When it comes to marketing your yoga studio, there are several ways you can go about it without breaking your head to come up with an elaborate marketing strategy. You can set up paid Facebook ads and link it to your Instagram page, you can write a weekly blog and advertise your yoga classes, or you can post photos of the studio and yoga teachers on social media pages to help capture the public’s attention. Here are 11 awesome yoga marketing tips to market your yoga studio on Instagram.

This section also answers popular questions asked such as:

"How do you market a yoga class?"

"How do you grow a yoga studio?"

"How do you attract private yoga clients?"

#1 – Keep Things Simple

‍The worst thing you can do when it comes to marketing your yoga studio on Instagram is make things complicated. A simple photo or video with a simple description is really all you need to get your viewers’ attention. If your photos are too busy, or if they don’t stick to the general theme of the message you want to send, then they won’t fit into your marketing strategy and they won’t help as much as they should or could. The simplest way to boost followers is by offering free classes to a random few with the condition that they must like and share your post or page. Marketing ideas like these may even find you some new students!

‍#2 – Include Real Photos of Yoga

‍Although it may be tempting to purchase stock photos of beautiful people engaged in some of the most difficult yoga positions, it’s more important to be realistic when it comes to marketing your studio. Take high-quality photos from inside your own studio, of current students or even of yourself demonstrating different positions. This way, it doesn’t seem forced or staged, and people will be more inclined to imagine themselves doing yoga. Make sure that you have a link to your own website in the description of every picture you post so that new customers and potential students have a way to contact you.

#3 -  Share Informational Videos

‍Informational videos are phenomenal for getting Instagram traffic. For example, you can describe and demonstrate some of the more difficult yoga positions that people often struggle with. You can also talk about how yoga is good for both the mind and the body. They’ll thank you for it, and they’ll stick around to see what comes next. You can gain a lot of Instagram viewership by sharing a video regularly – even if it’s just once a month – alongside your other posts. You may even include tips from Yoga teacher training programs for more unique content.

‍#4 – Ask Viewers Questions

‍What position do you struggle with? What position would you like me to demonstrate? Do you think yoga should be relaxing? Asking questions like these gets a discussion moving, and it also provides you with ideas for new photos and videos down the line. Remember that Instagram is a social space that calls for engagement, and you’ll need to do your part to get the word out and get people talking. Besides, who wouldn't want free tailored advice and demos from a certified yoga instructor? Instagram has many free marketing tools for questions, polls and surveys that you can make use of.

‍#5 – Post Often

‍Once you start promoting your yoga studio on Instagram, don’t stop. You should post a minimum of three times per week. Posting too often can clog people’s feeds or overwhelm them with notifications, but posting too infrequently can cause people to forget about your studio. It’s important to find just the right balance and stick to it. Most people find that three times per week or every other day is sufficient, but if your visitors ask for more or less, be sure to pay attention to their requests. Remember, you rely on word of mouth from your most loyal customers for your yoga business to grow and succeed.

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‍#6 – Share Photos of Studio Members

‍Get permission to take photos of your studio members in action and share these on Instagram. People are drawn to real people engaged in real activity – not a staged scenario. Marketing studies show that people prefer images filled with faces, so be sure to capture your smiling studio members often. In fact, consider taking a photograph of all of your current studio members and posting it to all of your social media sites – including Instagram. It’s a great way to promote a sense of camaraderie. Your yoga website could include a photo gallery which directly links to your Instagram page as well.

‍#7 – Don’t Be Afraid of Long Descriptions

‍Long descriptions can be very helpful in many instances, and it could even lend to SEO. Tell a story about your studio, your passions, and your drive to help others succeed. While you shouldn’t post incredibly long descriptions every other day, doing so once a week or a couple of times per month can give your viewers some insight when it comes to your drive and your passions. What drives any business are the business owners, their hopes, dreams and ambitions and this holds true in the case of yoga studio owners as well.

‍#8 – Use CTAs Wisely

‍Every once in a while, urge people to stop by and check out your studio. Offer them free 15-minute sessions. Calls to action will help you generate more business, even on Instagram. They don’t have to be salesy to the point of being corny, but they should help drive a sense of urgency in consumers and give them a reason to come check out your studio sooner rather than later. Email marketing efforts like sending discount codes or free class passes to those who register interest will not be in vain as you will at least end up with an email list of potential students or new customers that you can then target by further altering your online marketing plan.

‍#9 – Choose #Hashtags Appropriately

‍Hashtags are an important tool for online content marketing and can be very helpful when used wisely. Don’t use a completely irrelevant hashtag just because it’s trending. Find a way to link your post to a trending hashtag, and then use several variations of that hashtag. It isn’t uncommon to see companies use between seven and 15 hashtags per post, and this is perfectly acceptable as long as they are all relevant to the content you are sharing.

If you’re teaching people a yoga position, though, it makes no sense to use #election2016. In fact, it may annoy people who want to search Instagram for election posts. Or using #yogaretreat (even though it has the word 'yoga' in it) just to boost your audience. On the contrary it may annoy people who are actually scouting for a yoga retreat and come across your Instagram or Facebook page when you don't offer any kind of retreat packages. A case like that is one of false advertising and it's best to avoid such situations.

#10 – Understand Your Filters

‍Instagram camera filters can help or harm your posts. Use filters wisely and in such a way that you aren’t covering up the realistic nature of your studio. For example, if you want to highlight a particular part of the body during a yoga pose, consider using black-and-white photography, but using colour in the area you want to highlight. This immediately draws the eye exactly where you want it, and it helps illustrate the information that you are providing. Some filters may seem more appealing to the eye but can take away focus of the most important aspect of the picture. You want your posts to be aesthetically pleasing but also realistic at the same time.

‍#11 – Have Fun

‍Above all else, when it comes to promoting your yoga studio on Instagram, have some fun with it. Choose a theme that you enjoy and share that enjoyment with others. Do you enjoy promoting a sense of nature? Choose photos that highlight the great outdoors. Are you more about meditation and Eastern practices? Choose photos that highlight these things, as well.

The more fun you have with your account, the more you’ll make people smile – and that’s how your studio becomes memorable - at least on social networks.Instagram is a great digital marketing medium to help provide people with information about your yoga studio. They can see firsthand what it looks like, they can get to know you as an individual and a business owner, they can better understand how and why yoga will benefit them and most importantly, how YOU can help them achieve their personal goals with Yoga.

Our Clubworx yoga studio management software can help simplify your yoga studio's Instagram marketing activities.