Let’s face facts: we live in a one-and-done society where people rarely go beyond dipping their toe in the water of your brand. Sure, they know the deep end is full of rewards and benefits, but they’re hesitant to commit beyond that first experience because there could be something (or someone) out there with a bit more to offer.
If you want to separate yourself from your competition, you’ve got to do more than just special deals and offerings. You’ve got to strategically put yourself in the right places at the right times, showing people that you’re a bit different, you’ve got digital chops, and you’re well worth the subscription investment. It’s more than just great ads — it’s an entire experience. And that’s where we come in.
Few verticals offer the highs and headaches of health and fitness, so we’ll be using our recent work with a health and fitness client below. Some of the strategies will be immediately relevant to your brand, while others can be held in your back pocket for future brand building. Either way, they’ll help you overcome subscription challenges, and bring new value to your stagnant brand.
Implement & Optimize Landing Pages
Homepages are great, but they often create a disconnect from the ad your fans see. Instead, think about creating a targeted landing page that better connects readers to your messaging and PPC campaigns. Over time, you can refine, A/B test, and optimize your pages to deliver richer experiences and higher conversion rates.
Geotarget Like a Boss
Know your audience and go after them with content that strikes all the right chords. Our recent work will help you break up your geographical targeting into more distinct groups, and then optimize delivery to target people who are most likely to become customers.
Improve Demographic Targeting
Be smart and savvy with your targeting. Intelligent bid adjustments can effectively target users by age and gender, improving the cost-effectiveness of your online advertising. Do the research, find your key demographic, and get your media in front of the right audience.
Clear Focus On Promoting Memberships
Everyone wants to be a member of something, but you have to make them turn the corner and commit. It’s vital that you create a clear pathway to membership after the initial experience, whether that’s discounts or a mix of healthy incentives. For our health and fitness client, we recommended a range of approachable membership options and little “perks,” ranging from snacks to “special booking access.” Basically, if you make it a soft-sell, they’ll be hard-pressed to say no to you and your brand.
Enhance Your Email
Email is typically one of the highest ROI forms of outreach you can undertake. While it’s a great place to show everyone the style and tone of your brand, it’s also an excellent opportunity to effectively incentivize past visitors to become members and stay connected.
Convert Customers into Ambassadors
Developing an effective referral program can allow your customers to become sales representatives on your behalf. As we did with our health and fitness client, we recommend developing a referral program that targets your members, offering them opportunities to share benefits, send referrals, and invite people to free sessions. If done right, you’ll have an army of dedicated fans and exponential long-term growth.
Go Broad or Go Home
Many brands make the mistake of putting too much emphasis on AdWords for direct conversions. While AdWords is great, we recommend you extend your reach to other sources, providing people a “warm-up” on a range of media outlets. Here’s a look at the strategy we recommended for our health and fitness client:
- Generate incremental awareness and interest through video advertising to cold audiences (Instagram and YouTube).
- Warm up engaged video viewers through remarketing with more videos and content (testimonials, FAQs, research content).
- Implement follow-up series (outside paid media, via email/loyalty programs) to convert first-time customers into returning customers and raving fans.
A World of Opportunity
As subscription-based services evolve, so must their advertising strategies. Digital-savvy audiences everywhere are craving high-quality membership services, and there’s never been a more exciting time to connect with them and keep them coming back for more. When brands utilize the right strategies and creative, they’ll spark a better connection to their audience, engage with their desires, and sustain relationships that go well beyond the first visit.
