Influencer marketing is a hot topic at the moment. It’s nearly impossible to scroll through social media without spotting an influencer showing off their clothes, makeup products, or snacks, and that’s just the beginning. As the world around us gets more digitally advanced, influencer marketing has risen to prominence and businesses are investing more time and attention to it than ever before. Influencers are constantly coming up with new methods to get sponsored on their favorite platforms, from standard posts to the ever-popular Instagram Stories to extended films. Influencer marketing is now a mainstream form of online marketing and a major channel for advertising and reaching customers for businesses.

But keeping the commercial aspect aside, we have to spare a moment to congratulate these aspiring influencers for spreading knowledge, motivating, and entertaining their followers through a variety of innovative ways. Influencers come in many categories and from a variety of backgrounds, with some being comedians, chefs, or singers, while others are fitness enthusiasts or trainers. Living a healthy, active lifestyle has never been more fashionable, and a lot of credit for it goes to fitness influencers.

Fitness Influencers on Instagram and Facebook are some of the most regular users with the most engaged and active fan bases. They have something to offer to both fitness businesses and fitness enthusiasts. Fitness businesses often rope in gym influencers to promote their product or service. Advertising through Instagram fitness influencers is highly suitable for sports and fitness brands because of the rising popularity in wellness and health. For fitness enthusiasts, they are people who have risen above themselves and are authentic and credible sources of information. They relate with their commonality and aspire to be like them.

It’s no secret that fitness influencers dominate social media. Here in this article, we will discuss the meaning, history, and rise of fitness influence marketing, the scope of influencer marketing for your fitness or gym business, and a list of the 11 most amazing fitness influencers you can follow to accompany you in your fitness journey.

Skip ahead to :

• Who’s an Influencer?
• 11 Top Fitness Influencers You Need to Follow in 2021
• Rise of influencer marketing
• The COVID factor
• Influencer marketing for your fitness business
• Create your own influencer marketing plan

Who’s an Influencer?

An influencer is someone who has a devoted following in a distinct niche, with whom they actively engage. The size of the following depends on the size of their topic of the niche. And because of their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with the followers, they can influencer their purchasing decisions. So, a social media influencer is someone who wields their influence through social media. When you hire an influencer to promote your product or brand, that’s influencer marketing.

It's crucial to remember that anyone can be an influencer when it comes to defining influencers. "To be an influencer, you have to love people before you can try to lead them," John Maxwell explains. An influencer can be a popular fashion photographer on Instagram, a chef at a local restraint, a gym trainer, or a well-read cyber security blogger. He is not a celebrity or overtly famous person but enjoys a reputation among their followers whose advice is taken seriously by them. Much like old times when citizens went to kings, queens, and popes for advice on which medicines to take.

11 Top Fitness Influencers You Need to Follow in 2021

If you are a fitness enthusiast or a gym freak desperately looking for some motivation or a fitness studio owner who wants to hire an influencer to promote your gym business, we have compiled the list of 10 top fitness influencers you can follow or reach out to. These fitness influencers combined have more than 90 million followers.

01. Kayla Itsines

With more than 13.7 million followers Kayla Itsines is one of Australia's wealthiest workout influencers under 40 and has been named one of Time's 30 most influential persons on the internet. She is best known for her Bikini Body Guides eBook series and Sweat with Kayla, a meal-planning and training app.

02. Ulisses Jr.

Ulisses Jr. is the winner of the Musclemania SuperBody Pro and World Pro Championships, making him a sought-after bodybuilding and body composition coach. Ulisses' views on nutrition, diet, and training procedures are widely respected in the business. He has a large following on Instagram with more than 8.5 million followers.

03. Sandra Prikker

Sandra Prikker is a fitness influencer, model and fashion designer who discovered her passion for exercise after surviving a life-altering accident. Her customized program, which includes nutrition planning and 1-on-1 coaching via her mobile app, allows her to share her passion for fitness. She has nearly 3 million followers on Instagram.

04. Ana Cheri

Ana Cheri is a model, actor, and fitness influencer from Southern California. She is noted for her fiery Instagram postings. Ana enjoys sharing her workouts with others, and she provides two primary programs to help individuals lose weight and develop their booty.

05. Simeon Panda

Simeon Panda is a British sportswear designer and gym trainer who runs his training program. After attaining Musclemania pro status in 2013. Simeone began blogging in 2013 and has since become one of the most famous male fitness influencers on Instagram.

06. Jeff Seid

Jeff Seid has been training for 11 years as a bodybuilder, fitness model and now as a gym influencer. He won nationals at the age of 17 and became the youngest professional in the history of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness. Since then, he has published a book, launched his clothing line, and earned his certification as a personal trainer.

07. Sergi Constance

Sergi Constance is a fitness model and athlete that works in the fitness industry. He is also the founder of BeLegend, an online coaching program, and the CEO of 1 Up Nutrition & Aesthetix Era. He is one of the most famous and credible male gym influencers.

08. Bradley Martin

Bradley Martyn became famous after uploading outrageous exploits with large weights to his YouTube channel. He currently has a sizable Instagram following, as well as his coaching, gear, and supplement Company.

09. Emile Skye

Emily Skye is a fitness model from Australia who promotes the use of weight training to help women become their healthiest and happiest selves. She's also a make-up artist, a blogger, and a Reebok worldwide ambassador.

