8 Ways You Can Boost Studio Visibility and Attract New Clients Without Breaking the Bank

Investing in brand visibility is integral to helping your studio build a strong presence in your community and online. And when you increase brand awareness and visibility, you’re instantly getting more eyeballs—boosting client engagement and profitability, continually reinforcing your fitness business as you stand out from competitors. But let’s face it: not everyone has a huge marketing budget for brand visibility efforts.

So, what are some tactics your studio can use without breaking the bank that will facilitate long-term success and growth by creating a consistent brand presence while expanding your client base?

Here are eight budget-friendly strategies your studio can implement to maximize your brand visibility efforts and effectiveness.  

1. #bettertogether: The power of the regram, UGC, and a social media challenge

4.8 billion people worldwide use social media. So you know even the tiniest fraction of that are your clients (and potential clients). Facebook, Instagram, TikTok—Be active where your community is, and utilize social media to engage, highlight, and encourage your members to take action. And be your biggest brand advocates. That’s one surefire way to boost visibility!

• Re-sharing / regram: When you regram social posts to your feed(s), you’re not only saving time, tapping into meaningful UGC (user-generated content), and diversifying your content, you’re highlighting your stand-out studio community And you’re increasing the likelihood of that person or brand sharing back on their channels, alerting their followers to your fitness business. It’s a win for word-of-mouth marketing and a win for strengthening client relationships. 
• Fitness challenges: Create a well-thought-out fitness challenge that aligns with your studio's values and goals and share it on platforms like Instagram or Facebook. Encourage participants to share their progress, use a specific hashtag, and tag your studio. This will increase brand visibility and instigate competitive comradery between members (plus a little FOMO for those who didn’t enroll)—and give them a chance to be highlighted on your social channels and win a prize! 

2. Buddy system: Partnerships with local businesses

There’s no better way to increase your visibility and show your commitment to your community than by partnering with another like-minded business that wants to strengthen brand awareness. Get creative with who you want to partner with and highlight the benefits to both your businesses by cross-promoting traffic through social media and specials!

• Who: Identify businesses that share a target audience with your fitness studio.
• What: Propose mutually beneficial collaborations such as joint promotions, package deals, or co-hosted events.
• Where: Display promotional materials, such as flyers or business cards, at each other's establishments, along with exclusive access and deals.

The goal of fostering long-term relationships via local partnerships means you’re consistently supporting and promoting fellow businesses while mutually reinforcing brand recognition. 

3. Phone a friend: Tap into guest pass perks

Guest passes are all about the perks. From giving your members the gift to introduce a family member or friend to your studio to welcoming new clients (and retaining them), guest passes are the perfect tool to increase brand visibility and highlight opportunities to upsell organically. Plus, guest passes are super-easy to add and track in Walla, so no new guest gets lost in the shuffle!

• Word-of-mouth marketing: Guest passes encourage individuals to share their positive experiences with friends, family, and colleagues. This word-of-mouth marketing tactic is a powerful and organic way to increase community awareness of your fitness studio.
• Exclusive promotions to amplify your brand: Create exclusive promotions or discounts for individuals who use guest passes and share their experiences on social media, for example. That’s one way to encourage a ripple effect as their network becomes aware of the special offers tied to guest pass usage. Another win-win! 

4. Get creative: Complimentary, studio-centric workshops or classes

One way to boost brand visibility? Think outside the studio's four walls and get creative with showcasing your brand and offerings. Consider hosting a workshop or class in a super-Instagramable spot. Promote this complimentary event on your channels, via email, and to your clients through vocal and visual reminders. Encourage them to bring a guest, too! You’ll have a packed house while amplifying your brand impact.

• Location: Choose a high-traffic location, like a local park, and organize a well-structured, engaging workout session.
• Details: Provide information about your studio and upcoming classes and events during the session to inform and engage.
• Contact information: Collect contact information from participants to follow up with them about future events or promotions—and nurture guests and new clients with exclusive intro offers and discounts to keep them engaged and coming back for more. 

By expanding your reach, you’re naturally encouraging brand awareness and visibility.

5. Online impact: Invest in time optimizing your studio website (it’s worth it!)

We covered social media; now it’s time to give your web presence a little extra love to increase discovery and brand visibility. Remember, AI can be your friend here. By carving out some time to update a few key elements on your website, you’ll increase your chances of consistent online engagement.

• Keywords: Do some keyword research for your region's studio genre and class types—and include those local search terms throughout your website. That will help search engines crawl and find you when someone searches for “hot yoga in Malibu,” for example. A local business schema is crucial, too! 
• Blog: Regularly update your blog with informative articles, workout routines, and nutrition tips. (Hint, hint: Use AI to help!). And leverage social media to share your blog content, engage with your audience, and participate in relevant conversations.
• Reviews: There’s no better brand visibility power than building trust with client reviews. Utilize online reviews and testimonials to build credibility across your digital channels.

This might seem like the least fun task, but trust us, it will pay off regarding brand visibility.

6. Cross-promotional goals: Consider Walla’s integrations to expand your reach

One way to make your studio even more accessible is by utilizing Walla’s software integrations. Through tools and Walla partners like Gympass, you’re opening your studio to a different audience, gaining more visibility, increasing class reservations, selling more memberships, and filling empty spots. And with Gympass, you’re getting paid by the client's employer, so that’s instantly a revenue-generating bonus.

• Convenience meets visibility: Easily make your studio more accessible to an expansive network.
• Increased conversions: You’re tapping into an audience and new clients interested in what your studio offers, allowing you to nurture and upsell them (and maybe even give them guest passes!). 

7. Local relationships: Collaborate with influencers

Another way to increase brand awareness and visibility is through influencer marketing and outreach. Whether it is a micro-influencer with highly engaged followers or a bigger influencer for a local brand, don’t be afraid to connect. Determine your goals and see if you can trade social posts for a complimentary membership to your studio, for example. Keeping it budget-friendly. When their followers see them getting their fitness and wellness on at your studio, you’ll instantly garner more eyeballs and interest in your offerings.

• Influencer values: Identify influencers whose values align with your fitness studio and have an engaged local following. These individuals are engrained in your community and have an audience who will be more likely to come to your studio. 
• The experience: Offer personalized experiences, such as exclusive classes or training sessions, to influencers to sell them on supporting your brand awareness effort. 
• Exclusive discounts: Encourage influencers to share their experiences on multiple platforms and offer exclusive class discounts to their followers to get them through your studio door.  
• Social media: Leverage influencer-generated content for your own social media channels, further building your brand reputation. 

8. In the news: Tap into the local press and media

If you want to target your ideal (local) demographic and increase brand visibility, get familiar with regional news, publications, reporters, and more. From getting a news anchor to try out a complimentary new class to your studio manager writing a guest article for the local newspaper or magazine, there are many ways to leverage the media to your advantage. Yes, it might take a little while to see the results, but the long-term payoff counts!

• Press kit: Develop or revamp a compelling press kit highlighting your fitness studio's unique selling points, success stories, and community involvement.
• Make friends: Cultivate relationships with local journalists and media outlets by providing them with newsworthy content.
• Thought leadership: Offer to contribute articles or expert opinions on health and fitness topics.
• Events: Host exclusive media days to showcase your studio's facilities and programs.

Investing in visibility is not just about attracting immediate attention; it's a strategic move that contributes to your fitness business's overall vitality and sustainability. Consistency, creativity, and genuine engagement are critical to the success of these strategies. Continuously assess the effectiveness of each method and adjust your approach based on the evolving needs and preferences of your target audience—and the positive effects will extend beyond acquiring new clients to building a resilient and thriving studio community.