When it comes to favorite holidays, Halloween is usually in the top four for both kids and adults. Acknowledge the season, and it can treat you quite well as a gym owner. There are a few simple-to-do Halloween marketing campaigns you can put into action immediately before the big day arrives.

More Than Costumes and Candy

With the weather becoming cooler and the days becoming shorter, fewer people are getting their workouts completed outdoors. Shrewd gyms will take this Halloween seasonal energy and create authentic campaigns that feel fun rather than salesy. This will result in potential prospects signing up for memberships and current members appreciating the attention-grabbing concepts.

Social Media Content that Stops the Scroll

Social platforms reward creativity. People are looking for a reason to stop scrolling, and combining Halloween with humor can make that happen. With the correct approach, all the views will result in more people signing up for memberships.

• Spooky Transformation Posts: Take your successful before-and-after member photos and overlay some Halloween graphics on them. Include bats, monsters, spider webs, and other playful items. If this sounds like it is something beyond your tech skills, simply take the photos and put them into any AI app and ask it to trick them out. These images will be spookified in seconds and ready to go!

• Staff Costume Videos: Keep these videos in the magical 30-second or less range for the most hits. Film high-energy clips of your staff in full costume performing exercises, running the front desk, or giving gym tours. Most gyms will see higher engagement rates and increased comments.

• Create a Video or Comment Challenge: Ask people how they avoid consuming a whole bowl full of candy. Inquire about healthy alternatives to eating all of that sugar. Ask who will be walking the most steps when taking their kids house to house trick-or-treating. Reward the most impressive answers with a free class or training session.

Emails that Nurture Interest

Create the perfect Halloween email with a subject line like: “Don’t Let the Candy Get You!” or “Your Halloween Survival Guide!”. People gain the most weight between Halloween and New Year’s as holiday get-togethers lead to consuming thousands of extra calories. Use this email to share knowledge about better eating habits, healthier food options, and workouts that produce results. If you want to see how many people read your emails entirely, throw in an offer of a free class or small prize at the end of the message and see how many people respond. Ask them to reply, and then just let them know to check in at the front desk to redeem the offer.

Limited Time Offers Create Urgency

Limited time offers will work if the person has even an inkling that they really want something and can get a better deal if they act now. (Just ask my wife. We now have an additional car in our garage because of a limited-time offer.) Urgency converts.

In keeping with the Halloween theme, consider the “Scare Away the Fees” marketing promotion and waive all upfront costs associated with signing up for a yearly membership. Of course, only give them this offer until Halloween. Once the clock strikes midnight, the offer will expire. To entice them even more, include the “bring a friend for free with you” during the first month of the membership. Hopefully, after that first month, that “free friend” will also sign up for your gym so they can keep their workouts going. The buddy system pays off for all involved.

You may also offer a “No Tricks, Just Results” two-week pass deal during this time for people who are on the fence about a full year membership. People are usually highly motivated to work out during the first couple of months when signing up for a membership. A two-week pass will catch them during their inspired phase and will hopefully result in them getting a full-year membership after those two weeks are up.

Channel Your Inner Kid

Halloween marketing will succeed if it feels like an invitation to all to have some fun and stay healthy. There’s a reason we nearly suffocated in those stuffy Halloween masks as kids. It was enjoyable and exciting, with a touch of the creepy and paranormal.

Rather than doing another hard-sell membership drive, have some seasonal fun, create scroll-stopping content, send out one or two emails, and offer limited-time deals. Put these ideas down in your repeatable playbook and have them ready for every Halloween season from here on out.

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