been running a small gym for about 6 months. started with 15 members, now at 35. pretty happy with the growth but something happened last week that's been bugging me.
one of my regulars walks in and asks "hey did you guys get new owners or something? your instagram looks completely different lately"
I was confused at first. then I went back and scrolled through our feed. she's totally right. one week it's bright and energetic, next week it's dark and moody, fonts are all over the place. honestly looks like 3 different businesses.
here's the thing – I'm doing all the social media myself because I can't afford to hire someone yet. I just make posts whenever I have time, usually late at night after closing. whatever looks decent I post. but I never thought about keeping things consistent.
tried working with a designer on fiverr once. spent like $150 and they made everything look super corporate and polished. didn't feel like us at all. we're just a neighborhood gym, not some fancy fitness chain.
so I went back to doing it myself. but clearly that's not working either if my own members are noticing.
that comment really got to me because if existing members think we changed ownership, what do potential new members think when they check us out? probably looks unprofessional or like we don't know what we're doing.
I know branding matters but I honestly don't know where to start. do I need a new logo? hire someone full time? use some kind of system? just pick one style and stick with it?
anyone else dealt with this in the early stages? how did you figure out the branding thing without breaking the bank?
my gym member thought we changed ownership because our social media looks different every week
byu/Busy-Pomegranate7551 inEntrepreneur
Posted by Busy-Pomegranate7551
11 Comments
going from 15 to 35 in 6 months is solid. nice work
your member giving honest feedback is actually a good sign. means they care
tbh most of my best performing snazzy reels on ig were made by a 19-20 year old girl who comes in that is a video editing god. paid 25 bucks for each vid, let her film about twice a month. kids are better than marketing companies at this stuff it seems.
consistency is huge for small businesses. even simple branding makes a big difference
Don’t let the comment get you down. It happens but now you know and you can grow from there. Try to be really consistent from here on out. With your logos, fonts, types of photos you guys use. This is going to help build your branding and customer trust.
That’s honestly a little funny.
Just remember to TRAIN UNTAMEDDDDDD
If you’re using Canva to make the creatives setup your brand settings. Fonts, colors, etc. I have two team members with me but I can say it’d be a mess if we didn’t setup consistency on the brand before anything else. You likely don’t need a new logo. Hiring someone out of Pakistan or Phillipines would likely <500$ a month.
You can’t do anything about the past, just become consistent going forward.
Good to get feedback that can be actioned going forward.
You don’t need to a new brand or logo necessarily, just consistency. (You may want to consider this in the future but not a must right now.)
Are you using Canva to make content? If so, just pick two fonts to use going forward. One should be very simple and easy to read.
Pick 2-3 colours for everything going forward. (One of those should be brighter to highlight with.) Just start there and that will help!
If putting text on in insta, use the same font there each time. Probably won’t be the same as the canvas font but just use the same one on insta.
Look around your network, maybe you could offer a free annual membership to a local designer to help you out with a starter layout / guide book? And personal trainer , or credit in your supplement store or something.
Create a brand guide document with your colors, fonts, brand voice, tone, imagery, etc. Will make things easier on you and whoever you eventually hand the responsibilities off to.