Most gym content asks for a like. The posts that fill classes ask for one small thing: comment a word, get the booking link, pick a time. This playbook gives you four weeks of posts built around that ask, the automation that answers it, and a way to count which post put people on the mat.
It comes from running it. The first two workspaces on Postfjord were a hot yoga studio, Hot Yoga Uppsala, and a training program, Movement Rebels. The examples below use a made up strength gym in Austin so they read for anyone, but every step works the same for yoga, pilates, CrossFit or a boxing studio.
Why gym content is worth the hour
More people pay for a gym than ever. The Health & Fitness Association counted 72.9 million US fitness facility members in 2023, 77 million in 2024 and 81 million in 2025. That last number is 26.1% of Americans aged six and older.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 72.9 million |
| 2024 | 77 million |
| 2025 | 81 million |
Studios are where much of that growth sits. In 2024, HFA found 23.1 million members at studios against 22.2 million at fitness-only gyms, and in 2025 it counted 17.7 million yoga members alone. Those people are choosing between you and the studio two blocks away, and most of them look at your Instagram before they book a first class.
So the question is what they see there, and whether there is a next step.
Before week one: set up three things
This takes about 30 minutes, once.
1. Write your content pillars. Four themes, one per line, with the day you post them. For a gym that is usually:
- Monday: the week's classes and one to try
- Wednesday: a tip or a move, taught by a coach
- Friday: a member, a win or a moment from the floor
- Sunday: stories only, the week ahead
Put them in your brand voice under Content pillars. When you press Plan next week on Sunday, Claude proposes the week from these pillars and from what has worked before. You approve each post before anything is scheduled.
2. Write the CLASS messages once. Every class post in this plan uses the same three texts, so write them now and paste them each week. If you picked Gym or fitness studio when you created the workspace, the starter automation with the keyword TRIAL already has texts like these to copy from.
- Public reply: "Sent you a DM. Check message requests if you do not see it."
- Opening DM: "Hey! Want the link to book your first class?" with one button, "Send me the link".
- Link message: your booking page, for example a free first class or a $10 intro week.
Say "message requests" in the public reply. The first DM from a business almost always lands there, and most people never open that folder. The full walkthrough is in How comment-to-DM works.
3. Connect your booking system. Under Settings, Apps, Count your bookings, connect Calendly or Acuity, or turn on the address for Mindbody, Momence, Glofox and others (directly or through Zapier or Make). From then on, when someone taps the link in your CLASS message and books within a week, Postfjord counts the booking for that automation and tags the person Booked. The details are on the bookings help page.
How to count bookings per post
Postfjord counts bookings per automation. To see which post filled a class, give each CLASS post its own automation. The same keyword can run in several automations when each one listens on its own posts.
- Write the post in the composer for your Instagram or Facebook account.
- Under DM automation for this post, choose Create one from a keyword. Type CLASS, the opening DM with its button, and the message with your booking link.
- Schedule the post. The moment it goes live, Postfjord attaches it to that automation, so no other post's comments land there.
After four weeks you have four or more automations, each with its own Entered, Clicks and Bookings. That is the table you need at the end of the month. Every paid plan runs as many automations as you like. The Free plan runs one, so there you compare posts by comments instead.
Week 1: the schedule and one class to try
The goal this week is a first CLASS comment. Keep the ask the same in every post, and give each post that asks for CLASS its own automation from the composer.
- Monday, the week in one image. The class grid for the week, with one class circled. Caption: "New here? Start with Tuesday 6 PM Foundations. Comment CLASS and I'll send the link."
- Wednesday, a coach teaches one move. A 20 second reel of a goblet squat, three cues on screen. End the caption with the class it belongs to.
- Friday, the class from the inside. Film the first five minutes of a real session: the warm up, the coach's welcome, the whiteboard. People want to know what walking in feels like.
Put the word CLASS in the image as well as the caption. People comment what they can see.
Week 2: answer the beginner's questions
Every beginner has the same four worries: will I be the worst one there, what do I bring, how early do I come, what does it cost. Each is a post.
- Monday, "Your first class, step by step." A carousel: park here, check in there, a coach meets you, 45 minutes, done. Last slide: comment CLASS.
