By John Franklin, Two-Brain chief marketing officer
I get it: You’re spending time and money on Facebook ads, and the only person who seems to be getting rich is Mark Zuckerberg.
Before you blame the platform or say “six-week challenges don’t work anymore,” let’s talk about what’s actually going on.
Facebook ads do work—but most gym owners aren’t using them the right way. The problem isn’t the tool; it’s how you use it.
So let’s break it down. Here are five reasons why your Facebook ads aren’t working—and, more importantly, how to fix your marketing.
1. Your Offer Falls Flat
You might have the best gym in town, but if the offer on your ads doesn’t hit people like a sledgehammer, you will burn your hard-earned cash. Yep, I said it.
I’ve seen gym owners try to reinvent the wheel with their offers because “six-week challenges just aren’t our brand.” Guess what? There’s a reason the six-week challenge is the most pervasive offer in the industry: It’s simple, it’s compelling, and it gets people in the door.
You need an offer that makes people say, “I need to buy this now.”
A great offer should:
- Solve a burning problem for prospects.
- Encourage prospects to act now.
- Show prospects what to do next.
People are busy and distracted, and they’re scrolling a mile a minute. If your offer doesn’t smack them in the face with value, it won’t work.
2. Your Creative Doesn’t Stop the Scroll
Your ad is made up of three things: a headline, some copy and an image or video.
But here’s the thing: Nobody’s reading the copy if your image or video doesn’t stop people from scrolling past your ad.
Once you’ve got their attention, the headline should hook them, and then the copy seals the deal. It might take months of testing headlines, copy and creative before you have a winning ad, but the effort is worth it. A winning combination can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.
Once you have a winner, don’t get complacent. Facebook’s algorithms are constantly changing, so what worked last month might be dead in the water today.
That’s why you’ve got to test, tweak and refine your ads constantly. It’s about making small, incremental improvements. Swap a few words in your headline and test a new filter on a high-performing image; you never know what will breathe life into a winning campaign.
3. Your Targeting Is too Wide
You’re not Starbucks, so stop advertising like you are.
Too many gym owners cast a net that’s too wide.
Let me ask you this: How many people are driving 20 miles to your gym? Probably none.
Narrowing your targeting will put your ad in front of people who are more likely to buy.
Consider these factors:
- Radius: The average gym-goer commutes 4 miles. People want convenience, even it means sacrificing quality. If your gym is near some non-affluent areas, target by zip code instead of by radius.
- Gender: Focus on women—they tend to engage more with Facebook and Instagram ads.
- Age: Keep your age targeting relevant. If your gym’s core demographic is 28–38, don’t waste ad spend on teenagers or retirees.
Remember, reaching the right audience more frequently is better than reaching the wrong audience at scale.
4. You Don’t Understand Your Metrics
Here’s the harsh truth: Many gym owners are clueless about their ad metrics. They see a $100 ad spend produce zero clients and freak out, shutting off campaigns before the ads can actually do their job.
To win the game of online advertising, you need to understand:
- How much you’re spending.
- What it costs to acquire a customer.
- The front-end value of a customer.
- The lifetime value of a customer.
Big companies know these numbers cold. Netflix loses about $75 to get a new user up front but makes it back in spades over the long haul.
The same applies to your gym. If you spend $800 to get someone in the door for a $300 challenge, you’re losing money on the front end. Many gym owners quit with these kinds of numbers. But if the average person sticks around for 21 months and pays $200 a month, you have a winning campaign on your hands. It just takes a little time to play out.
Don’t kill your golden goose; understand the math before you hit the panic button.
5. You’re Underspending
Facebook ads are more expensive than they were a decade ago, and it’s not even close. Gone are the days of 50-cent leads and $20 new members. If you’re spending $2 a day on ads, it’s no wonder you think they don’t work. Your ads aren’t getting enough reach for Facebook to optimize them properly.
Spend at least $500 to $1,000 before evaluating a campaign’s effectiveness.
Yes, I get it—dropping that kind of cash feels risky if you’re new to this. That’s why it’s best to do it with the help of a certified marketing mentor.
Bonus: You’re Taking too Long to Respond to Leads
“The leads are bad” is a common gripe I hear from gym owners who give up on ads too soon.
If this is you, I have great news: It’s not your ads; it’s you.
Leads are perishable. The longer you take to respond, the colder they get. The gyms that crush it with Facebook ads respond fast. And by “fast,” I mean “within the first hour.”
One study found that you’re 60 times more likely to qualify a lead if you reach out within the first hour versus waiting 24 hours or more.
I get it—you’re busy and understaffed. While it’s not as effective as a personal call, a tool like Kilo’s Gym Lead Machine can send prospects an instant message the second they opt in.
Time kills all deals—don’t let your hard-earned prospects die.
Stop Complaining, Start Fixing
If you’re someone who says “Facebook ads don’t work,” shift the narrative and ask a new question: “Why don’t Facebook ads work for me?”
Facebook generated $131 billion in ad revenue last year, so ads are working for some people.
If you’re doing something wrong, don’t take it personally. Every novice marketer has made these expensive mistakes.
The good news? You can fix them.
Dial in your offer, fine-tune your creative, target smarter, understand your metrics, and—this is important—spend enough money to let Facebook do its thing.
And for the love of everything, don’t let those leads sit there like forgotten leftovers in the fridge.
Facebook ads can be a gold mine for gyms—if you work the system right. Get after it and you’ll see the results.
