Ep. 10: Google ads vs Social Media ads?
Google ads versus social ads… which one is right for your fitness studio digital marketing?
If you’re considering dipping your toes into paid ads, or you’ve been boosting posts here and there kind of randomly, this episode is for you!
I want to start by saying you don’t have to run paid ads to have a successful boutique fitness studio. I hope by now, in this podcast, you’ve gotten a lot of ideas for how to improve your fitness studio digital marketing and have seen that paid ads are just one piece of your marketing foundation. We hear about them a lot, but there are many other ways to promote your business, and some of those may feel more natural or just may be more exciting for you.
But with that said, there are some pros to paid ads:
Can turn on / off based on the season + real-time capacity in your classes. Whereas many marketing tactics have a longer runway to see results, paid ads can generate leads immediately.
In addition to finding new people, you can show ads (for a very low cost) to active and lapsed clients directly (as long as you have their email address) Because we all know not everyone opens emails, this is a good way to aid in your retention efforts.
You can find warm leads who are already searching for what you offer in your area (Google ads), AND you can get in front of a wider group of people who are at an earlier phase of their fitness journey (Social ads), so you have opportunities for outreach to be the brand that continually shows up.
Paid ads are great if time is critical resource (lack team capacity for more creative marketing tactics OR you just need to get something going like yesterday)
And last, but probably my favorite, you can test different headlines, messaging hooks and photos to see what people actually respond to. This is great feedback to have going into a website redesign project!
Before you start spending money on ads
Before we talk specifics about what you need to know about Google and social media ads, there are three things you need to have in place before you spend any money on ads: intro offer + website + sales plan.
#1. Intro Offer
What is the offer you plan to promote with your ads? What do you want those new people to do, AND what’s in it for them?
Refer back to episode 4 with Jennifer Pahl, where we talked all about intro offers. This needs to be dialed in before you run ads.
#2. Website
Regarding fitness studio digital marketing, all roads lead to your website. Even if you’re running ads asking for contact info right in the ad, the odds are still high that the prospect will click through and check out your website before taking such action.
So, don’t spend money on ads if your website doesn’t reflect the quality of your brand.
I’m going to leave that topic here for now (so as not to hijack this episode with my own personal passion topic) but my blog has lots of info on how to create a great fitness studio website. You can also browse around my portfolio to see examples.
#3. A Sales Process
Simply put, you need to know what’s going to happen after someone clicks on your ad, and you need to have a good plan in place to take care of them all the way through their first class and first month.
To check in on your own sales process, I suggest going back and listening to episode 7 with Chris Appiah and Stephanie Breaux Bradley.
Those three things (the right intro offer, solid website and good sales process) are very important to the overall effectiveness of your ads. Your ads can do everything right and generate incredible leads, get an amazing cost per click, but if you can’t close those leads then that ad spend will ultimately be wasted.
What ad platform is best for fitness studios?
Okay, so you’ve got those three things in place, where do you start with ads? What platform is best?
There are two primary platforms that brick and mortar businesses use to run paid ads: Google and Facebook.
Within the Google platform, there are actually a lot of placement options, including youtube which google owns… but for the purpose of this discussion we’re going to be talking about Google search ads, which are the ones you see at the top of the search results page.
We like Google Search Ads for studios because they’re…
Intent-based: Your ad appears when someone types relevant keywords into the search engine. This means you're reaching people who are already interested. These are usually the best leads you’ll find. They know they have a problem and they know what solution they want to try.
Highly targeted: You can choose specific search terms, locations, and even the time of day your ads show. This helps you focus on local people who are likely to convert.
Easy to control the budget on: You set your budget, but you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. So, you have control over your spending and you can get very specific about which phrases you’re willing to pay for a click and which ones you don’t want.
The downside to Google search ads is you’re…
Reliant on other people needing to take the first step. If you offer something that few people are searching for, your ads won’t have the opportunity to be seen. For example, it's not likely you’ll get a lot of search volume for ‘300 hour’ or ‘advanced’ yoga teacher trainings within your local area.. The search volume for those terms in a small geographic area is relatively low.
In head to head competition. Depending on your location, there might be competition for the same search terms you want to be seen for, which can drive your costs up. It ends up being somewhat of a bidding war.
Like Google, The Facebook Ad Platform also has a lot of placement options, but for the purpose of this discussion, we’re going to focus on the ads that you’d run on Facebook and Instagram (Facebook owns instagram so you run ads to both platforms from the same place in the ads manager… which is pretty handy.) So when I say ‘Facebook Ads’ I’m really talking about both Facebook and Instagram ads.
