Tips For Marketing A Gymnastics Birthday Party To Parents

Marketing gymnastics birthday parties to parents is a great way to generate revenue and attract new parents to your gym. These events are becoming increasingly popular because parents love giving their children a day of fun and activities. With the proper marketing, a single gymnastics birthday party can be a fun experience for your existing gymnasts and a lead magnet for generating interest in new families. Here are a few tips to market gymnastics birthday party for your club!

1. Start a Birthday Club Email List:

If you haven’t already started a birthday club email list, now is a great time to start! First, collect all the birthdays of your existing gymnasts from your database and import them into your email marketing system. You can use tools like Zapier to automate this process on an ongoing basis as well. Create an automated Birthday email template that gets triggered to go out automatically one month before their birthday. Consider showcasing active membership vs. non-member rates in your email messages as well to incentivize families. Not sure which email marketing tool to use, MailChimp is a great system for sending automated emails!

2. Include A “Birthday Parties” Page On Your Website:

Make sure to include an easy-to-navigate birthday party page on your website with different package options, including pricing and what comes with each package. If you have any add-ons (ex: themed parties), keep your instructions clear and concise, and include what the add-on fee is and what will be included. Remember to keep this process as simple as possible for parents to sign up online to select party dates and times. Many parents are doing their party planning after hours, so making automated selections accessible is the huge key to successfully booking out your birthday events.

3. Develop Strategic Partnerships:

Developing partnerships with your local community is critical for gaining the attention of parents. You can team up with local PTA’s and sponsor school events at daycares, pre-schools, and elementary schools. Offer special discounts to schools you partner with in exchange for promotion of gymnastics birthday party packages, camps, or other classes you offer. You can also leave flyers in local ice cream spots, smoothie shops and restaurants that would like to participate in cross-promotion. Always be sure to ask employees or the owners before leaving any fliers. You may also offer to display their business cards or fliers in your lobby and parent waiting areas to reciprocate.

4. Market In Person:

Marketing in person is a great way to generate more “word of mouth” traffic. Hang your gymnastics birthday party promotional posters in lobbies, bathrooms, and any other area in your gym parents would typically spend their time. Keep handouts in your lobby and parent waiting areas for parents to take with them. Make sure both you and your staff are aware of the upcoming birthdays of your existing gymnasts. You can offer them an early birthday gift set and ask parents and their kids if they have any big plans for their birthday to start the conversation on having their party at your gym.

5. Use Social Media:

Social media is by far one of the most influential spaces available for marketing due to its ability to reach large numbers of people instantly. Use that availability to promote and run ads on Facebook and Instagram. Make posts on your feed and state eye-catching phrases like “Reserve Your Birthday Party Today!”. You can also gain traction by promoting a birthday party giveaway contest to get parents to “subscribe” to your Birthday Email List.

6. Make The Birthday Party Fun, But Also Make It A Marketing Event:

When new parents arrive, have them fill out a consent form and include email marketing language in your consent disclaimer with their child’s age and birthday so you can add them to your Birthday Club email marketing list. Include a clause about photography consent during the party and have your staff take group photos, party photos, and videos throughout the birthday party that can be shared on your website and social media.

With new gymnastic birthday party sign-ups offer branded merchandise like t-shirts, hats, cups, drawstring backpacks, etc. You can also give out pre-made birthday goody bags from the gym that includes promotional material for your gymnastics programs and other offerings like medals and gymnastics-themed toys to get kids and parents excited and interested. You can also use your gym swag as prizes to different games and activities that you have the kids play at the party.

Teach your coaching staff to engage with parents and focus on relationship-building during parties. Train them how to interact and interest parents with the benefits of joining a gymnastics program, like, “She loved the trampoline!” or “He’s a natural and loved the tumbling exercise.” or “The kids had such a blast, and parents love these parties because the kids go to bed so easily.” You want to ensure your staff has an upbeat attitude during these interactions; you can read tips for coaching positive gymnastics coaches here. Introduce sales language into your dialogue when coaching your team, as this will help maintain the flow of conversation easier as they have conversations with parents. Have class schedules and rate cards readily available for parents to take home.

There are many moving parts go into effectively marketing a gymnastic birthday party to parents, but using birthdays is a great way to engage your existing parents and gymnasts and expand your reach into the community! There is no one-size-fits-all way to market to parents, but if you keep these best practices in mind, you can work towards consistently attracting a steady stream of future gymnasts to your club!