Fit to Influence?
Influencer marketing is on the rise, with the annual spend in the US nearly doubling in the past 3 years, from $2.42 billion in 2019 to $4.14 billion in 2022. This marketing trend is especially popular for lifestyle brands, as it allows them to demonstrate how their products or services can be used in action to improve someone’s life. According to a report by Advertiser Perceptions, a brand’s main goals of influencer marketing could be to drive sales, as well as curate new customer relationships, communicate brand values and purpose, and build long-term brand equity.
How influential is this channel among young consumers? A survey from IRI found that 94% of respondents over the age of 16 in the US, UK, and Germany said they engaged with an influencer on Instagram at least once a week. Social media has proven to be an effective way to reach these younger consumers, as 39% of a sample of females 17-23 years old in the US responded that they were most likely to purchase a product after seeing it go viral on TikTok, the second most common reason after recommendations from friends and family.
One of the earliest adopters of the social media marketing model to drive e-commerce was Gymshark, a fitness apparel brand that uses influencers called ”Gymshark athletes” to communicate their brand messages: “Work hard, stay humble,” and “be a visionary.” Although the apparel company does not have any physical stores, by simply wearing the clothes and sharing their workouts online, these influencers have brought Gymshark massive success, as they were valued at $1.3 billion in 2020.
I have witnessed the explosion of these fitness influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok since 2017. From personal trainers and fitness class instructors to a beginner trying to stay accountable and track their progress, there is room for diverse groups of people in the online fitness space – whether it be pilates to pumping iron. From the influencer’s point of view, these social media platforms are a fantastic outlet for self-expression while building a following and potentially making some cash or copping some nice workout attire from brand deals.
The fitness space on social media platforms is one of the most powerful. Not only are influencers selling products, but a total life transformation. As someone who has been consuming fitness content since 2017, I have bought a few Gymshark workout sets, changed the foods I eat every day, how I workout, and how I present myself to others. Before viewing influencers like Whitney Simmons on YouTube, I never considered lifting weights as my primary form of exercise — that would make me bulky, right? But I identified with her narrative and was convinced following her fitness routine would transform my mind, body, and soul for the better, just like it did for her. I started hitting my local rec center with all of the high school boys and older men, with Whitney’s workout videos shining proudly on my phone screen, as I attempted to teach myself how to work a cable machine, and much later, how to bench press and deadlift.
I am far from the only one who has experienced lifestyle changes from viewing fitness content online. Since returning to the gym post-COVID, I noticed the impact of the fitness influencer space rapidly expanding. The main weight room at U of M is now more even in the ratio between men and women, when I remember being one of the only girls there during my freshman and sophomore years. Many girls had diverted away from Nike or Lululemon and were sporting brands like Gymshark or its competitors in the online space: Alphalete, NVGN, and AYBL, to name a few. It was pretty crazy to experience how social networks transformed people's lives while spending too much time on social media during the pandemic. They made healthier choices through food and pre-workout supplements, using their favorite influencer's 20% off discount code.
Social media platforms allow fitness influencers to make a name for themselves through content creation, while bringing value to brands. However, there is a dark side to this health and wellness community on social media. A lack of representation of underrepresented minorities, the underlying privilege associated with health and fitness, and rigid attitudes about diets and exercise all pose a risk to viewers’ mental, physical, and emotional well being.
Firstly, Caucasian influencers are overrepresented in the influencer space. IZEA, an influencer marketing provider, reported that in 2015, Caucasian influencers received 73% of their sponsorship transaction volume. A sobering picture was painted in a December 2021 report when the influencer pay gap was quantified in a study by MSL, a global public relations group. They found that BIPOC influencers were being paid 29% less than White influencers, and when looking specifically at the gap between White and Black influencers, it widened to 35%. In addition, 50% of Black influencers reported that speaking out about race and DEI issues negatively impacted them financially, and many made claims about the TikTok algorithm “shadowbanning” them, restricting their exposure without notifying them.
