How Earth Treks Climbing Gyms
Used Content Marketing to Set Record Growth
for the LARGEST Climbing Gym in the USA
Earth Treks Climbing Yoga and Fitness
Earth Treks was a climbing gym chain started in the northeast USA which was eventually purchased by a venture capital firm about 1.5 years after our contract. The were the pinnacle of what a climbing gym could be. They offered retail sales, gym memberships, personal training, kids care, and group fitness.
What were we contracted to do?
in 2018-2019 we were contracted by Earth Treks Climbing gyms to helm the social media and content creation for the Colorado region. We eagerly took on the challenges that were presented to us:
Create Original Content to brand awareness in the Northern Colorado Region.
Document the building process of the largest gym in the country.
Boost the organic social media reach of all Colorado gyms.
Engage with the community, develop, and manage the community.
What was our approach?
After consulting with the Executive team, the objectives were set, and the clear path to success was evident to our team. We had to create content that would strike a chord with the community, create hype around the new gym opening, and establish us as the most community-driven gym in the history of gyms.
Step 1: Deciding what to make.
We began working with the staff that were deeply involved in the setup and organization of the new gym, to understand what was being created and what they were most excited to show off. We had decided that we would create 2 separate video series. The first, to target the community, would be silly, fun, and entertaining. It would feature 2 well-known employees from the gym and drive traffic to our social channels. Which would then be monitored and actively managed by us.
The 2nd would be dedicated to the gym itself. Showing the equipment, amenities, and build-out as the gym was being constructed. This would again push people to our social channels, allow us to answer questions, and begin building a relationship with the. The LTV (lifetime value) of each member was calculated to be around $10,000, so building that strong relationship, and positioning ourselves properly was incredibly important.
Step 2: Implementation.
We had a 90-day runway. 90 days to get the word out, presell memberships, and build relationships.
We started with Facebook and YouTube, from the ground up, with 0 followers on any platform. But we had a plan!
Facebook & YouTube
We began the campaign with the first of our community-based videos followed 2 weeks later by the first of our gym amenities videos. Couple that with the daily posting of updates, and questions for our community and you have record-breaking audience growth for a national, venture-funded gym. An additional layer that added to the effectiveness was our active community management. We would respond to comments and questions throughout the day during gym business hours.
How did we do?
This gym broke all records in audience growth, retention, and sales that the company had previously had, and we did it in 90 days.
Taking guidance from the executive team, and deploying our tried and true methods of communication and content production, this gym:
Went from 0 to 7436 Facebook fans in 90 days
Had a Facebook group of 1200 devoted members on opening day
Worked with professional athletes to generate more press around the opening
1500 memberships had been sold by opening day
All metrics of success were exceeded