How to Market Your Yoga Studio to Seniors

If your studio needs help marketing yoga to seniors, you’ve come to the right place! Does your yoga studio already focus on yoga for seniors? Are you searching for ways to expand your current clientele?

First off, let’s take a look at the benefits seniors can look forward to once yoga becomes a part of their lives!

The Benefits of Yoga for Seniors

Yoga is good for the mind, body and soul! Here are just a few of the ways that seniors can benefit from this age-old practice:

1. Yoga is a great low impact workout, becoming an effective way for seniors to stay active while keeping their risk of injury to a minimum.
2. The focus on balance and stability could help prevent falls, which is a common concern for people as they age.
3. Yoga has been credited with a host of health benefits including: improved breathing, better flexibility, joint health, and reduced high blood pressure.

There’s no doubt about it: yoga for seniors is a fantastic way to grow your business. But how do you attract the attention you’re seeking and bring in your desired clientele? How do you make a name for yourself and tell the world what you’re offering?

5 Ways to Market Your Yoga Studio for Seniors

With a great marketing strategy, getting seniors to try out your studio will be a breeze! Here are our suggestions for marketing your studio:

1. Build a brand

Every marketing strategy starts with brand development. What’s your studio all about? What vibe do you want to project? Now, you’ve likely tackled this issue and nailed down a solid brand when you started your business, but take a look at whether it lends itself to yoga for seniors. If not, no biggie, tweak your brand to address this market and you’re good to go!

What do we mean? It’s important to develop a strategy to attract seniors to your studio and it starts with your branding.

If you want to make your studio attractive to an older market, you need to look the part! Now we don’t mean fake it ‘til you make it here. We’re talking about committing to attracting a senior market by becoming a studio they can relate to and want to visit.

As an example, do you have a senior instructor on staff? If not, why not? People like to relate to their instructors. If they see someone in their own age group, they’re more likely to feel at ease, making your studio more relatable. Just like that, your yoga for seniors’ classes will start to grow.

Ask yourself whether your marketing material follows this strategy as well. Do you feature an older clientele in your marketing material? Does your website focus on attracting an older market? Again, the idea that people need to relate to businesses they support, suggests that by including seniors in your marketing material, you’ll become a more attractive destination for an older market.

Building a brand that is senior-inclusive will go a long way in attracting your target market and paving the way for your successful marketing strategy to follow through.

2. Market strategically

What do we mean here? Do your research! How can you best reach your market? We mentioned including seniors as part of your marketing in print and on the web, but what’s the best way to get the word out?

Take a look at where your target market is and then promote your yoga classes for seniors where you know they’ll see it. Here are some places you might want to try:

Traditional marketing

Start with traditional marketing. Find out the audience stats for your local radio stations, newspapers, and television stations. Are their audiences heavily populated with an older demographic? If so, start promoting yoga for seniors wherever you can to help get the word out!

Social events

Have you thought about participating in social events as a way to reach the senior market? You could visit local seniors’ homes and offer a free on-site class or talk. You might consider doing a demo class at a local charity event, in the park, or even getting a booth at a fair in your neighborhood.

These kinds of endeavors will bring attention to yoga for seniors, giving them an idea of what a class might be like, and getting your name out there as the studio to visit.

Another added benefit is that it will get you out in the neighborhood, engaging with local seniors and getting to know what they’re looking for. There’s no better way to grow your business than to establish a supportive community!

Social media

Though not traditionally thought to be a popular place for seniors, don’t sell your target market short! There are plenty of social media savvy seniors that you can reach through blogs, Facebook posts, and YouTube videos.

A few tips and tricks here:

• Join as many Facebook groups frequented by seniors as you can to get your name out there as a yoga studio for seniors. Groups are a great way to engage with an audience who may not already be familiar with your studio.
• Vary your content! Including a mix of content from educational blogs to easy-to-read info-graphics with big letters to videos featuring seniors doing yoga. A variation will keep your audience interested and engaged.

Remember, even if some social sites aren’t where most of your target audience is visiting, you might attract the attention of a family member or friend that can refer you. Indirect marketing counts too!

3. Give promotions a try

If you’re looking to gain attention and up your senior student numbers, why not offer a promotion to get them in the doors? Have you tried promotions within your other sectors? Take a look at your successes, maybe you can apply the same approach.

Consider an “invite a guest” promotion, where you encourage your students to bring a senior guest to class. This will promote the fact that your offerings are expanding and will give seniors the chance to try out a class with a friend or family member!

Similarly, you could offer a free class just for seniors. They can try it out and ask questions while surrounded by other students in their age range. This could be a great option to help make newcomers feel at home!

One other idea might be to offer a seniors’ discount for the purchase of a membership. Though this may decrease your profit in the short term, once the word gets out, you’ll see your revenue rise.

4. Build business relationships

How do you expand your brand to reach that market you’re searching for? Partner with businesses that are already selling to seniors! Is there a gym near you that’s popular with that age group? Could you contact local grocery stores, doctors’ offices, and retailers?

Cross-promoting is how everyone wins! The businesses get to expand their customer base, help other businesses succeed, and clients get to take advantage of brilliant offers.

From linking to their websites, to offering brochures at your front desk, to sponsoring events, or even hosting a shared event—partnering with other businesses is a great way to gain access to a larger market and reach your business goals!

5. Offer senior-friendly options

OK, you’ve got an older audience interested in your classes, but it won’t do you any good to get them in your studio and not be able to deliver on your promises. So how do you cater to your growing senior population?

One way is to offer yoga classes designed for seniors. For instance, chair yoga is very popular! Another option is restorative yoga, where the focus is on gentle poses to help relax the body.

On top of offering classes geared towards seniors, be sure that your instructors offer modifications throughout each class so that each pose can be adapted for an older (and possibly a beginner) student.

Finally, if you want to know what yoga for seniors should entail, go straight to the source! Is there a time slot that’s preferred by most of your senior clients? Do they have a type of class they’ll love to take? Is there a pose they’d like to work on? The best way to get specific info about how best to address the needs of your client is simply by asking them. You can survey your current students, or post a poll online.

And the best part? Your clients and prospective students will be impressed that you care enough to want to serve them better!

How WellnessLiving Can Help

We’ve got the market cornered on wellness! While you’re marketing your studio to seniors, let us save you time with our yoga studio software. From an easy-to-use online booking system, to automated marketing, to staff and client apps, to a rewards program, to improved Google presence and much more, we got you covered! Book a free, no-commitment demo with WellnessLiving today and find out how we can take your business to the next level.