Facebook has 2.9 billion active users. And as you might know, the social media giant has a lot of data about each of these users. Facebook knows their likes, dislikes, what they are looking to buy, and more.
This means personal trainers can use Facebook ads to their advantage to get qualified leads for their business. No matter who your ideal clients are, you can bet that Facebook can easily find them and bring them to you.
Of course, this doesn’t come for free.
It costs money to run Facebook ads, so you’ll want to devise the right strategy that ensures that you make more from leads than you’re spending on ads!
If you can do that, then you have a winning formula for Facebook ads. And this formula can help you grow your fitness business exponentially in months rather than years. So how do Facebook ads work, and how can you make the most of them?
In this post we will share the basics and seven foolproof strategies that will help you win with Facebook ads and grow your fitness business quickly.
Let’s dive in
What are Facebook ads?
Facebook ads are advertisements in a variety of formats that run through Facebook’s advertising platform. They can show up on the feed, messenger, and even on non-Facebook apps and websites.
The cool thing about Facebook ads is that they can be targeted to extremely specific audiences. Unlike TV commercials or billboards, Facebook ads appear only to a business’s ideal target market, and they appear right on their phone or computer.
Creating a Facebook ad is a bit like writing a regular post, but by paying for a Facebook ad, businesses are able to ensure that their content is getting in front of more of the right people. Business owners can use Facebook’s ad campaign manager to monitor their ads and see their results.
Now that you have a better understanding of how Facebook ads work, let’s talk about seven crucial steps for using Facebook ads for your personal training business.
1. Nail down your killer offer
Facebook ads are all about the offer. You want to give people a reason to click on your ad and get to know you. So, the first thing you need to do is nail down your unique personal training offer that you will promote via Facebook.
Think about something that is enticing for your ideal clients and has a low barrier of entry. For example, you wouldn’t want to offer ten personal training sessions in Facebook ads. These are expensive and require a lot of trust building before someone will want to buy it. Instead, think of something that takes less of your time that will help you begin your relationship with leads.
Consider one of these types of offers:
- Free person training session (online or in-person)
- This takes a little bit of your time, so you’ll want to be sure that you’ll be able to convert any takers into paying clients.
- This can be really enticing to anyone considering personal training!
- Downloadable freebie
- This option is cheaper and much more scalable; you’ll be able to offer it to many more people at once.
- This option takes a longer strategy as you’ll need a good sales funnel to convert anyone that subscribes to customers.
Start with an offer that you are comfortable with and that you think you will be able to use to convert. Over time, you can experiment with a few different offers to see what brings you the best results. We’ll talk a little more about testing your different offers later.
But for now, know that a Facebook ad is nothing without the right offer that will attract your ideal clients and get them excited to get to know you. Before doing anything else, figure out what offer you will use to make your Facebook ad click worthy.
2. Write copy that converts
Copy is the oh so important words that you will use in your advertisement to draw readers in and convince them to take your desired next step. Good copy drives readers to take action, and can make or break a Facebook ad.
Here is a very simple formula for writing your Facebook ad caption.
- Hook - Call out your ideal client’s pain points.
- Body - Tell them about your solution!
- Call to Action - Let them know what to do next.
When writing copy, it’s really important to know your target audience. Speak directly to your ideal client and really dig into their problems for the best results. Are they struggling to lose that post baby weight? Do they want to put on muscle?
Think about the problems you solve, share how your offer can help, and tell readers what to do to get started.
3.Choose an image or video
Of course, another important aspect of the ad is the media itself. This is what will capture the attention of your leads as they are scrolling through their feeds.
Image ads are the easiest to create and perform really well. When choosing an image, don’t think about making it look like an ad; think about making it look like a picture someone might see organically in their feed.
You might also try videos, though they will take more skill and time. If you’re just starting out, it can be helpful to start with an image and go from there. Make sure whatever media you choose fits your offer and your brand.
Once again, keep your ideal client in mind here and choose media that will stand out and get their attention in the right way.
4. Build a landing page
Your Facebook ad is useless without a link that takes prospects to the next step. You will want to create this link by building a unique web page where users can take advantage of the killer offer you’re advertising.
But just because someone clicks your link doesn’t mean they will automatically buy or enter your sales funnel. Your landing page will need to take over the job of convincing them to share their information or take the right next step.
Good copy is vital here. You’ll also want to include testimonials, and maybe a small blurb about you and your business.
And of course, you’ll need to include the button or form where users can enter their information for your offer. For a downloadable freebie, just ask for an email and a first name. If offering a free personal training session use some kind of typeform to pre-qualify leads.
Steal this Personal Training Consultation TypeForm template for FREE
5. Set your goal and budget
Before sending your ad out into the world, you’ll want to determine what your goals are for the ad and how much you can spend to reach those goals.
Think about your objectives. Is it to gather lead information? What are your conversion goals – meaning out of 100 people that see your ad, how many do you want to click on it? How many leads convert into paying clients? And how much did they pay?
If you’re making $100 per lead, that’s pretty profitable. But what if you’re only making $1 per lead? Are your ads really worth it?
Get clear on all your numbers, and your marketing objectives since they will affect your budget. That is how you will determine what is a good cost for you. Remember, your ads should eventually be making you more money that you’re spending on them. If they’re not, your formula needs fixing.
6. Facebook targeting
Facebook is smart enough to figure out what the right audience is after a few conversions, but to start you’ll need to help your ads get on the right path.
Make sure that you input your location when creating ad campaigns. Use the information that you know about your ideal clients to target your ads based on a combination of qualities. You can narrow down by demographic information like age and gender, then get even more specific and target people with certain interests (like physical fitness).
Keep an eye on your audience size and be sure not to make it too small. You want to make sure you are still targeting a large number of people. Once your campaign is launched, Facebook will be able to determine who to show your ads to and where.
7. A/B Testing
The above steps will help you craft your Facebook ad, but you’ll want to experiment within each step to make sure that you are getting the best results. This means testing your ads, so that you can see what’s working and find new ways to win with Facebook ads.
A/B testing involves pitting two or more different ads against each other and seeing how they compare. You will want to test things like your ad copy, your media, and your offers.
Use Facebook analytics to monitor your results and adjust accordingly. Things to keep in mind:
- Which posts got the most unique views?
- How many clicks stemmed from paid ads?
- Does your audience respond better to photo or video content?
Use your insights to help you keep creating new and better ads.
How to convert more leads into paying clients in 2024?
Facebook ads can help you convert leads, but if you really want to attract and retain more clients in 2024, offering online personal training can help you expand your reach.
Online personal training involves delivering some or all of your training components remotely to clients which can help you serve more people than traditional personal training models. Online personal training allows you to make more money and grow your business more quickly. It also can be a great offering to share via Facebooks ads to your target audience in any location.
TrainerFu has a ton of great resources that can help personal trainers venture into online personal training. Check them out here to get started: