Whether you’re a freelance yoga teacher or run a successful yoga business, your digital marketing strategy is key to growth and building your brand. In general, yoga marketing is very visual. A quick Instagram yoga search will return beautiful images of yogis. In a crowded marketplace, it’s crucial that you find a way to make your business stand out from the competition in a way that’s both compelling and aesthetically pleasing.
Of course, for a business to grow marketing is just a part of that process. Your marketing attracts new clients and retains old ones, but great yoga instructors and classes allow a business to thrive. In this article, we try to understand the state of the yoga industry in 2022 and the yoga marketing ideas you can implement this year to boost your membership base.
Skip ahead to:
- Yoga marketing 101
- The latest yoga industry trends and growth
- Why your yoga studio needs a marketing plan
- 9 yoga studio marketing strategy ideas
Yoga marketing 101
To build your tribe, nurture your yoga community and grow your business, you need to market your yoga business. Your yoga marketing refers to any activities that promote your service or product. The primary aim of most marketing efforts is to attract new customers to the business so that they buy a service or product.
Whether you have a yoga retreat, yoga studio, or you’re looking to take your digital yoga classes to the next level, knowing how to market your business is key to growth. Understanding yoga marketing could be what sets you aside from the competition rather than being lost in the crowd.
Your yoga marketing plan should cover fundamental questions such as:
- Why – your marketing objectives and goals.
- Who – your target audience.
- How – the activities, marketing channels, and tactics you will use.
- What – the strategies you plan to implement.
The above is a simplistic view of your marketing plan, but if you keep these questions in mind it can help you set a strong foundation for your yoga marketing plan. For expert insight on how to cut through the noise with your marketing, listen to David Steel on The Fitness Founders Podcast. David is the Chief Viral Officer of Sneeze.it, a social marketing and consulting firm, and talks about creating a better offer than your competition.
The latest yoga industry trends and growth
The yoga industry is worth over $88 billion worldwide and it’s expected to reach $215 billion by 2025. Yoga is a mind-body practice that offers several benefits for the mind, body, and general wellness. From helping to reduce stress and anxiety to improving flexibility and strength, the myriad of benefits yoga offers has led to a steady increase in yoga practitioners around the world.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, many people took to their mats to practice yoga to move their bodies, calm their minds, and lift their spirits. One study even found that those who practiced yoga and meditation during the pandemic had higher levels of well-being. As the world looks to the New Year and returning to some normalcy, yoga continues to be a popular form of exercise.
Huge sectors of the yoga industry include apparel, tourism, and equipment. It’s not just classes where yoga lovers spend their money. Understanding the different sectors of the yoga industry pinpoints the opportunities that yoga studio owners have to upsell other services and products like yoga appraisal, yoga mats, and yoga retreats.
What’s interesting about yoga is that the average yoga practitioner will spend a lot of money on yoga. A typical yogi will spend $62,640 on yoga classes, workshops, and accessories throughout their lifetime. With yoga being a life-long love, it will be interesting to see the new business opportunities that arise for the industry off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why your yoga studio needs a marketing plan
The main goals of your marketing plan are to attract new students and promote your business. Without a strategy in place, it’s easy to waste resources and efforts working on parts of your business that don’t deliver results. Here’s why your yoga studio needs a marketing plan.
Stay competitive
There are 40,582 Pilates and yoga studios in the US alone as of 2022. That’s a lot of competition. One way to stay competitive in a business marketplace is to step up your yoga marketing strategy. Think about how your unique selling proposition solves a problem for your target audience and package it in a compelling way that shows just how valuable your business is to your customers.
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Discover more Attract new clients
Although this may be an obvious one, your marketing plan pinpoints how you will attract new clients. Unfortunately, customers don’t tend to just walk into your business. At least, not without a decent level of brand awareness and reputation. Great marketing doesn’t magically happen. By making strategic marketing decisions you can put your resources into the most effective way to attract new clients and encourage referrals.
Differentiate your business
Your online marketing activities give you a chance to showcase how your business is different. From your website to your social media platforms, you have an opportunity to stand out from the competition and differentiate yourself from the rest of the market.
9 yoga studio marketing strategy ideas
Like most businesses, there are several marketing ideas you could implement. By utilizing the right channels for your yoga business, you can invest your time and resources into marketing strategy ideas that are completely relevant to your target market. Here are nine effective yoga marketing tips to grow your yoga business.
