Building Community

Perhaps the most powerful thing that the fitness industry has going for it is the massive digital community. Much like the other tactics I have discussed previously, the idea of cultivating a community of individuals is no new marketing feat (think Fiskars scrap-booking club), but it seems that in the world of health and fitness, the community of individuals with similar goals means that much more. Therefore, if a brand or individual can successfully market themselves to sell something AND create a space for people to share their results, thoughts, or feelings openly and honestly, I argue that they will find great success.

To circle back to my very first post, perhaps the greatest example of building an online community is Kayla Itsines and her BBG community. Bikini Body Guide (BBG) is Kayla’s workout program that is recognized worldwide. No seriously. She is Australian, yet people over here in America are freaking out about her program, as well. Through social media, she has connected strangers who are struggling with the same issues, who push each other to complete her program, and who lift each other up when it gets tough to keep going. THIS IS POWERFUL!!!

Not only is this community great for current customers, it’s like more free marketing for Kayla. With every tag and hashtag someone posts, it gets shared with her/his followers who may not have ever heard of Kayla up to that point. There have been 6,201,836 posts with #bbg. Logically, that means the number of individuals who have seen those posts is exponentially more. Her loyal community of followers feel so strongly about BBG that they are essentially growing her business for her. Something like this would not have been possible on such a large scale before the advent of social media.

Finally, this isn’t a passive project for Kayla. She contributes to forming the community by sharing progress photos with her more than 7.7 million followers. She celebrates her followers’ milestones just like their own friends would. If that isn’t enough, Kayla hosts meet-ups in cities across the world every so often. It’s an event where internet friends can go and meet each other in person, while getting to work out with the woman who made it all possible, Kayla herself. To take the community from the web to reality makes it stronger, bigger, and better than that of her competitors.

Creating a community for your consumers is by no means absolutely necessary to achieving success. However, if Kayla Itsines is any example, it can certainly help. Not only does it make your original customers feel loved and supported by people they may have never known otherwise, it also helps grow the brand even further by getting the word out to each person’s own network. This tactic has contributed to Kayla’s massive success as an entrepreneur.