The yoga community is a strong one. Learn to promote your yoga mats meaningfully in this large and growing market.
To help you get customers looking at your expertly designed yoga mats, we’ll walk through a handful of considerations for how to actually talk about them. We’ll cover who is buying yoga mats, why they’re buying yoga mats, what yoga-related content gets engagement on social, and finally, we give you some sample captions to help kick start the copy process.
Who is buying yoga mats?
I’ll start by saying that yoga is for anyone and everyone. There are classes readily available across the world in small, intimate studios as well as mainstream, chain gyms.
Baseline demographic:
- Mostly young women in their 20’s & 30’s
- Health & fitness oriented
- Disposable income for yoga classes, apparel & gear
- Looking for stress relief, flexibility and strength
- Often travelers & appreciate art
- Serious yogis seek meditative and spiritual development beyond health benefits
To give you a sense of the market, according to a study done by Yoga Journal & Yoga Alliance, in the US alone, over 36 million people practiced in 2016. That’s up from 20.4 million in 2012. And if we’re looking at money spent on yoga, the same study says that $16.8 billion was spent on classes, clothing and yoga gear in 2016, up 175% from 2012 at $6.1 billion. While that study was a few years back, it shows tremendous growth opportunity in a space you can market in.
If you want next level knowledge or hyper targeted with your marketing, this is an in-depth study of who does yoga and how people think about it.
Why do customers buy yoga mats?
People generally like to practice yoga on a mat with some grip so they can hold poses that a slippery surface would otherwise make impossible. Below is a list of common opportunities, problems or times someone wants to buy or replace a yoga mat.
Reasons someone is shopping for a new yoga mat:
- First-timer looking for an affordable mat
- Looking for a cool or cute mat
- Current mat is too slippery
- Current mat is thinning in hotspots like heals, hips or hands
- Current mat starting to smell bad
- New year, get a new mat
- It’s a gift
This list is to help you understand what types of “problems” you may be solving for your customers.
When do people buy yoga mats?
It’s important to understand the seasonality of a product so you’re focusing your marketing efforts in the right place, at the right time. One tool we love to use for this is Google Trends. Here’s how the search term “yoga mats” has trended in popularity for the last 12 months. Hover over the graph. The closer the number is to 100, the more frequently people are searching for “yoga mats” in that time period.
The best months to promote are January & February. This is when customers are searching for “yoga mats” the most. The predictable “new year, new you” approach to marketing (by almost all brands) is particularly relevant to the health and wellness space. Self-care, or taking care of yourself in any way necessary, is fundamental to everything you do. So, it’s not really surprising that yoga (and yoga mats) light up in these months.
The summer months are your next big opportunity. More specifically, think early summer like June. Summer is when the whole “outdoor & lifestyle” category pops off. People are feeling extra athletic, showing off their bodies, taking their mats to parks and beaches, etc. People will certainly be purchasing throughout the whole of summer, but the optimal time to promote for this season is the beginning of summer.
Late November and December for gifting season. In other words, the holidays. I’m sure this needs little to no explanation, but these months are when you want to help your fans and followers think about their loved ones. Pivot your messaging accordingly. This is the same for every product.
How do I promote yoga mats on social media?
If you want to tap into the world of yoga, you’ll want to be mindful of what the yoga-goer is generally attracted to on social platforms. Honesty is a big one. Yogis tend not to shy away from challenging life things. To really lean into your yoga mat offering, if not a yogi yourself, buy one of your own yoga mats with the most sales potential. Then have your yoga-going friends help you create some imagery.
Take photos in bright, naturally lit studios or spaces. You don’t have to shoot in an actual yoga studio to get the desired effect. Just move some furniture around in your creative space, office or living room. If you are shooting your subject straight on, keep your horizon line as straight as possible. Specifically, where the floor meets the wall. Keep your image feeling fairly minimal or light. Take things off walls or remove anything that might be distracting.
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Speak with honesty and compassion. This is the language spoken among the yoga community and it’s a worthwhile language at that. Of all the products in your shop, this one let’s you get hearty in your sales pitch. Open up. Maybe talk about a powerful experience you or a friend have had with yoga.
Capture a short time lapse of poses. Consider teaming up with yogi who might be able to take some photos with your mat. Education is a big deal within the yoga community. Time lapse videos of yoga flows are a very common form of education.
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Give a full view of your yoga mat. Sometimes you just need to show the design in all its glory. When you’re in a nice, naturally lit space, snap some pics with your phone from a few different angles. Get tall photos (for stories) and wide (for posts and other marketing material).
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PRO TIP: Always re-share content you’re tagged in! If it doesn’t fit your feed, publish to stories. UGC, or user generated content, is gold for marketing. Nothing validates your product more than someone else vouching it for you. Don’t miss this opportunity to turn a fan into a repeat customer.
Use our pre-written captions for social media
Struggling for words? You can never go wrong referencing yoga poses and the challenges of holding them. Here’s some captions that you can use to promote yoga mats. Feel free to change these up or use as-is. They are meant to jump start your copy process. And of course there’s always room for emojis.
New Product Announcement:
For my yogis (or first timers) out there! I just started selling yoga mats through @society6 and om my gaaah are they awesome. Comes with a handy strap and they’re super affordable. Check out all my designs through the link in my bio!
Running Late for Class:
Story of my life (emoji: right pointing finger) rushing out of the apartment, coffee mug in one hand, lunch in the other, probably left the iron on, laptop bag over one shoulder, and staring at the yoga mat knowing I have an after-work class. All of the yoga mats I’m selling on @society6 ship with convenient carry straps! #winning (link in bio @yourhandle)
Referencing Yoga Poses:
Whether you’re showing off with a wounded peacock or struggling to “please god just let me make it to savasana” in hot yoga, my yoga mats have your back…obviously literally. Link in bio!
New Year Motivation:
Can’t we all just be healthy without all the work? No? Oooookay. Then new year, get a cool new yoga mat. Kick your year off right with a yoga mat that you’ll be proud to show off at the studio! Link in bio @yourhandle
Summer Motivation:
Looking to find that perfect yoga mat for your outdoor yoga classes in the park or on the beach? (emoji: waving hand) Pretty easy, huh? I’m linking to my yoga mats for the next few days in my bio.
Running a Promotion:
I don’t know if it’s your birthday or anything, but here’s a surprise “just because”. All my yoga mats are ##% Off using code: XXX Follow the link in bio! Ta-da!
Anytime Reminder:
Did you know that I sell my own yoga mats? Not only are they super affordable but they’re guaranteed to earn you compliments at your next yoga class! Get ’em while they’re hot, hot, hot for your hot, hot, hot yoga.
Wrapping up
All in all, yoga mats have been a very popular product among our customers. Every month we see more visitors looking for yoga mats on Society6, and we love seeing artists make the most of that opportunity. Feel free to reference any of your yoga mat product pages for an official description.
If you have any additional tips or tricks that have helped you sell yoga mats, please leave them in the comments below!
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