On top of this, BIPOC fitness influencers face a lack of representation in the fitness industry overall, which poses greater challenges for influencers and for those interested in getting into fitness but do not feel represented. I have diversified my own feed, and would like to share a handful of my favorite BIPOC fitness influencers who have done a fantastic job building their platforms, discussing DEI in the fitness industry, and uplifting those who have been historically underrepresented:
The calls to action and lifestyle choices presented by fitness influencers often come from privilege. Fitness influencers give advice to people with the assumption that they can to go to the store and buy organic, whole foods, have safe places to walk outside, which poses greater challenges for influencers and for those interested in getting into fitness but do not feel represented.
Sohee Lee, a health coach and Nutrition PhD candidate, has a great post about the intersection of the fitness industry and privilege, shown below.
Fitness influencers are receiving many of these health products for free, and part of their job is to sell things that will potentially make your life as good as theirs appears to be. It’s important for them also to consider the consequences of these actions, and where there may be opportunities to make fitness more accessible and inclusive for those who do not have the same amount of resources to spend on gym memberships or all of the healthiest options.
In addition to showing workouts and supplements, fitness influencers often share their diet plans, and the popular and controversial “what I eat in a day” trend, where they make Tik Toks or Instagram carousel posts of everything they have eaten during that day. which poses greater challenges for influencers and for those interested in getting into fitness but do not feel represented. These harmful eating practices can be difficult to spot, especially if an influencer is emphasizing the importance of eating lots of nutritious foods, but lacks an emphasis on balance. I really like the nutritionist, Abbey Sharp, on YouTube, who reviews influencers’ what I eat in a day videos, and tries to point out habits or perspectives on food that could be unhealthy. This helps combat “tunnel vision” that followers may get if they look up to an influencer and want to achieve the same body that they have by mimicking their diet and lifestyle.
There is also a common narrative among female fitness influencers that they have recovered from an eating disorder or some pattern of unhealthy attitudes towards food and body image. I often wonder if they have fully recovered from this former unhealthy perspective, or if it has simply morphed into an obsession with exercise and controlling their food, even if they are eating larger portions. I have seen several TikToks like the one shown below, where fitness influencers joke that on their planned rest day, they still end up back in the gym because their “mental health is too unstable for rest days.” This subtly sends the message that it is acceptable to overly rely on exercise to cope with deeper issues, which could be suitable for some viewers, but harmful for others who have had a rocky relationship with exercise in the past.
@courtneysarracino my mental health is too unstable for rest days lemme at least do some cardio💀 #girlswholift #gymtok #restday #gymrat #fyp #gymmotivation #fitness #fitnessfunny #fittok #depressedtok ♬ people with humor are using this sound - Tik Toker
There is also a danger of equating what diet or workout is “trending” as the best way to live. Right now I see weightlifting and a high protein diet as the most trendy form of fitness, and it gets a lot of engagement on social media platforms because there are a lot of strong women trying to break the stereotype of weightlifting making women bulky, and lots of critics in the comments who only help drive up their engagement. There are many ways to live a healthy lifestyle, and people don’t always have to follow the trendiest diet or exercise, simply because it is popular on social media.
All in all, fitness influencers have proven to be successful marketers for their personal brand and for brands in the health and wellness space. Many businesses who use influencers do so because it helps build their engagement, and performs better than proprietary content, saving them time and money. While it’s nice to see KPIs increasing, it is important to take a critical eye on the residual effects of fitness influencers that may be harder to measure. In a brand’s marketing campaign, who is included and who is left out? Are there any new pathways to make the fitness space more inclusive from a DEI or socioeconomic perspective? And how are we evaluating and critiquing the information shared online, to make sure it is not leading people into unhealthy eating or exercise habits? As the fitness community continues to grow across social platforms, it’s important to take a critical look at these influencers and brands, and hold them accountable to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all who come across and engage with their content.