1. Develop your organic social media strategy
Social media marketing is an essential marketing tool for any business. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok naturally lend themselves to visual content. Embrace social media and develop an organic digital marketing strategy that leverages the beauty of yoga. Share clips of yoga classes, helpful tips, student testimonials, motivational type of content, and the services you offer. Share an authentic view of your business. After all, you’re looking to gain loyal followers in your community.
2. Optimize your yoga studio website for mobile
Websites that are optimized for mobile get 15% more unique clicks. If your website isn’t already mobile-friendly, invest resources into creating a more optimized mobile-friendly website. Considering that more and more people are viewing websites on phones, poor website experience can impact your business. A mobile-friendly website is also crucial for search engine optimization (SEO). For instance, if it’s hard to book a yoga class on your website or find your contact information when using mobile, you will lose out on potential bookings. Your online presence in general should be mobile-friendly.
3. Leverage email marketing
Email marketing is still a cost-effective and compelling marketing tool that businesses can utilize. Whether you’re a yoga teacher or studio, email is an effective way to communicate with your members and promote your services. Start an email newsletter and send a weekly or monthly email to your list. Your email content should focus on always providing value to your subscribers rather than selling something for the sake of it. This could include your class schedule for the week, helpful tips for at-home yoga practice, or exciting announcements from the business.
4. Utilize paid ads
Paid ads can be useful in kick-starting your marketing efforts and focusing on specific marketing campaigns. An organic marketing strategy is a long game. Whilst it’s important, it takes time to build an organic online community. Paid ads can target potential customers based on specific demographics with your relevant messaging. When setting up your paid ads, define your goals and objectives. This is important because it will help you to track the success of your paid ad strategy over time. For more information on paid ads, we’ve pulled together a quick guide on how to skyrocket your Facebook ads conversion rate.
5. Create and share meaningful content
When sharing content, the aim is to promote your business and target new customers, but it shouldn’t stop there. Try to create and share meaningful content that is authentic and builds trust. Appeal to your customer’s motivation and share content that shows you’re human and relatable. When you engage with your followers on social media, make meaningful interactions. Maintain a united voice across your business and content marketing efforts. Your blog, podcast, website, and social media channels should be consistent in voice, tone, and branding. You can still create a sense of urgency and use a call to action to provoke the next step while adding value.
6. Define your target audience
When it comes to your yoga marketing plan, the best place to start is your target audience. From here, you can begin to think about where your customers hang out online and offline and start to craft relevant and compelling messaging. A great marketing plan is built on a solid understanding of your target customer. Before you dive into what social media channels to use or whether to utilize paid advertising, think about who you want to reach. By defining your target audience, you will be ready to craft a more effective marketing strategy.
7. Find your niche
You will likely already have a niche, but it’s a good idea to define it. Your niche or type of yoga style will help you to market your business more effectively. Your yoga teaching style or studio niche will feed into all your marketing activities like your yoga website, social media marketing, and the overall yoga experience. In a saturated landscape, like yoga, your niche will help you to stand out and create more relevant messaging that will resonate with your target customer. In the yoga industry, authenticity is key as you’re looking to create a long-lasting community with loyal members.
8. Strengthen your online presence
Evaluate your current online presence for strengths and weaknesses. Think about how often you post on social media, consistency, and your paid ads strategy. Consider partnering up with online and local businesses that complement your business. For instance, if your yoga studio is located next to a juice bar, both businesses complement one another. You could offer a free juice with a yoga class and vice versa. Run social media challenges, utilize hashtags, and encourage members to share content. User-generated content is a great way to show authentic content that’s completely relatable to your target audience.
9. Nurture and connect with your yoga community
A sense of belonging and connection can make you feel less isolated and alone. As a yoga business, cultivating community not only benefits students but your business as a whole. Building both an online and local community takes time, but it supports the success of the business and ultimately, increases customer reach and word of mouth. You can begin to nurture your yoga community using social media, creating a private Facebook group to encourage interaction, and run challenges. Create a space that allows students to not only connect with your business but with each other as well.
In summary
From online yoga studios to brick and mortar yoga establishments, knowing how to market your business is key to success. Converting strangers into paying and loyal customers is a journey. By setting a strong foundation for your marketing plan, you can implement effective strategies that allow you to target your customers with relevant messaging at the right time. As you continue to cultivate your yoga community and strengthen your online presence, standing out in a crowded landscape will be key to differentiating your business and elevating your brand.
