5 fitness brands winning social media

Workout gurus and yoga influencers are found in all corners of Instagram. While individuals build up followings and influence their audience, what are brands doing to stay relevant? It takes a mix of constant posting endurance, flexible strategy and tenacity to reach new heights in the fitness world. Let’s take a look at how five fitness brands are winning at social media.

Lululemon

This powerhouse fitness clothing brand brings a multi-pronged approach to their social media and digital marketing efforts. Lululemon is known for their leggings but the company makes a variety of fitness clothing and takes the time to engage with their audience. The feel of the online experience matches the in-store one and it’s clear a lot of thought goes into their social media planning.

Instagram

Their Instagram account is by far the most popular of their social media accounts. The company frequently features stories from the community. These highlights serve a few different functions. In the below example, it showcases the company’s social impact program.

Additional benefits from highlighting members from the community include cross-promotion of the members’ efforts and providing inspiration for Lululemon’s audience. Their audience is a mix of people and among them are potential yoga teachers. Giving examples of community members who are succeeding in their careers while wearing Lululemon clothing provides further inspiration and encouragement to an audience that is likely to be highly engaged with their products.

Twitter

On Twitter, Lululemon likes to serve up short, tongue-in-cheek Tweets right alongside engaging conversation. The company also frequently retweets Lululemon Men, their local city accounts and other causes they support.

In between the one-liners, customer service is performed with Direct Message links and customer engagement is maintained with conversational questions. While their Twitter account is used in many ways, it’s consistently apparent is that they listen to their customers and respond, both of which reinforce brand loyalty.

Brand takeaways

• Highlight community members who have inspirational stories to share with your customers.
• Inspirational Tweets can be short and sweet.

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Crunch Gym

With over 265 franchise locations across the world, Crunch Gym is known for its no-judgment, varied offerings and services. While franchise locations can have their own social media accounts, the Crunch corporate account provides plenty of content to get inspired by.

Instagram

On Instagram, a frequent topic is one exercise that’s presented by a Crunch personal trainer. Each video has bold text overlaid so they’re easy to find and includes the #CrunchGetsPersonal hashtag.

These videos serve as quick tips for those who are looking to add to their gym workout routine and highlight their personal training program. Personal training is an add-on to the membership fee so this free information sharing is a great bonus for those who can’t afford the add-on or are still undecided on it.

To go a step further, their Instagram account also includes Story Highlights for gym newbies. Topics like “Planks 101” and “Foam roll” provide basic, easy-to-follow tips from their gym trainers.

Facebook

The Crunch Facebook Page includes several points of sales for potential customers at varying levels of commitment.

The call-to-action button says, “Sign Up” and a tab is labeled “Crunch Guest Pass.” The one-day free trial is a nice offer for those who are still deciding if it’s worth it to join.

In addition to offering the permanent guest pass, Crunch also runs location-targeted ads that feature a 7-day pass offer. This extended offer is certainly more appealing and then geographic targeting helps them narrow their audience down. A narrower audience also creates an opportunity to add on interests and topics specific to that region. Perhaps the gym wants to target vegetarians in the Los Angeles area but not New York. Running the same offer in different areas to different people gives them space to customize.

Brand takeaways

• Give small doses of helpful information to educate your audience.
• Create different opportunities for signing up.

Nike

It would be remiss to not mention Nike in a list of fitness brands who are dominating on social media. This clothing and accessories brand has a well-known slogan, logo and brand presence. Their efforts at storytelling in ads and videos have been studied by marketers around the world.

Instagram

On social media, Nike has a main account and several offshoots with more specific topics. The main account mostly features professional athletes wearing Nike-branded clothing with a sprinkling of product-forward posts.

When the posts are videos, they dive into the athlete’s background and sources of inspiration. Usually, the brand is only visible through logos on a shirt or a flash of a shoe. You might be able to watch the whole video without realizing you’re watching a Nike ad. It’s only at the end with a logo or slogan that you realize it’s for a company.

