The Perfect Match: Influencer Marketing and Fitness Brands
Influencers have transformed the way marketing operates in a pace that triggers industries to relentlessly find ways to employ their expertise. One of the successful ones is fitness industry.
Do you remember the days when you use to scorn those who hit the gym diligently everyday? Or the day when people simply passed on the mirrors plastered around their gym walls? Well, those days have long gone ever since the explosion of social media. Today is the day when people snapping selfies in front of these mirrors become gym superstars and successfully build an empire out of those amazing pictures.
Fitness Now and Then
Fitness used to be an alternative for people to stay healthy. People see it as a choice, sometimes even a privilege, that not all can have access to. Furthermore, fitness-related knowledge was considered to be exclusive to the talents of the field. Public consult doctors, professional trainers or licensed dietitians because they have the backgrounds and expertise and hence, people trust their advice.
However for today’s digital consumers, fitness has become a major part of their lifestyles. Undeniably, the revolution of internet takes an imperative role in propelling public’s health consciousness to a different level, however, it is “social media” that is directly accountable for the popularity of fitness. Somehow, it has become a trend to have an active schedule, to exercise daily, and to eat “clean”. Additionally, information is easily accessible through internet for these ‘wannabes’ to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to go online and share their aesthetic results, earning public’s trust as ‘fitness experts’.
Following the newly found lifestyle fashion, sharing fitness-related content in digital world effortlessly leads to a massive engagement. After all, what’s a better way to broadcast all those sweats than with social media?
Social Media and Fitness
Social media has a huge impact on fitness industry because the accessibility it provides for people around the globe, whether to connect with fellow fitness enthusiasts or to share fitness information and their healthy habits. The rise of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube empower them to show the eager participants what to do, how to do it, and the results they can expect. Soon enough, fitness influencers became equivalent to international celebrities with armies of loyal followers to back them up.
This rapid growth is mirrored by the increase demand for physical health and well-being among society. The world is tired of being obese and out of shape. Public’s behavior slowly shifts towards healthier lifestyle as modern culture dictates people to workout to stay fit. But how do these fitness influencers become so influential? By regularly posting motivational advice, inspirational stories, workout routines, meal plans and other educational health-related videos, these social media savvies managed to position themselves as the pharos in health industry, the guiding star to get advice from, yet at the same time they are just average people whom public can relate to. Audiences can align themselves not only with the sculpted physicality but also the personality of these fitness influencers. After all, people want someone who appears genuine and portrays the real struggles of achieving fitness success, not another supermodels they often saw in magazines.
What It Means for Fitness Industry
With fitness influencers so willingly giving advice and audiences so excitedly receiving it, it’s not surprising that the number of gym participants skyrocketed. The effect does not stop there. Before you know it, fitness models are everywhere, athletic-wear becomes mainstream, and fitness clubs are flooded with users taking more selfies than actually working out.
Naturally, the popularity of these fitness influencers soon caught the attention of fitness brands looking to increase their brand awareness and sales. At such, comes brand sponsorship and commercial opportunities. Of course, fitness brands have evolved beyond simply sharing their business values layered underneath various motivational quotes. Today’s fitness brands such as Equinox have intelligently utilized social media analytics to establish specific brand images to their targeted audiences.
With analytic platforms such as Google Analytics, fitness brands collect various data such as demographic, level of engagement, or current trends, to strategically tailor their social media content to target audiences optimally. Not only that, they can also increase positive feedback and reviews by quickly identifying popular trends among their users and serving them with contents resonating with their experiences and demands.
Then there’s also the rising favor of upscale fitness clubs, that provide specific fitness experience, from yoga, Pilates, or zumba among others. Undeniably, their popularity is mostly due to the intimate experience they offer for their users. One of the examples is the CrossFit clubs who managed to craft interactive social media campaign, such as launching an annual CrossFit Games covering different exercises from cyclocross to cycling, all while collaborating with different famed fitness influencers.
Wrapping Up
With public’s growing desire for healthy lifestyle, fitness industry is not going to slow down anytime soon. In particular with the current reach and exposure that social media offers as well as the increased number of community spending time online, fitness influencers will still poise as efficient tools for fitness brands in their marketing campaigns.
