The Ultimate Guide to Grow Fitness Instagram from Scratch

Feeling overwhelmed by the thought of managing your fitness Instagram account for your studio?

Many fitness professionals find social media to be a daunting task.

But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be that way? 🤯

Imagine having more time to focus on your clients and your passion, without the stress of constant posting and engagement.

With the right tools and strategies, you can streamline your Instagram marketing and make it work for your fitness business.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to effectively manage your Instagram account for your fitness studio, from choosing the perfect hashtags to taking advantage of the algorithm and connecting with influencers.

Understand How Instagram Works

Before you start using any specific strategies, you need to know how Instagram decides what content to show people.

Instagram uses a system called an algorithm to choose which posts appear in users’ feeds.

This system looks at many different things to figure out what posts each person might want to see.

For your fitness studio’s Instagram, the algorithm pays attention to how people interact with your posts.

It counts things like how many likes, comments, saves, and shares your posts get.

It also looks at how quickly people engage with your posts after you share them, and how long they spend looking at your posts or watching your videos.

The 3 most important ranking factors of the Instagram algorithm are:

1. Relationship between the fitness studio and the follower. This means how connected you are to each person who follows you. Do you follow them back? Do they often leave comments on your posts? Do they send you direct messages? If someone has interacted a lot with your posts before, Instagram is more likely to show them your new posts. So if you take time to respond to comments and messages, Instagram will show your posts to more people.
2. Interest. This is about what kind of content each person likes to see. Does someone often like or comment on posts about fitness? If they do, Instagram will show them more fitness-related posts. So if someone often engages with fitness content, they’re more likely to see posts from your studio.
3. Relevancy. Instagram tries to figure out how important or relevant each post is, especially within the fitness niche. It looks at whether your post is about topics that are popular right now. It also considers how new your post is. Newer posts are usually considered more relevant than older ones.

For a better understanding of how the algorithm works, it’s helpful to watch educational content, like this video of Instagram’s CEO explaining it.

Optimize Your Instagram Profile

Make sure your fitness studio’s Instagram account is set up as a business profile, not a personal one.

A business profile gives you important tools like detailed statistics about your followers and posts and more options for advertising.

5 Elements for a Successful Fitness Studio Instagram Profile:

1. Showcase your services: Tell people what classes and programs your studio offers. For example, list your most popular classes or any special training programs.
2. Reflect your studio’s vibe: Write your bio in a way that shows your studio’s personality. If your studio is fun and energetic, use upbeat language. If it’s more calm and focused, keep your tone serene.
3. Include a call-to-action: Tell visitors what to do next. This could be “Sign up for a class” or “Get your free trial.” Make it clear and easy to understand.
4. Add a link: Put a link to your studio’s website or to a page where people can see class schedules and sign up. This makes it easy for interested people to take the next step.
5. Use fitness-related emojis and hashtags: Add relevant emojis like 💪 or 🏋️‍♀️ to make your profile visually appealing. Use hashtags that describe your studio or classes to help people find you.

Optimize Your Profile for Search

Your profile should show off your studio’s unique qualities but also think about what words people might use when looking for a fitness studio on Instagram.

Use words that describe your studio and that people are likely to search for.

In the name field of your biography, use words that will help people find you when they search.

Here are some ideas:

• [Your Studio Name] Fitness in [City]
• [Type of Fitness] Studio in [Neighborhood]
• [Specialty] Workouts & Classes

⚠️ Note: The name field is different from your username. Your username is what comes after the @ symbol.

The name field is a separate space where you can put more descriptive words to help people find you.

Write an interesting bio using the 150 characters you’re given. Use words that describe your studio and classes.

Be specific about what makes your studio special. ✨

If your fitness studio has a physical location, add this location to your profile. This helps people find you when they search for fitness studios in your area.

It also lets your clients tag your studio in their own posts, which helps more people see your studio’s name.

Use AI to Help You Create Fitness Content for Your Instagram

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now a very useful tool in 2024.

If you’re not using AI to help grow your fitness studio’s Instagram account, you’re missing out on many helpful features.

AI tools can help your fitness studio’s Instagram account in these ways:

• Writing captions
• Generating content ideas
• Suggesting hashtags
• Creating and editing images
• Writing scripts for videos
• Planning workout routines
• Creating nutrition tips
• Generating engagement prompts
• Recommending posting schedules

Here are some AI tools you can use to help with these tasks:

1. ChatGPT: This AI can write captions, create workout tips, and suggest post ideas. It can help you post regularly with new and interesting content.
2. Canva: Canva has AI design tools that help make attractive pictures and videos. It has ready-to-use designs for Instagram Posts, Stories, and Reels, so you can easily make professional-looking content.
3. DALL-E: This AI makes unique pictures based on what you describe in words. You can use it to create custom images for your posts.
4. Jasper.ai: This tool is good at writing marketing text. It can help with longer captions or writing your profile description.

If you’ve never used AI before, we suggest starting with ChatGPT. This will help you learn how AI works and what it can do for you. It’s important to learn how to give AI clear instructions.

This way, it can create the kind of content you want. After you get used to ChatGPT, you can try other tools like Canva or DALL-E.

Example prompts you can use on ChatGPT:

• Generate 5 engaging captions for a photo of [describe your photo].
• Suggest 10 trending hashtags related to [your niche or topic].
• Write a short, compelling Instagram bio for a [type of business/personal brand].
• Create a week’s worth of Instagram story ideas for a [type of business].
• Develop a themed Instagram post series concept for [your niche].
• Generate 3 poll ideas for Instagram stories related to [your topic].
• Write a script for a 30-second Instagram Reel about [your topic].
• Suggest 5 Instagram-worthy photo ideas for [your product/service].
• Create a list of 7 Instagram post ideas for [holidays/special occasions].
• Generate 3 call-to-action ideas for Instagram posts promoting [your offering].

Check out how you can use AI to maximize your fitness studio revenue.

Apply Instagram SEO for Fitness Studios

Instagram SEO, or search engine optimization, is important for making your fitness studio’s content easier to find in Instagram’s search results.

When someone searches on Instagram for words related to fitness or gyms, you want your studio’s profile or posts to show up near the top.

By using good Instagram SEO methods, you can make this happen and get more people to see your fitness studio.

From Hashtags to Alt Texts

Before, people found new fitness content on Instagram mostly by looking at hashtags or browsing the Explore page.

This has changed. Now, people type what they’re looking for into the search bar to find good fitness content and local gyms.

An experiment by Hootsuite showed that posts made with SEO in mind got 30% more views and twice as many likes compared to posts that only used hashtags.

Here are some SEO tips you can use right away for your fitness studio:

• Put important fitness words in your profile name, bio, post descriptions, and hashtags.
• Write clear descriptions for your workout videos in Reels.
• Add text descriptions (called alt text) to pictures of your gym, equipment, and classes.

What is Alt Texts?

Alt text on Instagram is a written description of a picture or video. It helps people who can’t see the images understand what’s in them.

It also helps Instagram understand what your fitness pictures show.

This is important for SEO because it helps Instagram decide if your content matches what someone is searching for.

Adding alt text to your fitness studio’s posts is easy to do and can really help more people find your content when they search on Instagram.

Note: You can also use AI tools like ChatGPT to help you write alt texts for your images.

Expand Your Reach With Short Videos and Reels

As you may very well know nowadays, people’s attention spans are getting shorter. 📹

To capture your audience’s interest, you need to create videos that are brief and deliver your fitness tips quickly. These short-form videos are called Reels.

Reels now account for over 30% of the time users spend on Instagram, making them an excellent tool for grabbing attention.

Moreover, Reels have a 67% higher engagement rate compared to standard video posts.

Here are some quick Instagram Reel ideas for your fitness studio:

• 15-second exercise demo: Show the correct form for a popular exercise.
• “Trainer Tip Tuesday”: Share a quick fitness or nutrition tip from one of your trainers.
• Before and after transition: Showcase a client’s fitness journey with a creative transition.
• 30-second studio tour: Give a rapid overview of your fitness studio facilities.
• Quick class preview: Highlight the energy and fun of one of your group fitness classes.
• Healthy recipe in 60 seconds: Demonstrate how to make a quick, nutritious snack or meal.
• Form correction: Show common exercise mistakes and how to fix them.
• “A day in the life”: Follow a trainer or member through their personal training routine at your studio.
• Motivational quote: Share an inspiring fitness quote that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
• Equipment showcase: Highlight a piece of equipment in your studio and its benefits.
• Client testimonial: Feature a happy client sharing their experience in a brief interview.
• Fitness challenge: Introduce a short workout challenge for your followers.
• Behind-the-scenes: Show the prep work that goes into running your fitness studio.
• New class announcement: Tease an upcoming fitness class or program.

Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, said in a video that Instagram will focus more on videos, especially Reels. So, making short videos is the best way to succeed on Instagram.

Be Consistent With Your Posting Schedule

The compound effect is important for Instagram’s growth. It means small actions, when done regularly, add up to big results over time.

Instagram’s system likes accounts that post often and talk with their followers. This makes more people see your posts.

If you don’t post regularly, your Instagram followers might forget about your fitness studio’s account, and it won’t grow as fast.

When you post, talk to followers, or get new followers, your Instagram page grows a little bit each time. At first, you might not see much change.

But if you keep doing it every day and every week, your page will start to grow faster.

The time when you post is also important, not just how often you post.

A study that looked at over 5 million Instagram posts found that posting between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM on weekdays usually gets the most people to like and comment.

Many people check their phones when they wake up or while they’re going to work, looking for fitness ideas or motivation.

Here are good times to post on Instagram for fitness studios:

1. Weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. are great because people are planning their day or looking for motivation.
2. Around lunchtime (12 p.m.) on Tuesdays and Thursdays is good because people are taking breaks.
3. Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. work well as people plan their evening workouts.
4. On weekends, try Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. or Sunday evenings at 6 p.m., but remember that different followers might have different habits.

Examples of fitness content you can post at these times:

• Monday 6 a.m.: Share an inspiring quote to help people start their week positively.
• Tuesday 12 p.m.: Show a quick, healthy lunch idea for busy people.
• Wednesday 6 p.m.: Post a short video showing how to do a new exercise for evening workouts.
• Thursday 8 a.m.: Tell people about a special class or event coming up at your studio.
• Friday 7 a.m.: Give a tip about how to do an exercise correctly, calling it “Form Friday”.
• Saturday 8 a.m.: Create a workout challenge for the weekend that followers can try.
• Sunday 6 p.m.: Share a story about a member who has improved their fitness to inspire others for the week ahead.

Remember, posting regularly is very important. If you keep to a schedule for posting, over time you’ll see more people following and engaging with your fitness studio’s Instagram account.

Here are some creative ideas for you to post on Instagram

Go Live On Instagram

Going live on Instagram will make your fitness studio’s account more noticeable.

When you start a live video, Instagram sends a notification to your followers, making them feel they might miss out if they don’t tune in.

Many fitness studios go live during classes or special events to show potential clients what they offer.

For example, a yoga studio might go live during a sunrise class, or a CrossFit box might broadcast a part of their intense group workout.

Here are some ideas for live streaming at your fitness studio:

• Live studio tour: Walk viewers through your facility, showcasing equipment and spaces.
• Trainer Spotlight: Have different trainers go live to introduce themselves and their specialties.
• Class preview: Stream a short segment of a popular class to give viewers a taste of what to expect.
• Member success story: Interview a member about their fitness journey with your studio.
• Technique workshop: Focus on proper form for specific exercises, answering viewer questions in real time.
• New class or program announcement: Use live video to build excitement about upcoming offerings.
• Behind-the-scenes prep: Show how your team gets the studio ready for a busy day.
• Nutrition tips: Have a nutrition expert discuss healthy eating habits that complement your fitness programs.
• Community event coverage: If your studio participates in local events, go live to show your community involvement.
• Live challenge: Host short fitness challenges that viewers can participate in from home.

After your Instagram live session, save it to your story and add relevant fitness hashtags and stickers.

This allows Instagram users who follow these hashtags to discover your content even after the live broadcast has ended.

Make Use of Influencer Marketing and User-Generated Content

Influencer marketing is a way to get more people to notice your fitness studio.

It happens when someone popular on Instagram talks about your studio to their followers.

You don’t need famous people with millions of followers. You can work with:

• People in your area who are known for being fit
• Trainers who have their own clients
• Local sports players
• People who write about health online
• Your own members who really like your studio

Your Members Can Be Your Most Effective Influencers

Did you know that 92% of people trust what other regular people say about a business more than what the business says about itself?

This means if your members talk about how good your studio is, new people are more likely to believe it and want to join.

The Impact of User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content consists of posts your members make and share.

This could be pictures of them exercising at your studio, videos showing how they’ve gotten stronger, or stories about how your studio helped them.

When you put this content on your Instagram, people looking at your page see real results and feel like they can trust your studio.

