5 Brand and Social Marketing Tips from the Fitness Industry.

I come to Fit Marketing with three years of experience in the fitness marketing industry. I loved it and was able to see first-hand how simple brands with simple missions inspire multiple generations to aspire to greatness, all while selling them lots of gear.

Here are 4 lessons we can learn about brand marketing from the fitness industry.

Some of the most entertaining and motivating social media pages belong to companies in the fitness industry. The big names like Nike, Adidas and Under Armor, as well as the (relatively) little guys like Bondi Band, and Brooks Running (Sorry ladies, not Brooks Forester), all have exceptional brand loyalty splattered on their pages.

Customers are engaged and shouting from their desktops their praises for what the brand has done for them.

1. Provide content the customer can engage with.

Customers will become brand ambassadors if you give them an experience they can’t get anywhere else.  Fitness brands identify the goals of their customers and do everything in their power to help them achieve success. Whether they are training for a race, trying out for their high school soccer team, etc, the brands all have something to offer to help the athlete succeed.

2. Connect on an emotional level.

Fitness is an emotional topic to begin with. People pour their hearts and souls into training. The material brands use connects that emotional side to the products seamlessly. Fitness brands lend very well to the social media world because people do things with the products. They run races in front of an international audience in running clothes, shoes, and other gear.  They go to the olympics branded. Brands are using this imagery to show products being used, to an audience of real paying customers who are emotionally connected.

3. Price alters perception

Let me tell you a story about a certain well known fitness apparel company. They make yoga pants, relatively pricey yoga pants, and they fly off the shelves. The apparel is made in the exact same factories as many other brands, some cheaper, some more expensive. The clothes aren’t necessarily any cuter or nicer than other brands. So why does this brand charge $100 for a pair of stretchy pants? Because they can.

Price is a direct indicator of value to a customer. If your business or company is giving away your services for free, or for less than the competition’s price, you are telling your customers you aren’t that great at what you do, and that they should expect to get what they pay for.

In a perfect world, your customer would appreciate you charging them a fair price because more money for you means better products and services for them.

4. Don’t be boring.

From small brands like Janji to large scale brands like Nike and Adidas, the level of engagement among fans is incredible. These brands aren’t posting safe, boring material once a day. They are constantly posting pictures, articles, videos, memes, and other entertaining material. They post information that will make their customers better athletes, thus making them better brand ambassadors. Check out these videos from my favorite brands.

Adidas Commercial

Brooks Super Fans

5. Create something your customers can be part of.

People will support what they help create. By encouraging your customers to contribute content to your marketing efforts, they will feel part of something much bigger than themselves.  A small headband manufacturing company called Bondi Band invites people to post pictures of themselves wearing their headbands on their facebook page and instagram. What a great way to get people involved! Relative content, and customers are paying to be part of it.

I personally found out about bondi bands through a friend’s facebook post. Now I own an unhealthy number of them.

By Elizabeth Jenkins, Fit Marketing

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