As club management becomes more technologically advanced, the importance of a highly optimized, beautifully designed website continues to increase. From lead generation to member experience, a club’s website is a crucial aspect of organizational success. Here are the essentials of websites and digital marketing for clubs.
Responsive Design and Secure Setup. There are many details a club’s website should include, but two essential components are responsiveness and security. Responsive design goes beyond being mobile-friendly and means the website automatically adjusts its display based on the visitor’s device. The basic security starting point is called an SSL certificate and clubs can instantly become more credible by having one on their website. Ignoring this simple detail can do much more than just hurt a club’s perceived credibility — it can also affect search engine rankings and traffic to the website.
Blogging and Digital Marketing. Simply put, club websites with active blogs generate more leads. Blogs can help generate leads by positioning a club’s staff members as experts in the local community and improving search rankings through SEO (search engine optimization). For clubs who are intensely focused on increasing member joins, paid search ads can be highly effective at driving leads. More specifically, clubs should consider paid ads on Facebook because they are cost-effective and have a high degree of customization.
Program Descriptions and Schedules. When prospects search online for clubs to join, they likely review the class schedule and program overviews before anything else. A professional club website should have details like program descriptions, program expectations, class descriptions including skill level and membership type required, class duration, expected intensity and general class frequency. More specifically, group fitness schedules should be embedded in the website through the club management software so prospects and members can easily view the club’s offerings.
Lead Optimization. An important element of a club’s website lead generation is the CTA, or call-to-action. To entice site visitors to take action, club websites should have actionable buttons or language near the lead forms like “Join Today,” “Learn More” and “Schedule Your Visit.” Another way to start optimizing a website for lead generation is to make sure it is connected to a modern club management solution. To achieve this, clubs should have an embedded lead form on each page that feeds the contact’s information to their club management solution.
Member Self-Service Features. As previously mentioned, clubs should embed their schedules into their website. With that, clubs should allow members to manage their accounts through the website as well, giving them the ability to register for classes and update their information at any time. This level of member access has been proven to increase loyalty and attendance.
Emily Zelko is the marketing strategy manager for Club Automation and can be reached at ezelko@daxko.com. For more information about Club Automation’s website design and digital marketing service, visit clubautomation.com.
