Spreading health one post at a time - the rise of the fitness influencer

The key to fitness influencers' success on social.

For anyone seeking a hit of keep-fit inspiration, there are worse places to turn than social media. The healthy living lifestyle has become increasingly popular on our favourite platforms in recent years, and – as with a lot of things – influencers are at the heart of the trend.

These influencers have refined the ability to establish a following, build a brand image, and adapt to new changes in social media formats. But the question remains, what exactly makes them so successful?

It’s hard to pin down the secret sauce that helps influencers to hit the big time, but stick around for long enough in the right social media circles and you’ll no doubt spot the following trends:

They are active across multiple platforms 

No successful influencer limits themselves to just one platform. Besides leaving yourself at the mercy of that platform’s success (sorry Viners), it’s worth remembering that every social media site has a different audience, bringing with them different opportunities across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and the rest. Knowing which content works best across these platforms is key, and you can bet the top fitness influencers will already be on the lookout for next social phenomenon that can strengthen their brand. 

They are producing a variety of content

While the main purpose for a blog or YouTube channel may be fitness inspiration, the best influencers have surpassed this narrow niche and expanded into other areas such as travel, food, and fashion. Viewers may be drawn in for the purpose of fitness, but they stay for the variety.

They are consistent with posts

With the most successful fitness influencers, you’ll rarely find a gap of more than 24 hours between social media posts. Consistent content is hugely important to keep audiences interested, but those volumes can vary by platform. For instance, an influencer is likely to post at least once on Instagram each day, but they might send multiple Tweets, and post a video each week on YouTube. Bloggers will also ensure that they share new content multiple times each week.

They are great personalities

A successful social media influencer finds the sweet spot between outgoing personality and approachability. They do not have the same image of a celebrity, where you might feel nervous to approach them. Great influencers manage to maintain an image where you would feel comfortable approaching them on the street and striking up a casual conversation. That being said, they are still very lively and extroverted people with a unique ability to relay their message with ease.

They are interacting with followers

While it's great to follow and support a fitness influencer, people are even more motivated to continue spreading the word when they see that the influencer is interacting with their followers. Whether it’s responding to Instagram comments or creating the periodic question and answer video, strong influencers make sure their community knows that they are valued. This feeling of community and involvement keeps the followers coming back time and time again.

These are just a few of the posting habits behind every great fitness influencer. Many stars of the social web use other techniques as well such as brand ambassadorship and product giveaways, which tend to work well for maintaining and growing their following.

So take a look for yourself, and experience the positivity and fitness motivation that has created a life change for so many. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up as the next big fitness YouTuber or Instagram health geek.

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