We receive our news online, we order our food by app and Uber is an adjective essential to baby boomers and millennials alike. The disruptive influence of social media extends to the fitness and well-being industry, who have embraced online digital media but as the social media fitness sphere becomes increasingly crowded, are those leading the charge to a ‘happier, healthier you’ equipped to guide you responsibly and ethically?
Are you a Qualified Personal Trainer or a Fraud?
Regulations and training requirements for Personal trainers and fitness bloggers vary from country to country with a search of ‘Personal Trainer’ qualifications on the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) revealing there are over 244 courses in Ireland alone. However much of these ‘qualifications’ are not recognised outside of Ireland, casting a shadow on the standards of Irish personal trainers. To establish themselves as an online personal training expert, it is important that they obtain relevant, internationally recognised qualifications which they can in turn emphasise to followers as a point of difference.
Building a Social Media Fitness Brand
Fitness and Chosing Social Media Platforms
Fitness brands can no longer be established by setting up a health and fitness blog and providing an online workout – social media influencers must position themselves as thought leaders and early adopters. Fame is fickle but fitness bloggers must gain new followers and deliver active engagement to attract the attention of companies. They find themselves caught in a cycle of showcasing their bodies on Instagram, spreading the inspiration on Twitter, demonstrating their workouts on YouTube, building a fitness community on Facebook, evangelising on their own website, and developing a workout app in-between negotiating sponsorship arrangements. Fitspo - short for "fitsporation"- has entered our lexicon and social media feeds are full of images of active, strong, fit, healthy people showing off their exercise routines and healthy eating; our desire for recognition from our peers has led to one gym in New Zealand banning the 'gym selfie'. Many bloggers attempt to conquer every social media platform, and instead fail through a lack of quality content and infrequent postings. Registering your brand name across social media platforms is important to protect your brand, but focus on two or three platforms most suited to your business – three quality social media accounts are better than 10 poorly executed accounts. For visual brands like fitness bloggers, Instagram and YouTube alongside Facebook are the key social media platforms, while social media tools such as Hootsuite will cross post to Twitter, reducing workload.
Generating Income from Fitness Online and Affiliate Links
High profile fitness bloggers, much like professional sports people, aim to build relationships with brands to generate an income, through sponsorship, product and collaborations, affiliate linking and potentially personal training; with the fitness industry generating an estimated US$400 billion in 2013 (Statista.com), it can be a lucrative market. Under Armour, the second largest fitness apparel brand in the U.S., offer an affiliate link program where fitness bloggers can earn 8% commission on orders while many companies such as Avantlink broker various affiliate link opportunities. Most savvy consumers recognise that the online fitness revolution is driving a new form of advertising, but more impressible followers – especially younger consumers – may be ignorant of the financial motivation behind some posts.
Endorsements, Sponsorship, Disclosure - The Legal and Moral Conundrum
In the United States, endorsements, sponsorships and other payments must be clearly disclosed, and to maintain clarity, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines ‘arrangement’ quite broadly. The FTC expects disclosure when a free product has been received for review; a link which earns the poster commission; receiving money for posting about a product, or in lieu of money, products or services; or reviewing a product or service from an advertiser on your website. Disclosure also applies to social media, where the FTC recommends using #ad, #spon or #sponsored, and a more formal statement on blog posts or websites.
In the UK the rules are less stringent; fitness bloggers can accept free gifts or samples sent by companies in the hope of receiving a positive review without disclosure, but if a lifestyle blogger is paid to say something positive then it becomes an advertisement and must be disclosed. Payment is still defined as money, services or additional products, which can lead to some ambiguity, and the advice to bloggers is if in doubt, it is ethical to include a disclosure statement. An example of a disclosure statement would be “This product was provided to me free of charge from the company in order to review it. However the opinions expressed in this review are independent and my own” on product related posts.
Ireland’s social media personalities have previously avoided attention, perhaps due to the perceived smaller local market size, but the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) recently confirmed it’s Code of Standards for Advertising and Marketing Communications applies to social media posts. A recent survey by Stellar magazine found that 53% say Irish bloggers are not transparent enough, yet 74% of consumers have bought products based on the recommendation of a social media personality. The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) has developed guidelines for social media marketing to sit alongside its Code of Ethics to guide its members, but not all social media influencers are members. Additionally in Ireland services, products or samples supplied for review do not need to be disclosed unless financial payment has been made, which could potentially mislead readers. With followers seeking authenticity from their idols, this approach is detrimental to building an honest relationship yet Irish bloggers resist stronger guidelines, citing commercial sensitivity ignoring the risk of damaging followers’ perceptions of honesty.
So what develops a successful online fitness brand? Aside from an engaging personality, it is built on;
In the UK the rules are less stringent; fitness bloggers can accept free gifts or samples sent by companies in the hope of receiving a positive review without disclosure, but if a lifestyle blogger is paid to say something positive then it becomes an advertisement and must be disclosed. Payment is still defined as money, services or additional products, which can lead to some ambiguity, and the advice to bloggers is if in doubt, it is ethical to include a disclosure statement. An example of a disclosure statement would be “This product was provided to me free of charge from the company in order to review it. However the opinions expressed in this review are independent and my own” on product related posts.
Ireland’s social media personalities have previously avoided attention, perhaps due to the perceived smaller local market size, but the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) recently confirmed it’s Code of Standards for Advertising and Marketing Communications applies to social media posts. A recent survey by Stellar magazine found that 53% say Irish bloggers are not transparent enough, yet 74% of consumers have bought products based on the recommendation of a social media personality. The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) has developed guidelines for social media marketing to sit alongside its Code of Ethics to guide its members, but not all social media influencers are members. Additionally in Ireland services, products or samples supplied for review do not need to be disclosed unless financial payment has been made, which could potentially mislead readers. With followers seeking authenticity from their idols, this approach is detrimental to building an honest relationship yet Irish bloggers resist stronger guidelines, citing commercial sensitivity ignoring the risk of damaging followers’ perceptions of honesty.
So what develops a successful online fitness brand? Aside from an engaging personality, it is built on;
- Provide information gained from knowledge and qualifications obtained from respected providers
- Seek quality collaborations and interactions with respected brands and products
- Make consistent, frequent postings across a core range of social media platforms – don’t stretch yourself too thin
- Practise honesty and authenticity, and respect the legal requirements of disclosure.
Image Credits: Personal Trainer Image Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net - patrisyu ; Social Media Influencer guidelines taken from Public Relations Institute of ireland's guides on Social Media Influencers and Marketing agencies