- Wednesday, "What to bring." Water, shoes, a towel. The one thing you never need to bring, like a mat if you have them.
- Friday, a member who started as a beginner. Ask first, then post a photo and one sentence in their words about the first week. Tie it to the class they started in.
Turn on Follow up if they do not click the link in this week's CLASS automations, on the last step of the wizard. Anyone who got the DM but did not open the link gets one more short message, from 30 minutes to 23 hours later. It is skipped for everyone who already clicked.
Week 3: the coaches and the room
By week three, people who follow you have seen the schedule twice. Now give them a reason to pick your room.
- Monday, meet a coach. One coach, three short facts, the classes they teach and when. "Train with Maya on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 AM. Comment CLASS."
- Wednesday, a coach answers a question from the DMs. "Can I lift if I have never lifted?" Real questions make the best gym content, and your inbox is full of them.
- Friday, the room at its busiest. A timelapse of the 6 PM class filling up, with the members' permission.
This is also the week to look at the numbers so far. Open each automation and compare Entered and Clicks. A post where 40 people commented and 5 clicked has a weak link message. A post where 8 commented and 6 clicked had the right people, and needs more reach.
Week 4: proof, and a reason to book this week
- Monday, a small challenge. "Four classes in October" with a tally on the wall. Anyone can join from their first class.
- Wednesday, a member win. A first pull up, a first full class without a break. Short, specific, with their name if they said yes.
- Friday, a clear offer with a date. The intro week, the price in dollars, the last day to start it. Comment CLASS.
Add an Ask for a review automation this week. When someone books through your link and chatted with you in the last 24 hours, it thanks them in their DMs with a button to your review page. Each person gets one thank you a month at most.
After four weeks: read it and plan month two
Open Automations and sort your four weeks of CLASS posts by Bookings. Then open Analytics, where every post is sorted into a theme (educational, offer, event or class, behind the scenes, community) and each channel shows likes and comments per theme.
You now have two answers side by side. Which themes people react to, and which posts book classes. They are often different posts. A funny coach reel gets the likes, and the plain "your first class, step by step" carousel gets the bookings.
For month two, keep the pillars, move your strongest booking post to the day it performed best, and write the new CLASS posts in the same shape. Press Plan next week and Claude starts from what worked.
Gym social media post ideas for the next month
Twelve more, each one easy to film between sessions:
- The 6 AM regulars, one photo, one line each
- A coach's warm up you can do at your desk
- Before and after of the room at 5:45 and 6:05
- "Three things we tell every beginner"
- The playlist for Thursday's class
- A class explained in 15 seconds
- A member's first month in their own words
- What a week of classes looks like on the schedule
- Mobility for runners, one move
- The one mistake a coach sees most, and the fix
- A holiday schedule, posted a week early
- The intro offer, with its end date
If a coach has an idea on the floor, they can dictate it into Ideas in about 30 seconds, and it is there when you plan the week.
A landing page for the intro offer gives the CLASS link a better home than a bare booking form: the price, the times and the booking button at the top, at an address like ironside-gym.postfjord.page/intro. The gyms and studios page shows the rest of the setup.
FAQ
What content should a gym post on social media?
Post the classes, the coaches, the members and the first visit. Beginners need to see what walking in feels like, who will meet them and when to come. Every post that sells a class should end with one clear step, such as commenting CLASS for the booking link.
How often should a gym post?
This playbook uses three posts a week plus stories, on fixed days, because a steady rhythm is easier to keep between sessions. Post less often and keep the rhythm before you post more and drop it.
Does the CLASS automation work on Facebook too?
Yes. Comment automations run on connected Instagram accounts and Facebook Pages. On Facebook the Page can also like the comment before the DM goes out.
Can Postfjord count bookings from Mindbody or Glofox?
Yes. Turn on the Other booking system card to get your own address, then send new bookings and cancellations to it from the booking system or through Zapier or Make. The person needs to be a contact with the same email address they booked with.
Does Postfjord take the bookings?
No. People book in your own booking system. Postfjord sends them the link and counts the bookings that link brings in.