The primary advantage of Facebook ads for fitness studios:
You get a broad reach: You can target a wide audience, not just those actively searching for yoga/pilates/fitness terms. With facebook ads you don’t have to sit back and wait for someone to initiate a search. Facebook also has tons of user data, for better or for worse!, so you can reach people based on interests, location, and more.
The FB and IG platforms are also built for engagement: You can create visually appealing, creative ads with fun messaging hooks, images and videos to engage your audience. For example, right now we’re seeing good results with vertical video reels and story ads that run in those placements. That’s a place where creativity is rewarded and where you can really show off your brand personality and studio space.
You also get more testing opportunities: You can go out and find people and then test different videos and headlines quickly.
There are some downsides to Facebook and Instagram ads as well though.
People have lower Intent compared to those google searches: The people you’re reaching might not be actively looking for a change in their fitness routine yet, so conversion rates will probably be lower and/or you’re going to need to nurture them longer.
Ad fatigue is also a factor on Facebook Ads: Your audience may get tired of seeing the same ads if you're not careful with ad variety. You do need to swap FB/IG ads out periodically to keep things fresh.
With the FB ad platform, you pay for impressions, not clicks: You’re purchasing space in people’s news feed, which is what allows you to get in front of new people but it also means that you’re not guaranteed to get any action on the ads you’re paying for. The cost for those impressions is also going to fluctuate based on what other non-industry retailers are doing. For example, you can expect to pay 2-3x what you normally pay for the same amount of impressions between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is because the big box retailers are flooding the ad market with ads making the available ad space go for a premium. So in general, your ads on the Facebook platform need a little more babysitting.
Think of Google Search Ads like you’re casting a narrow net for those actively searching. It's cost-effective for local searches.
Facebook Ads, on the other hand, are more versatile and can help you reach a broader audience, although it may take a bit more creativity.
My overall recommendation is that one way or another you need to first get in front of those people on Google actively seeking for what you offer before you move on to social media ads.
However, you need to take a look at the competitive landscape in your area first, to determine if ads are needed.
If you google “yoga studio near me” or “reformer pilates near me” .. fill in the specific term people would use to find you… when you search for that, are your competitors running ads? Where do you show up on that page?
If you’re the first listing on the map and your website is the first listing below the map, and no one is running ads.. Well, guess what? You don’t need to either. That searcher is going to find you already.
However, if there are several ads at the top of the search results page and you aren’t one of the 3 studios that appear on the map, then yes, you absolutely should be running some google ads.
Once you’ve got yourself established on google (either organically or with ads) for the big searches you want to be found for, you can explore Facebook Ads to broaden your reach.
How much should fitness studios spend on ads?
A frequently asked question on this topic is how much does it cost to run a good ad campaign? What do you need to budget if you’re going to start running paid ads?
Here are some baseline numbers to get started with:
You want to plan on spending $500-$1000/mo ad spend per platform, per location (if locations aren’t close).. If they overlap or are in the same city then you don’t need separate campaigns for them.
In addition to that ad spend you’re going to want to budget $500-$1500/mo full service ads management
And of course, all those numbers could be higher if you’re going big on ads, want to test a lot of things or want to absolutely saturate the market
If you want to learn how to run paid ads yourself or are looking to hire an agency, I’ll link up some resources in the show notes.
But it is something you want to get some guidance on or do some training on before you jump in... If you just follow along and listen to all facebook or google’s “recommendations” and just roll with that, you’re going to end up spending a lot more money on audiences and ad-types that aren’t going to get you the best results. Remember those platforms are designed to get you to spend the most money possible. That’s how they make money! So know that their in-platform “tips” are not always in YOUR best interest.
Ready to make a marketing move?
Ready to see what’s the right path for you?
If so, here’s your fitness studio digital marketing move for the week:
Take a minute to evaluate where you stand on the Google search results page. To do that google “yoga studio …barre studio… fitness class… near me” or however you think people in your area would search for the services you offer. Note that if you’re using a ‘near me’ search term, it actually matters where you are physically standing when you search. So you may want to use a more general location term like “Fair Oaks, CA” or just be aware that businesses physically closer to where you’re standing will likely perform better than others.
How far down the page is your business? Do you show up on the map right away? Are you competitors running ads? This is how the landscape will look to a warm lead in your area.
If you don’t see your studio, you’ll want to look into running some google ads if you need more clients.
If your studio IS represented well, then you have options and can choose to double down with some google ads or explore social media ads. Or both.
Recommended resources for running google and social media ads:
Ad agencies that specialize in brick and mortar businesses:
JL Marketing: https://jlmarketing.com/pixality/
Main Street ROI: https://www.mainstreetroi.com/
Learn to run ads yourself:
Courses at Main Street ROI: https://www.mainstreetroi.com/education/courses/
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