People find new workouts the same way they find somewhere to eat: by scrolling TikTok and Instagram. If you run a fitness studio, that’s where your next regulars are deciding what to try.
Boutique fitness is as much about the people as the workout. ukactive found that 51% of Gen Z say making new friends is an important reason to join a gym, so people want to see the energy of a class, the instructors and the crowd long before they book a session.
What usually stops someone booking a new class is the unknown: how hard it’ll be, whether they’ll keep up and what the room is like. A local creator filming their session, from the nervous warm-up to the last rep and the post-class high, answers all of that. Their followers watch someone like them get through it and enjoy it, and because they live nearby, they can book the next class.
Finding creators and messaging them yourself takes hours most studios don’t have, and it’s hard to know who to trust.
Why Local Creators Work for Fitness Studios
- Classes are made for social. The lights, the music, the instructor counting down and the sweaty selfie after: one class video shows the whole experience.
- They take the fear out of booking. Lots of people worry they won’t keep up. Seeing someone like them get through it makes the first booking feel much easier.
- They bring their community with them. Creators have followers who trust them, and when they share a workout at your studio, some of those followers come and try it too.
How Can Fitness Studios Work with Influencers and Creators?
There are four common ways:
- Gifted classes: Book a creator into a class or two so they can try it properly and, if they enjoy it, share it with their followers.
- Paid partnerships: Pay a fitness or lifestyle influencer with a bigger following for agreed content, depending on who you want to reach.
- Creator classes: Fill a whole class with creators for a launch, a new format or a themed session.
- Videos for your ads: With Ad Studio, creators film a class to your brief, made to run as Instagram and TikTok ads, and you own every video you approve.
How to Launch a New Fitness Studio with Creators
Opening week is one of the best times to bring creators in, because lots of local content at once puts your studio in front of people from day one.
- Start before you open: invite creators to a preview class or launch night
- Spread them across the timetable: book creators into different classes in your first few weeks, so people see the full range
- Keep it going: keep inviting creators after launch, so new content keeps coming once the opening buzz fades
What to Offer Creators
A clear, generous offer gets you creators who are genuinely excited to come. For fitness studios, that usually means:
- A free class, maybe with a smoothie or protein shake after
- A class pack, so they can try a few formats and show how the studio fits into their week
- A spot at a launch or themed class, which gives them something different to film
How Joli Works for Fitness Studios
Joli connects leisure and wellness brands with vetted local creators. You set up a campaign once, and creators who’d like to visit apply.
- Set up your campaign: add your offer, the classes creators can book and what you’d love them to capture.
- Creators apply: local creators who like the look of your studio apply, so you’re not sending cold DMs.
- Choose who comes: look at their content, engagement rate and where their followers live, then approve the ones that match your studio, whether that’s high-intensity, strength or low-impact.
- They take a class: creators book in like any other client, and if they enjoy it, they share it with their followers.
- See the results: their posts are collected in your content library with views and engagement, so nobody’s chasing screenshots between classes.
Every creator on Joli is based in the UK and reviewed by our team before they can apply, so a class spot goes to someone whose content we’ve already checked. If you run Pilates or yoga classes too, our guides to Pilates studio marketing and yoga studio marketing cover what works for those.
When you’re ready to fill more classes with local creators, book a demo and we’ll show you how Joli would work for your studio.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I market a fitness studio?
Sell the experience, not just the workout. Show people what a class feels like: the music, the instructors, the energy in the room. Make your intro offer the obvious first step, and use content from creators and real clients to get it in front of people nearby.
How do I fill my fitness classes?
Make your intro offer easy to find and easy to book, then get it in front of people who live nearby. Local creators do that well, especially if you give each one a code or link to share and ask new clients how they found you.
What is fitness influencer marketing?
It's when fitness studios, gyms and brands work with creators and influencers who share their experience with their followers. For studios, the most effective version is usually local: creators who live nearby try your classes and tell an audience that can actually come and book.
How do I find influencers to promote my fitness studio?
Search local hashtags and look for creators who already post workouts, gym fits or wellness content near you, then check their engagement, not just their followers. Or let them come to you: with Joli, you set up a campaign and vetted local creators apply to visit.
How do I launch a new fitness studio?
Build buzz before you open, then keep it going. Invite local creators to a preview class or launch night, book them into classes across your first few weeks, and make it easy for anyone who sees their content to book an intro offer.
Do fitness studios need influencers?
They're one of the quickest ways to fill classes. People trust a real person's sweaty post-class review far more than a studio's own advert, and creator content shows exactly what to expect, which is often the push a nervous first-timer needs.
What if other people in the class don't want to be filmed?
Ask the class before it starts, and give the creator a spot at the front or side of the room where they're the focus of the shot. You can also book creators into a quieter session, or run a dedicated creator class so everyone in the room is happy to be on camera.
