7 Black Friday Fitness Marketing Communication Best Practices
Scan any fitness business blog and you’ll find a plethora of Black Friday how-to recommendations.
Doorbuster sales, exclusive Black Friday events, refer-a-friend and buy-now-pay later promotions - all solid ideas, but all lacking a plan for delivering the message to the masses.
And perhaps that’s the issue - we think in terms of masses versus members.
Many fitness studios approach Black Friday marketing as a giant email blast to their entire database. Can I just say, as a marketer, the word “blast” is like nails on a chalkboard. No one wants to be blasted, especially your members. Your members wanted to be recognized and appreciated. Your prospective members want to feel courted and educated.
With Black Friday just days away, now is the time to start a dialogue about your offers. Below are seven marketing communication best practices to incorporate into your marketing strategy.
1. Build Black Friday Buzz
Develop a Black Friday buzz-building campaign that includes a countdown, deals, and specials using ads, email, and social leading up to the event. Remember each individual has a preference for receiving information so you must be omnipresent. Incorporate a coordinated promotional strategy across all online channels—websites, emails, and social—to maximize sales.
2. Take Advantage of a Year-Long Landing Page
In a report by AdWords, 61% of holiday shoppers begin searching online for their purchases prior to the weekend of Thanksgiving. If annually you make a new landing page to boost Black Friday sales, your SEO will start with a clean slate and that means it is less likely that you will be listed on top of the search results the next time a prospective member looks for a studio like yours. Establish a consistent yearly landing page for Black Friday so you’re not recreating the wheel.
3. Practice Device Agnosticism
Almost everyone has access to a smartphone or tablet and computer specs vary too, so bear in mind that a slow loading time or device compatibility issues will definitely frustrate your members. The exit button is literally just around the corner.
4. Boost with Social Media
Planning your Black Friday social media marketing is both exciting and challenging since everything is real-time. You see what people are saying in a millisecond and they expect you to act swiftly. Your social media posts should vary before, during, and even after Black Friday or Cyber Monday to boost sales. Remember to be quick in addressing concerns or queries on your posts and always include instructions on what to do next, like “visit our site” or “find out more”.
5. Segment Email Sends
Remember not everyone in your database is created equal. Target a smaller subset of your email contacts that share certain characteristics and align the content of the email with exactly what they need. You can segment on past purchase data, class preference, and engagement.
6. Watch the Clock
One of the best ways to create excitement and awareness around your Black Friday offers is to start sending out campaigns early. As Black Friday grows in popularity each year, more and more people are planning their Black Friday shopping in advance. You can get the Black Friday planners’ attention by sending campaigns throughout the month of November. This will help your studio stay top of mind once the big day arrives. Remember, the best time to deploy emails is overnight so it's sitting in their inbox the next morning.
7. Simplify the Message
A clean, direct message is best. When sending email communications, don't use complex tagging structures or pull in irrelevant information. Incorporate an action-based tone and make sure your CTAs leave no doubt about what you’re offering and what they should do next.
Now is the time to get started on your Black Friday marketing strategies to ensure your fitness studio is ready to make the most of the boost in sales on the year’s biggest weekend. Implement the tactics that suit your studio best to ensure you’re marketing to your members, and not just the masses.
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