By Reneir Cruise
Prologue From Reneir
To give us some momentum before this blog starts, here is some inspiration from my personal fitness journey.
Building off of my last blog “How The Best Gym Franchises Marketing Themselves Online”, this blog goes into more detail using a hypothetical case study for Crunch Fitness. It includes examples of search terms and ads with Google and Meta. This can of course be tailored and applied with marketing efforts with other gym franchises as well.
Google Ads: Capture High-Intent “Ready to Join” Searchers
Google Ads reaches people actively searching for a gym right now, making it the most powerful channel for capturing high-intent leads.
How It Helps Crunch Fitness
Targets people looking for a gym near them
Search terms like:
- “gym near me”
- “best gym in [city]”
- “crunch fitness membership cost”
- “24/7 gyms near me”
- “affordable gym membership”
These are people already planning to sign up.
Drives membership leads directly to the nearest Crunch location
With local-specific campaigns, ad copy, and landing pages, each Crunch location gets hyper-local traffic.
Promotes trials, offers, or classes
Perfect for promoting:
- 7-day passes
- New member specials
- Group class schedules
- Personal training packages
Google Ads turns these into immediate inquiries or sign-ups.
Local campaigns boost foot traffic
Google Maps ads place Crunch Fitness at the top of the map pack when users search nearby.
Meta Ads (Facebook + Instagram): Build Demand & Retarget Non-Joiners
Meta Ads find people likely to join the gym based on interests, lifestyle, and behaviors—and stay in front of them until they convert. Here is how it helps Crunch.
Awareness & Demand Generation
Reach people who:
- follow fitness influencers
- are into weightlifting, HIIT, Zumba, or PT
- recently engaged with local gyms
- show interest in wellness or transformation content
This grows the top of the funnel with new potential members.
Retargeting = Huge for Conversions
Most people visit a gym’s website but don’t sign up instantly.
Meta Ads retarget:
- website visitors
- people who clicked Google Ads
- people who watched Crunch fitness videos
- past leads who never joined
This increases total sign-ups by 20–40%.
Promote Sales, Events, & Challenges
Perfect for:
- Free trial promotions
- New location openings
- Fitness challenges
- Seasonal promos (New Year surge, summer shred, etc.)
These ads amplify excitement and urgency.
Together: A Full Funnel System
Google Ads = Demand Capture
(Show up when people are searching)
Meta Ads = Demand Creation & Conversion
(Find new members + retarget non-joiners)
Combined Result:
- Higher membership conversions
- Increased local awareness
- Consistent traffic to Crunch locations
- Lower cost per acquisition
- Stronger brand presence in every market
It becomes a 360° marketing engine:
- Meta introduces people to Crunch
- Google captures them when they finally search “gym near me”
- Meta retargets until they sign up.
Example KPI Improvements for Fitness Chains
When executed well, gyms typically see:
- 20–50% lower cost per lead
- 2–3x increase in free trial sign-ups
- 30–60% increase in location walk-ins
- Higher retention from ongoing local ad visibility
Any gym part of the Crunch franchise can take these strategies and apply them today. Even better when in collaboration with a Marketing agency that specializes in gyms.
Over the years, I have worked with gyms and have adhered to my own fitness regimen to gain a strong understanding and passion for the fitness space. With the right strategy and creativity, we can turn motivated searches and casual scrolls into orders and loyal repeat members. It is a similar feeling that comes with the high of a great training session. Reach out using MAGNA APEX’s contact form to start getting more leads and memberships. MAGNA APEX’s contact form to start getting more leads and memberships.
About Reneir Cruise
He is the owner of MAGNA APEX, which is a Digital Marketing for restaurants to drive brand awareness to their website, acquire relevant business leads, and increase the number of clients to train. He started his Physical Fitness journey in September 2001 & continues to the present day. It was 11 years later in June 2012, that he entered the world of Digital Marketing and has been employed by some of the top marketing agencies.
CONTACT
Are you looking to level up your advertising efforts for your small business to gain more relevant leads and online orders? 1 or more of the marketing plans that I offer can help you get there.
The minimum monthly management rate for:
- Organic Search (SEO) Pro Plan on Google is $800
- Paid Search (PPC) Pro Plan is $600 plus monthly Ad Spend for Google Ads
- Organic Social Media Pro Plan on Meta and/or TikTok is $500
- Paid Social Media Pro Plan is $500 plus monthly Ad Spend for Meta Ads and/or TikTok Ads
All Pro plans include the necessary Creative services for design of infographics, ad images and thumbnails and video editing of reels from my second business and Content Studio, URPERSONA. The average wait time to start a monthly marketing plan is 1-3 months.
The 9 steps of what to expect:
Step 1: Initial contact. Fill out the contact form below. Include as much detail as you like.
Step 2: Brainstorming on an introduction call and email. Figure out what type of marketing plan you need. Descriptions can be found on my Services page to get a better idea.
Step 3: The initial estimate with a proposed Marketing agreement emailed for your review. I will reply to your contact request with our thoughts discussed from our introduction call including a ballpark price estimate and timeline. If it is a good fit, we will proceed to step 4.
Step 4: Signing the agreement(s) – each month paid in advance. I will send you an invoice(s) for marketing services agreed upon to onboard and secure your spot on MAGNA APEX’s client roster.
Step 5: Preparation. After initial payment, we will work together on the initial setup including CMS, Slack, Asana, and Analytics access. I will also ask if you have any base keywords to start the Keyword Research that we will use for all of the types of Marketing. We also schedule 1st monthly call to monitor and evolve our campaigns and processes.
Step 6: Building the Marketing campaigns to get more leads and/or online orders. When the preparation is complete, I will reach out to let you know and to confirm all the details we discussed. Then, it is time for me to build out the deliverables including the spreadsheets that tracks the progress of the blogs and/or ad copy to aid in the setup of the campaigns on the required platforms (WordPress, Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, etc).
Step 7: Managing the Marketing campaigns. This can include blog revisions, ad copy revisions, etc. I will continue to manage Marketing campaign(s) on a weekly basis and provide the needed updates on email, Slack, and/or text.
Step 8: Meet to discuss and evolve progress on monthly calls with you as the client.
Step 9: Repeat for the duration of agreement(s).
