Everybody is talking about the short video sensation, TikTok. Video consumption is passive by nature, and it’s the easiest way to consume information or be entertained. TikTok has successfully married video and social media. It’s the undisputed king of fifteen to sixty-second videos, long enough to watch the whole thing but short enough to watch a lot.
It’s easy to dismiss “the next big thing” as a fleeting fad, but it’s already painfully obvious that this platform is not just for tweens making silly dance videos. TikTok is expected to reach 37.3 million Gen Z users this year which will put them ahead of Instagram’s 33.3 million, according to EMarketer.
Your gym’s potential for rapid, organic growth, for free, is unmatched—all with low production costs and no fancy equipment.
TikTok’s growth and engagement mechanisms are so unique that most marketers plan to increase spending on TikTok in the coming year. So today we’re sharing tips to get your gym started on Tik Tok! Check out these TikTok tips below!
TikTok Tips for Gym Owners: Strategic Content Ideas
TikTok is a truly social platform, which means it’s designed to entertain. You will get the best results if you create content that suits this purpose. Take the time to scroll through what’s trending and adapt viral content to fit your studio. Create genuine content that your local customers want to see.
- Check out the competition. What does the big box gym down the street lack? Showcase that you have it in spades.
- Create form tutorials that provide value and educate fitness enthusiasts. Inspire them to up their game!
- Share workout ideas that are achievable from home, office, or hotel. Prove that your methods are adaptable to varying ability levels.
- Get in on the latest dance trends! But don’t just slide and shimmy. Use their attention to introduce facts about your gym with engaging text pop-ups.
- Get your team or best members involved and rehearse funny skits covering topics that will connect with your target audience.
- Showcase your success stories and create before and after transformation videos. Get the member’s experience in their own words.
- Make trend-worthy reaction videos about crazy workouts or bad fitness guru advice.
Don’t sweat it if you’re not sure how to produce good video content! You can learn more about how to easily master social media video storytelling by watching Jackson’s 5 Ways To Create Killer Video Content On An iPhone here!
The most important thing to remember when creating your video content is to have some fun!
Funny content and interactive content are tied at number two in terms of what social media marketers use most, citing the highest ROI.
Gym Hashtags for TikTok Best Practices
Always use hashtags. Always. There isn’t a limit to how many tags you can use. However, there is a one hundred character limit for each caption. Make each character count!
Use a maximum of five hashtags for each video. Develop three that are niche or location-specific for your audience and always include “FYP” to target the “For You Pages” of your target audience.
“For You Page” is similar to Instagram’s “Discover” feed. TikTok users are fed curated content based on the algorithm’s evaluation of their interests, location, hashtags, and engagement.
“FYP” is how you will connect with local people who are interested in fitness. These are your leads! And since the platform’s algorithm is designed to amplify viral content, videos they deem as highly engaging, or trending is what is fed into “For You Pages.”
Advertising On TikTok
Would you be interested in a guaranteed way to increase the visibility of your content? Then it’s time to start a TikTok advertising campaign!
Loud Rumor is doing this, right now, for gyms like yours, and we are getting them some pretty incredible results! Learn more about our advertising service here.
You can also take a look at what one of our members (who’s advertising on TikTok) has to say about it:
The two general types of ads you can run on the platform are In-Feed ads and Managed Brand ads. They both accomplish different things so go with the option that fits your studio’s budget.
Use In-Feed Ads on TikTok
You can In-Feed ads yourself, and they’re the most affordable option. In-feed ads include images, videos, and Spark Ads that will appear in a user’s general feed.
Using Spark Ads is a way to boost existing video content that’s already gaining traction to help you connect with even more viewers.
Give your ads the same feel as your content, don’t just sell. Keep pushing content that will connect with your target audience.
15 Quick Bonus TikTok Tips to use for Your Gym or Fitness Studio
- Create content around fitness and healthy lifestyle tips, which can appeal to your target audience.
- Feature real-life stories of customers who have achieved success at your gym or fitness studio through the use of TikTok.
- Utilize influencer marketing to reach new customers and generate buzz about your services.
- Incorporate creative and effective video marketing techniques to showcase your facility, products, and services in an intriguing way that potential customers can appreciate.
- Take advantage of the different editing tools available on TikTok to craft compelling content for viewers.
- Participate in popular TikTok trends for a chance to gain more followers and build brand recognition for gym or fitness studio business.
- Interact with viewers by replying to comments, hosting contests and giveaways, and inviting feedback from customers on their experiences with your service offerings.
- Keep up with relevant hashtags related to health, wellness, exercise, and fitness topics so that users who are interested in these topics can find you easily.
- Visualize key performance indicators such as number of followers gained/lost, as well as time spent watching/engaging with content by viewers each month.
- Enlist team members to help in creating content if needed (or collaborate with a social media management agency) in order to ensure quality videos are consistently produced on behalf of the gym or fitness studio business.
- Leverage music from other TikTok creators when creating clips due to copyright restrictions when using certain songs from famous artists.
- Expand reach across multiple social media channels like Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube by linking them back to each video displayed on TikTok.
- Integrate user-generated content whenever possible because it provides authenticity for viewers who may be unfamiliar with the gym’s offerings.
- Monitor what competitors are doing within the same industry so that you can create videos based on their successes (and failures).
- Analyze data from past videos & campaigns in order to get insights on what resonates better with the target audience.
TikTok For Gym Owners: Start Today!
According to Wallaroo, the average TikTok user opens the app eight times a day and spends over fifty minutes every day on the inside.
If your ideal local customer spends that much time passively watching your gym, imagine what they could accomplish if they spent that same time in your gym.
You can leverage this short video platform to grow your local customer base and get more leads in your doors. Create engaging, valuable, and entertaining content that showcases what kind of culture your studio offers.
And once you get those new leads in the door, you’re going to need a killer sales process. You can learn more about one of our members who is crushing the sales game at his studios by clicking here!