Sneaker fans are in love with limited releases and are sure to follow news closely on social media. This collaboration sneaker was first released in-store at Humidity and then later at skate shops. This sort of release drives up demand and creates an urgent atmosphere for fans. Even better, pairing up with a local shop gives a little more focused credibility to a global brand.

Twitter

On Twitter, the brand engages a little more than it Tweets. Several of the photos and videos that are featured in their Instagram account also make showings on Twitter. They also take some time to respond to customer questions and issues.

Earlier this year, Nike chose Colin Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary ad. This controversial campaign led to a lot of brand chatter and put them at the top of trending topics. Despite calls for boycotts, the company’s market value rose $6 billion since the campaign was released.

This isn’t surprising considering the data around how brands taking a stand pays off. In a Sprout report, 44% of consumers who agree with a brand taking a stand on social or political issues will purchase more from a brand and 52% will show greater brand loyalty.

Brand takeaways

• Use storytelling as a way to inconspicuously promote your brand.
• Take a stand on a social or political issue that is important to your company.

8fit

This nutrition app company puts together customized workout and meal plans. The brand appeals to a wide range of people: travelers, beginner fitness enthusiasts and healthy eaters. Their approach is a little different between Instagram and Pinterest but it’s clear that image-forward is the way to go for their marketing strategy.

Instagram

On Instagram, the brand posts a mixture of cheeky, relatable jokes, workout tips and healthy eating recipes. The recipes are well produced, easy to make and tie in the app at the end. Even if you weren’t an app user, you could still make the meals.

In addition to keeping consistent with their post topics, their website link leads straight to a website landing page. The page features a simple 7-question quiz at the end of which takes you to a personalized training program. It’s an easy introduction into their service and isn’t a big commitment for the user.

Pinterest

On Pinterest, 8fit organizes their boards into different types of meals, like “Healthy Smoothie Recipes” and “Healthy Breakfast Recipes.” The Pins are branded, optimized for Pinterest and easy to understand at a glance. Pinterest is an excellent network for the company as the food & drink category is one of the most popular. Pins in this category grew 46% in 2017 from the previous year and there’s no sign of stopping.

8fit’s target audience is big on Pinterest, so it made the network an ideal place to try out Promoted App Pins. With the ad campaign, the brand was able to receive up to 5% higher signup rates and up to 50% higher subscription rates than other platforms. The Pinners that signed up through the Promoted App Pins were found to be more valuable, as they used “the app more frequently and show stronger intent to subscribe to a paid membership.”

Brand takeaways

• Don’t be afraid to mix a little fun into your posts. Jokes and memes can have a place in your brand.
• Consider Pinterest as an advertising option if your target audience is there.

Spartan

A company that is based on the world’s largest obstacle race, Spartan also specializes in nutrition programs, wellness products and clothing. The main account focuses on the lifestyle component of the brand while Spartan Race covers the races and World Championship.

Instagram

On Instagram, Spartan posts race videos, inspirational quotes and conversational questions. They’re also not afraid to sprinkle a meme or two in there.

The races take place all over the world and their mix of posts serve as encouragement to any future participant. There’s a feeling of kinship and community in the comments. If you’re not participating in a race, you’re either preparing for one or ready to watch one.

Facebook

Spartan’s Facebook Page heavily favors videos. Their races are streamed Live and have their own Show section that you can subscribe to. The Facebook Watch feature is similar to a TV program, except you watch the show on Facebook and you’re notified whenever there’s a new episode.

With a combination of the streamed races and Live video posts of the athletes and course, the content is constantly updated and engaging. To extend the engagement, Spartan also takes advantage of topical groups.

They have over a dozen specialized groups, ranging from geographic communities to various brand ambassadors. These serve as more community-driven hubs and offer up a chance for fellow Spartans to connect to each other.

Brand takeaways

• Ask questions and post inspirational videos to encourage community engagement.
• Use features like Facebook Live, Groups and Watch to enhance your brand’s experience.

Wrap-up

As these five examples illustrate, there are a variety of routes for fitness brands to find their audience on Instagram. Nationwide brands can tap into social as a way to reinforce and promote their unique brand voice and values. Brands with a local component can target and build community among local groups on social, while also getting out their message on an overarching primary account.