How to Implement This for Your Fitness Studio

1. Ask members who have gotten really fit or made big improvements to share their stories on Instagram.
2. Find people in your area who post about fitness a lot and invite them to try your studio for free.
3. Make a special hashtag just for your studio and ask all your members to use it when they post about their workouts.
4. Choose the best pictures and stories from your members and share them on your studio’s Instagram page.

Showing real people getting healthier at your studio is very powerful. It works better than just showing pictures of your equipment or listing your classes.

Analyze Your Performance

Looking at your Instagram numbers regularly is really important to see how well your fitness studio’s account is doing.

When you check these numbers, you can figure out what’s working and what’s not, so you can make your account better.

Here are the main things you should look at:

• How many followers you’re getting: Keep track of how many new people start following you each week or month.
• How much people interact with your posts: Count the likes, comments, and shares you get compared to how many followers you have.
• How many people see your posts: Look at how many different people see your content and how often they see it.
• How your Stories are doing: Check how many people watch your Instagram Stories and interact with them.
• Which posts do best: Figure out what kinds of pictures, videos, or text your followers like the most.

You can find all this information in Instagram Insights. It’s a tool right inside Instagram that shows you all these numbers about your account.

Here’s a good idea: Set some goals based on these numbers. For example, you could try to get 100 more likes on your posts next month, or get 200 new followers in the next three months.

When you look at these numbers often, you can:

1. See what types of posts your followers like best
2. Find out when to post so more people see your content
3. Use better hashtags to reach more people
4. Make content that your followers are really interested in

Growing your Instagram account takes time and effort. On average, Instagram business accounts gain 1.25% more followers each month compared to the previous month.

For example, if a business account has 1,000 followers at the start of the month, it will have 1,012 or 1,013 followers at the end of the month, on average

Keep checking your numbers and changing what you do based on what you learn. This will help you build a strong account for your fitness studio.

To find your Instagram Insights:

1. Open Instagram on your phone
2. Go to your profile page
3. Tap the three lines in the top right corner
4. Select ‘Insights’

This will show you all the important information about how your account is doing.

Encourage Interaction On Your Instagram

Getting your followers to interact with your posts is a must for making your fitness studio’s Instagram account grow.

Interaction means things like likes, comments, shares, saves, and clicks on your links.

When people interact more with your posts, Instagram shows your content to more people.

Here are some good ways to get more interaction:

• Ask questions: End your posts with a question that your followers can answer in the comments. For example, “What’s your favorite post-workout snack?”
• Use polls and quizzes in Stories: Instagram Stories have features like polls and quiz stickers. Use these to get your followers involved. You could ask, “Which class should we add next: Yoga or Pilates?”
• Respond to comments: Always reply to comments on your posts. This makes your followers feel heard and encourages more people to comment.
• Host contests: Run simple contests where people have to comment or tag a friend to enter. This can quickly increase your interactions.
• Share user-generated content: Ask followers to share photos of themselves at your studio or doing workouts. Then, share these on your account (with permission). This encourages more people to share content about your studio.
• Use call-to-actions: Tell your followers what you want them to do. For example, “Double tap if you crushed your workout today!” or “Share this post if you found it helpful!”
• Post consistently: Put up new content regularly so your followers always have something new with which to interact.
• Use relevant hashtags: Add hashtags that your target audience is likely to follow. This helps new people find and interact with your content.
• Go live: Use Instagram Live to connect with your followers in real time. You could do a Q&A session or a short workout demo.
• Create saveable content: Make posts that people will want to save and come back to, like workout tips or healthy recipes.

The goal is to create content that your followers will want to engage with. The more they interact, the more Instagram will show your posts to other people, helping your account grow.

Check out more ideas about improving your gym’s social media marketing.

Conclusion

Growing your Instagram fitness account takes time and effort, but it’s worth it.

By regularly sharing quick fitness tips, talking with your followers, and using all of Instagram’s tools, you can make your account useful for getting new clients and keeping your current ones happy.

Don’t forget to check how well your posts are doing and change what you’re doing if needed. Always think about what your followers want to see.

If you keep working at it, your Instagram can become a great place that shows off your fitness studio, gets people excited about working out, and helps your business do better.

So start posting, keep creating good content, and you’ll see your Instagram account grow along with your studio and become more known in the fitness industry.

There’s no limit to how much your account can grow if you keep at it!