The average gym floor has evolved significantly over the last couple of decades. Not all that long ago, they were the exclusive domain of weightlifters, bodybuilders, and other serious athletes. Today, they’re a space for a broad cross-section of society with people of all backgrounds now members of their local gym.
This reflects a massive increase in interest in health and fitness, which has led to gyms being a highly competitive business. It has also made the design of a gym extremely important and key to standing out from the crowd. This is where gym digital signage can really help, increasing interactivity and bringing a design together.
Here we look at some of the positive benefits effective gym digital signage can deliver. We explore how different gyms are using this technology and the effects it is having on their membership. We also share our tips on the best ways to get the most out of your gym digital signage infrastructure.
Increase your member engagement
When compared to many other businesses, the operating model of a gym is quite unique. For example, in retail and hospitality, business development is all about getting more people in and getting them to spend more money. However, because of a gym’s membership model, the focus is equally (if not more so) on retaining existing clients.
Given gym-goers have never been more spoilt for choice when it comes to where to work out, this can be challenging. While location helps (most people want a gym that’s close to home), a unique offering is generally also required. For some gyms, this will be a special price structure, for others it will be a gimmick or theme.
Whatever your point of difference, gym digital signage can help you reinforce it throughout your facility. During an average training session, your members will spend a good amount of time looking around the area. Whether they’re on the treadmill or resting between weights sets, they’re a captive audience for your marketing messaging.
As such, strategically placed gym digital signage can be an effective way to advertise your latest promotions and special offers. This could be discounted personal training packages, programs you’re running (e.g. bootcamps), or even a “Workout with a Friend” referral rewards scheme.
Finding ways to acknowledge and celebrate member loyalty is also great for building engagement. As part of this, you could have a rewards program for your longest standing or most active members. And you could use your gym digital signage to support this, displaying profiles of featured members throughout your facility.
Educate and entertain your members
Most members see a gym as so much more than simply a place to lift weights and sweat it out. To them, a good gym should provide everything they need to hit their health and fitness goals. From coaching on correct technique to advice on structuring their diet, it should be a wealth of useful information.
Gym digital signage can help fulfil this need, providing your members with content that educates and entertains them.
On the education side, gym digital signage makes it easy to share training tips and tricks. You can display example workout plans put together by your personal trainers or videos showing correct form for different exercises. You can also share information on good nutrition, including facts about certain foods and even healthy recipe ideas. The custom designed system we developed for Jett’s Fitness is a great example of how this can work.
And, for entertainment, your gym digital signage can be easily converted to display screens during major events. You can also develop fun content specifically designed for your members or tap into popular existing material. You can even link to your social media feed to promote member posts and further increase their engagement.
Also, as gym digital signage can be updated almost instantly, it’s perfect for sharing time sensitive information. This means it’s ideal for use in emergency situations, informing members of safety issues and evacuation procedures.
Build your partnerships
In addition to reinforcing your member loyalty (and thus your profit margin), gym digital signage can create new income streams. The additional advertising space provides an opportunity to partner with relevant local businesses and trusted fitness brands. And, as it provides access to engaged and primed customer base, most businesses will jump at this opportunity.
The important thing to note here is that any partnerships should align with the ethos of your gym. For example, a healthy snack company or sports clothing retailer would be a valuable recommendation for your members. However, partnering with a fast food outlet would make less sense and possibly disengage some of your members.
Want to discuss your gym digital signage plans?
If you’re interested in adding digital signage to your gym fitout, give Amped Digital a call. We’re one of the leading providers of gym digital signage and experts in developing targeted solutions to boost member retention. We can also work with you to plan and design fun and engaging content for display across your whole facility.
