The Benefits of Digital Signage for Gyms

Gyms, like all successful businesses, need to stay atop their game to stand out from the competition.

Of course, people love when a gym gets a new pool or adds a racketball court, but there are smaller additions that involve much less cost while maintaining a great potential for startling revenue increases and improvements in client experiences.

The technology of digital signage has taken the business world by storm. People have simply realized that static signs will not cut it in a digital age when people expect eye-catching and visually pleasing visuals.

Much has been made of the use of digital signage in industries such as the food service industry, and certainly, there are a lot of benefits to a restaurant or bar that come with integrating a digital signage system into their business.

However, one type of business truly stands out from the crowd when it comes to the possible benefits that can be gained from the effective use of digital signage: gyms.

In this article, we will first go over the basics of digital signage for the uninitiated by explaining what exactly digital signage is. Next, we will briefly discuss what pieces of hardware and software are required for a digital signage system.

After this brief introduction to digital signage, we will move on to some of the clearest examples of benefits that a gym can reap from integrating digital signage into its facilities.

What is Digital Signage?

Digital Signage involves the use of digital displays, such as TVs, LED displays, LCD displays, tablets, and pretty much anything that can project digital content, along with digital signage solutions, such as digital signage hardware, digital signage software, content management software, templates, and media players (all of which make of the digital signage system) to display digital content.

The different types of content that can be displayed on a digital signage display screen is astounding: images, text, animations, social media feeds and social media walls, video content and video walls, interactive apps, wayfinding information, real-time data analytics, infographics and company performance metrics, testimonials, birthday shout outs, and so much more.

Moreover, you digital signage display might be as big as a billboard or as small as a tablet or anywhere in between, so there are countless opportunities for strategic placement of the right types of screens for the right types of content.

How Do You Set Up a Digital Signage System?

The first thing you need to do is get a screen, whether it be a tablet, a flat-screen TV, or a giant LED display. With this, you will also want to procure a wall mount to mount your display to the wall. Mounting the display to the wall will increase visibility and save space.

The next thing you have to do is find the right digital signage solution for you. You can either get digital signage hardware, complete with a media player and in-house digital signage software, or you can go with a cloud-based digital signage solution, in which case you will need solid wifi connectivity since your content management will happen off base in the cloud.

Going with the hardware option is typically a one-time investment while going with a cloud-based digital signage solution will typically be paid for by the month.

Once you have your screen, your mount, and your digital signage solution, you are all set to put your digital signage system to use, which will typically involve using the templates provided with the digital signage software to create content and digital signage playlists to be displayed as you see fit.

Benefits of Gym Digital Signage

1. Convey Important Information to Gym Members

While gym members are training, digital signage provides the perfect tool to inform them. It is possible to inform them about the class schedules, the teachers that are available, the treatments that can be performed in that particular gym, the success stories, promotions and events, healthy lifestyles and many other relevant subjects in the world of sports.

2. Improve Member Experience with Entertainment

Digital signage, like music, can also entertain athletes. In addition to sharing videos, training can also be displayed, for example. There is a whole range of options that can be chosen to entertain the athletes, whether during training sessions or at the entrance or exit of the gym.

3. Motivate Gym Members

Motivation is an extremely effective way to drive athletes to achieve success. Thus, educational material is not just another way for people to learn. The educational material, with images, videos and inspiring quotes, can make training time more effective and satisfying.

Instead of being a teacher verbally stating the importance of health and physical exercise, attractive videos about the importance of training and the results achieved help athletes not to give up.

4. Educate Gym Members

Physical exercise is fundamental for health. As such, the exhibition of videos and nutritional suggestions for athletes can even encourage customers. By educating athletes in this sense, the gym is showing that it cares about their health and well-being, which encourages them to continue exercising.

5. Promotion

Many gyms offer many services beyond providing a space for people to work out and the equipment required for this endeavor. Many gyms also offer classes, ranging from yoga to karate, spa services, and personal training.

With digital signage, a gym can most effectively promote these services to its members. For example, many people are unsure if they want to bite the bullet and hire a personal trainer.

However, if there is digital signage that gives profiles and information about the personal trainers available at the gym, the increased familiarity engendered by this promotion will make it far more likely that a member will choose to enlist the services of a personal trainer.

The same that has been said about personal trainers can also be said about spa staff and the services that they offer. Moreover, these services can be made to look all the more appealing with relaxing videos and tasteful text.

