify that group within your community, and it’s 20- to 35-year-old women. Does your Pilates studio have an Instagram? Because that’s a great place to start with this group! On Instagram you can begin by creating a business account for free, promoting some of your posts, taking advantage of stories, and bumping up to paid ads if you think it’ll benefit you.
2. Get on social media
No matter who your target demographic is, you can probably find them on social media — this is what makes social media marketing so important. The most valuable platform varies by audience, but it’s important to make sure you have some sort of presence across as many relevant mediums as possible. Facebook and Instagram seem to be the most essential for service businesses right now, but with growing platforms like TikTok, it’s important to always keep your eyes out for new ways to reach your audience.
3. Take advantage of your community knowledge.
If you’re marketing your Pilates studio in your own community, you probably know the area like the back of your hand. You might know everyone reads the local magazine, which proudly advertises new, local businesses. You might know the college students love to head to the smoothie shop on Thursdays after their seminar gets out. Why not take advantage? Reach out to that magazine editor, or partner up with the smoothie shop to help raise brand awareness. If there’s a bulletin board at the community center that gets a lot of visibility, don’t hesitate to put your information up there, either!
4. Form partnerships with other local businesses
We already mentioned partnering with your popular local smoothie shop to help with marketing your Pilates studio, but you can expand that strategy to other fitness studios as well. Not everyone is your competition! For example, you might offer vouchers for a free boxing class at the studio across town while the boxing studio owner returns the favor. Or, if you know of any local sports teams that could benefit, meet up with their coach and offer some freebie or discounted sessions — you’d be surprised by how many regular customers you might get out of it!
5. Broaden your audience with specialized classes
As we said before, we know Pilates is accessible to most everyone (celebrities ranging from Madonna to Adele to David Beckham all do it), but not everyone realizes that! Help open their eyes by offering specialized classes to cater to different groups. This could include classes for men, older folks, teens — figure out who could benefit in your community (and pay attention to local demographics as well) and get creative!
Interested in owning a Pilates studio with a built-in network of marketing and other support? Connect with us today to learn about BODYBAR!
