Grow your fitness studio with Instagram

Using Instagram for your fitness studio

Social media apps like Instagram offer powerful platforms for growing a fitness studio membership base. The content we share on them can help us build better relationships with our current clients and reach thousands more who might want to try our classes.

But did you ever notice how some fitness studio’s Instagram profiles appear better organised than others?

Knowing how to use Instagram to compliment your studio can tremendously help you reach the right people and take your business to the next level.

To help, we’ve curated some top tips on how to use Instagram to get the best results for your Yoga, Pilates or fitness studio.

Using Instagram for your fitness studio

Your logo

Instagram is all about glossy images and attention-grabbing videos which makes it easy to overlook the importance of our logos.

For better or worse, it’s a trait of human nature that we judge each other based on our appearances. A pair of clean running shoes will give a different first impression from a pair of dirty construction boots.

For this reason, it’s important to ensure your logo has been well-designed and is confluent with your brand.

The choice of colours, font and graphics should all be carefully considered. Take time to look at your competitor’s logos and work with a graphic designer to create one which is easily identifiable and unique to the business you are building.

If you are happy with your logo, make sure it is of high enough quality so when it’s uploaded to your Instagram profile it looks great!

Your brand

If you had to communicate what your studio was about, without using words, how would you do it?

By using colours, fonts and imagery in thoughtful ways, you can create a brand which speaks volumes about your business without using a word.

For example, a yoga or meditation studio which might want to convey a sense of calmness and serenity. By using simple, clean and spacious imagery, and neutral colours, they could give the sense of peacefulness to their audience.

Alternatively, a contemporary dance studio might choose more vibrant colours and imagery that reflects movement and energy to convey their brand.

Deciding what your brand should be before posting any content will greatly help you maintain a consistent look and feel to your Instagram feed which your visitors will appreciate.

Your content

Imagine walking into a library where all the books are in the wrong places. Stressful right? That’s why having the right content is just as important as how it’s organised.

Planning ahead for the types of content you want to share, and when you want to post, can help save time and help maintain a semblance of order to your Instagram feed.

Try to categorise the types of content you might like to share into themes. For example, inspirational posts, informational posts, educational posts and/or fun posts. List a few topics for each to give you inspiration when it’s time to create.

Lastly, think thoughtfully about when your audience might like to receive different themed content. For example:

  • Monday: 1 x inspirational quote on branded template (as people prepare for the week)
  • Wednesday: 1 x informational post with on-brand photo (mid-week progress or event news)
  • Friday: 1 x educational post (sharing insights to raise awareness for weekend reading)

Instagram allows posts to be scheduled on pre-set days and times, so make good use of this feature.

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Stories

Instagram stories are a great way to interact with your audience more in real time.

Try using the stories feature to take short videos of a class in session for example. This will give viewers a feel for your classes and encourage them to then attend in -person.

You can also use stories to let people know that you posted a new post in case they missed it. Stories can also help you to interact with visitors.

For example, you can add a questionnaire to ask visitors questions you want feedback on. Or you could add a little game, for example ‘Would you rather’, or ‘You can only choose one exercise’. The possibilities are endless.

Instagram stories are only live for 24 hours, but you can always add it a highlight on your page where people can refer back to them later.

Organic vs paid advertising

Organic marketing means posting content which will primarily be shown to your immediate audience / followers. If you don’t already have a large audience, this type of marketing can take some time to build a large audience.

Paid advertising means paying Instagram to show your content to more people which increase your audience much faster than organic marketing.

Both have their purposes. For example, in some circumstances organic marketing might be the best solution, e.g., an informational post for your current members. In others, such as promoting a new event, paid marketing might yield better results.

“…hashtags can help drive the right people to your profile.”

Bookamat.co

Instagram for yoga, Pilates and fitness studios.

Advertising agency or do it yourself

Advertising agencies can save you a lot of time and stress. They will know the optimal days and times are for scheduling your posts, and what the minimum amount will be to get the most reach out of your ads.

If you don’t have the budget to afford an agency, but do have then time, then you can take your marketing into your own hands. You can take photos on your phone – ensuring the quality looks good, with good angles. And double checking that your caption writing doesn’t contain spelling mistakes, and that the images you’re using correlates well with the captions using with it.

You can also easily promote your own posts on a budget that works best for you.

Generate engagement

Engagement measures an audience’s interest, brand relevance, and social authority. Below are a few helpful tips to ensure that you are using Instagram to get the best results for your yoga, Pilates or fitness studio.

Posting regularly
  • This doesn’t mean that you need to post daily but creating a schedule to post regularly a few times a week will keep your engagement up. It will also ensure that your audience sees your posts more regularly, keeping your studio at the top of their minds.
Keep your visual feed consistent
  • If you choose to use simple, neutral colours, try to stick to these. It’s perfectly fine if you switch it up every now and then but remember to ensure that the overall look and feel remains consistent as people gets used to distinguishing your brand with a certain look.
Use the right hashtags
  • Hashtags might appear like they are there just for show, but your hashtags can help drive the right people to your profile. If you have a yoga studio in Brisbane, select hashtags that best describe you and your type of classes and location, such as #yogastudiobrisbane #aerialyoga
Play around with Instagram Reels
  • Reels (video content) are taking over our Instagram feeds. It’s best to keep up with the trends in order to stay relevant to your followers, and to stay on the top of their feed. Plus, you can have so much fun with reels. Select a song that best suits the video, select a few photos or videos to create the reel, and see it all come together.
Promote your Instagram posts
  • If your budget allows it, promote all, or even just a few of your posts which will help drive more visitors to your profile. In return generating leads.
Create valuable content
  • Saves and shares are two of the most valuable types of engagement that you can get on Instagram. Post content that people will want to reference to and would want to share with their friends.
Engage with your followers
  • When you receive comments on your posts, ensure that you respond to most of them. Taking that time will help people feel like they’re seen and shows your audience that you care about what they have to say.



We hope you found some helpful tips on how to optimally use Instagram for your fitness studio. And in return grow your follower base and get more students to sign up!

If you’re looking for more ways to increase your membership base, then be sure to read this blog post. There’s always something we can learn and benefit from to help grow our business.


Looking for better studio booking software? Bookamat is trusted by over 12,000 unique visitors per month across 15 countries and growing. Join for free today and save up to 85% on the cost of other software.

Romi has been writing for Bookamat since 2020. She loves adventuring, practicing yoga and writing about the latest fitness trends.
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