6. Improved Communication with Gym Members

The best way to create and, consequently, maintain a positive relationship with athletes is through communication. Some digital signage solutions make it possible for the gym to personalize and improve the customer experience in the gym.

In some cases, It is even possible to transmit personalized messages such as birthday events or some success stories that involve physical exercise and that make the athlete feel involved. Once a customer feels more involved with the gym and starts to consider it a community, they will be far more likely to become loyal members.

7. Increased Safety

Security should be a priority for any physical preparation space. With digital signage, ensuring the safety of athletes and instructors in the facilities is increasingly easy, taking into account that it is possible to display safety instructions, preventive measures and first aid details in a dynamic way.

8. Wayfinding

Some fitness centers are quite large and contain a multitude of facilities, and it can often be difficult for new gym members to orient themselves and efficiently find their destination. Digital signage is a great way to display wayfinding directions so that the members can effectively navigate the gym. The member experience should be as seamless as possible, starting with their first day at the gym, and making sure that members can find their way around large gyms can go a long way in turning a new member into a loyal member.

9. Greater Member Engagement with Social Media

Gyms like many other businesses can greatly benefit from having a strong online presence. Digital signage brings the digital world into the physical world with options like social media walls that display real-time social media posts that other members have made about the gym.

This is a common phenomenon. People often take videos of themselves lifting or at least take selfies in the gym facilities. Workout culture has a strong presence both online and offline.

Gym members may feel an increased sense of engagement and community when they see other like-minded individuals posting about the gym and may very well start tagging your gym in their posts as well. In addition to increasing member engagement, this is also a very effective way of online word-of-mouth marketing.

The more people post about your gym, the greater the reach of your brand. That's why social media digital signage is such a powerful tool for gyms.

10. Better Employee Communication

Digital signage is not only being used to communicate with members but can also effectively be put to use when communicating with gym staff. Instead of communicating via email, you can have screens set up at important points in the gym to convey important messages or directives.

Just as customers and members enjoy visually pleasing communication, employees do too, and using digital signage for internal communication is a great way to get important messages across to employees at an incredibly expedient rate.

11. Upsell Cafe Products With a Digital Menu Board

Many fitness centers have their own cafes where they sell healthy foods and nutrient-packed protein shakes. This is not only done for the convenience of the potentially hungry member but also because it is a great way to increase revenue. Using a digital menu board has a lot of benefits over a static menu board.

Firstly, you can design it any way that you want, and in addition to listings of the foods and beverages offered, you can display mouth-watering videos or images of the goods that you are selling. Moreover, you can change the menu depending on the time of day with almost no effort involved.

12. Advertising Revenue Stream

A great way for a gym to make some extra money is by using digital signage to advertise products. Gym members are a highly sought-after demographic for a number of industries, such as the nutrition industry.

By offering to display advertisements on your digital screens, you can be sure to find a lot of interested parties. This is a really great way to add to the bottom line.

Moreover, the screen need not be dedicated solely to advertisements. You can intersperse advertisements with other content by managing your digital signage playlist.

13. Endless Customization

Another benefit of the presence of digital signage in gyms is the fact that the contents can be customizable, depending on the type of audience and schedule. The content of the morning can be different from the one of the afternoon, taking into account that there are athletes who prefer to train early and others later.

13. Saving Time and Money

With digital signage in gyms, there is no longer the need to print class schedules or promotions (which also ends up promoting sustainability) –, simply by updating the content that is being displayed. Any information can then be easily changed at any time.

14. More Prospective Gym Members

One aspect of digital signage that simply cannot be ignored is that it can be designed in so many dynamic ways to make it optimally visually appealing. For most of this article, we have talked of digital signage inside the gym’s walls, but digital signage can also play a big role in generating new member interest.

With a great digital sign outside of your gym, containing content such as images, videos, and animations, your gym is much more likely to catch the attention of people passing by.

Even if those people do not come right into your gym and request a membership that same day (though this is surely possible), they will be far more likely to think of your gym when deciding on a place to work out.

Reaping the Benefits

There are simply so many benefits that a gym can get from integrating digital signage. It can revolutionize the way that people interact with your gym and is a great way to improve the overall member experience.

Of course, a better member experience will translate into more loyal gym members, and that way your gym membership can continue to grow. This means more revenue for your business and happier members.