Social media and marketing can hold the key to your recreation center's success, and it is up to you to use it. Whether this part of your municipality's community services is new or not, building a successful marketing strategy will truly help you promote your rec center effectively. This, in return, will allow you to gain more new members and positive publicity.

Whether you choose to market online or offline, you will be able to see the expected results as long as you work hard. If you are just starting out with marketing, though, you might be in need of some assistance.

Here are some ways through which you can build a successful marketing strategy for your rec center and help it become successful.

1. Target the right audience

First and foremost, when starting with any marketing campaign, you need to be certain that you know who you want to attract. When it comes to marketing a fitness establishment such as a recreation facility, there are a few different things to take into consideration. Your target audience is essentially the type of people you wish to attract to your online page and your physical facility.

The target audience will first and foremost depend on the location of recreation centers in your community. In addition to this, it will depend on factors such as whether it’s a women’s only recreation facility or if it offers dance and yoga classes. All of these factors will help you create more targeted content which will attract the right followers and customers.

2. Offer a free training day

The main purpose of a marketing strategy is to attract more potential customers to your facility. One tactic that many new rec centers use in order to achieve that is using free training days for new customers. This is easy to promote both online and offline by handing out flyers and giving vouchers for the free training session near the facility.

By giving potential customers the chance to try your services for free, they will be more likely to check out the establishment. You can even motivate them to come and try the free training session with a friend.  Most fitness enthusiasts are most likely to sign up if they can go with a friend, so this will definitely work to your advantage.

3. Create the right website

Every organization that wants to be successful needs to have a good website. This is the main area where you can show pictures of the establishment, the staff that works there, the services you provide, and the prices. You should also make sure that your website is available on all platforms, so the user’s experience is increased.

It is a good idea to be transparent about your pricing and the services you offer. Many organizations choose to not disclose their prices online as they believe that this will drive more customers to the facility for information. This could cause you to lose customers in the long run, as people won’t be able to stay informed about your new prices and offers.

4. Use social media to your advantage

Social media can provide you with an easy and effective way to reach out to your target audience. While not everyone is going to be in the same area as your rec center, having an online following is very important for your organization.

The more people follow and enjoy your content, the more reliable and popular your recreation facility is going to appear. This is going to help convince the local customers that come across your page to give your facility a try. Therefore, by using social media, you are essentially increasing the popularity and legitimacy of your services.

5. Collaborate with local brands and influencers

Another important reason why social media is important for a recreation facility is because of the possible collaborations you can book. This not only helps them promote their products, but it also gives certain benefits to the people they work with.

This is a great opportunity for you to promote your personal trainers, nutritionists, and other staff of your organization. Working with influencers and brands will offer you commission and new followers. The more publicity your staff brings to your brand through collaborations, the more people will trust you. In addition, more customers will sign up so they will be able to work out with your more popular staff members.

6. Create original content

Running a recreation center is going to give you countless opportunities to create custom content for your online pages. You can post anything from pictures of the workout space, to how-to videos and snippets from your classes. Use every opportunity to promote anything new you include in your rec center as it will help increase its popularity online.

In addition to these, it is also a good idea to allow your staff members to take over your social media pages. This way, they can post recipes, workout videos, or other pictures on your stories. This original content will help your audience interact with your brand more and will increase the engagement on your pages.

7. Interact with your followers

A great way to build your online presence is by increasing your interaction with your audience. A successful marketing strategy heavily relies on how many people see and share it. By interacting with your followers through DMs, comments, and emails, you are able to build a relationship with them.

This type of relationship is essential if you wish to attract more customers. The more people see you interact with others, solve questions, and be positive, the easier it will be for them to like you. This way, you will have more active followers online who will be willing to share anything you ask them with their friends and family.

8. Create giveaways and give offers

Just another successful strategy used in marketing campaigns comes in the form of giveaways. By partnering up with influencers and brands, as mentioned previously, you can also host giveaways together. This is a tactic many facilities use in order to build their online following quickly and with the right audience.

Your giveaways can include free memberships, passes for certain classes, merchandise, and products from certain brands. No matter what you choose to give away, make sure that you ask for the participants to share and like the post. It is also important that people follow your account, so you are able to grow your influence through this giveaway.

9. Use the right hashtags 

Hashtags can be a great way for you to spread the message about your organization, and they are always used in marketing strategies online. Every platform uses hashtags, and they can be either preexisting or even custom made.

In the beginning, choosing the right hashtags can be tricky. Some of the best copywriting services remind their clients that hashtags should always be viewed as keywords. The more successful these keywords are, the more successful they will be. Tools such as the Keyword Tool can help you pick the right hashtags easily and effectively.

10. Ask for feedback frequently

Last but not least, another thing that is important for any marketing campaign is asking your clients for feedback. When trying to market your facility, there are a few mistakes you might not notice which can hinder your progress. Your followers and clients are way more likely to find these issues, and by asking for their feedback, you can easily spot them too.

You can do something as simple as an online poll on your social media pages or send out a feedback form through email. Even the reviews on your website or social media platforms can be useful for this situation. Just make sure to take feedback with a grain of salt as not everyone is going to be perfectly pleased with your facility's services.

Building the Rec Center of your dreams

Starting to create a marketing strategy might be tricky at first, but you will sooner or later get the hang of it. Just like it is with working out, you need to have consistency in order to succeed. The more active you are online, and the more you interact with your audience, the easier it will be to grow your following.

Which of these tips do you believe will be the most helpful for municipal rec centers?