10. Alexa Jean Brown

Alexa Jean Brown is a fitness fanatic and mother of two who wants to inspire women to fit exercises into their hectic schedules. Her popular Instagram photos reflect her healthy and balanced lifestyle and frequently feature her daughters.

11. Tally Rye

Rye is a personal and group trainer. She is a strong supporter of exercise's numerous benefits that aren't only cosmetic, stating in a recent Instagram post that she is "an anti-diet weight inclusive PT, who focuses on the mental and physical benefits of exercise." She believes that moving your body should be done because you enjoy it rather than as a punishment.

Rise of influencer marketing

There is this common misconception that influencer marketing is a recent phenomenon but truth is that influencer marketing began 15 years ago. PayPerPost is the first marketplace to pay bloggers for their branded content. Since blogs were mainly seen as online diaries, many experts even doubted whether incorporating advertising or sponsorships into a blog would feel genuine or not. Back in 2006, Facebook and Twitter were just getting started, but Instagram didn't join the social media landscape until 2010. Influencers were primarily bloggers who shared their lives and the products they used. In the 2010s, as social media became king, the influencer market also started to evolve and grow. Today influencer marketing is a billion-dollar industry with influencers of all ages and backgrounds. Influencers today also have so many more options than they ha earlier. They can be found sharing stories about their lives and promoting products they use each day, earning a living through brand sponsorships.

Today, 9 out of 10 brands are using some form of influencer marketing and 86% of companies allocate part of their marketing budget to influencer marketing. BI Intelligence estimates that the influencer marketing industry will be worth $15 billion by 2022.

The COVID factor

As we all were locked inside the four walls of our houses due to the pandemic, social media became our sole means of staying connected with the outside world. As a result, there was an influx of content and creators on social media who used these platforms to express themselves. As the usage of these social media apps splurged, the influencer community kept on growing in numbers and popularity. The pandemic has led to a rise of an influencer culture around the world. Also, as the onslaught of the pandemic continued, companies and brands looked to cut their budget on advertising and started investing in influencers rather than expensive celebs. According to research, 78% of companies plan to use influencer marketing in 2020, with roughly 13% doing so for the first time last year. According to another estimate, influencer marketing increased four to five times between COVID-19 and last year, with noteworthy activities during the festivities.

Influencer marketing for your fitness business

The fitness market is tricky and highly competitive. With more than 103,626 gyms & health & fitness clubs alone in the USA induces the gym owners to employ a variety of tactics to reach potential customers. Because of the nature of the industry, fitness studios and gyms need to constantly revamp their social media. Workout influencers can be useful for brand awareness in order to increase sales. They can help target a specific audience set.

Influencer marketing is an incredibly popular marketing tool right now and one which gives guaranteed returns. It has been found that influencer marketing can generate an equivalent earned media value of $18 per $1 spent. Therefore, nearly more than two-thirds (67.9%) of U.S marketers are planning to use some form of influencer marketing this year. That’s expected to increase to 72.5% in 2022.

Are you still not convinced if influencer marketing can lead to real business results? According to Civic Science, 14% of 18-to-24-year-olds and 11% of millennials bought something because a blogger or influencer recommended it in the previous six months. If you own a fitness studio, run a fitness clothing or merchandise line, or a training equipment manufacturer and you’re looking to boost your brand awareness, increase sales, or get your brand’s name out into the world in any way possible, you should surely take advantage of fitness influencer marketing.

Three steps to successfully implement fitness influencer marketing for your gym are;

To stand out in the crowded health and fitness business, you can tap on influencers' charm, experience, and goodwill. Approach the best influencers and give your fitness studio a competitive edge with these three simple steps –

1.Pick the right ‘influencer’

There are thousands of fitness influencers on social media currently. These workout influencers come from a variety of different backgrounds, some are bodybuilders, others are models, trainers; some have written books on fitness or are dieticians, others have expanded into clothing lines, apps, and training programs. It’s important to pick the right gym influencer for your business, depending upon your target audience and marketing strategy.

It also depends upon accessibility, location, and reach. For example, if you run a yoga center in Missouri, you won’t take the help of a yoga influencer located in Montreal but someone who’s influential locally. Ideally, you can rope in athletes/coaches from local sports teams, fitness models, nutritionists, doctors, and personal trainers, fitness photographers, local celebrities, and anybody with a strong voice, broad reach, and deep engagement. Also keep in mind, the purpose of your marketing and platform.

2. Planning your marketing campaign

Once you have hired a suitable gym influencer, the next step is to plan your campaign goals, strategies, and timelines.

Here are a few steps you can follow to plan your advertising campaign through fitness influencers.

• Identify your campaign goals, metrics, and KPIs.

• Deciding your marketing campaign’s target audience and activation platforms.

• Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing.

• Framing a content strategy.

• You can create a good mix of content such as training videos, fitness challenges, fitness tips, and live sessions with experts, healthy recipes, contests, and giveaways.

3. Keep a close eye on conversions also which is the core of the campaign.

It’s crucial to track and measure the progress of your marketing campaign. It helps you build an accountable relationship with your partnered fitness influencer. It also gives future direction to your campaign. You can set benchmarks for your next campaigns and identify areas for improvement. You can use social media monitoring tools to keep track of the clicks and impressions your gym influencer content garners. Trackable codes, promotion links, and conversion pixels to keep track of referral traffic through influencers. Hence, this way you can keep an eye on the success of your influencer marketing campaign.

Create your own influencer marketing plan

For fitness studio owners, influencer marketing can be an amazing channel to reach potential clients for your studio. It is rather a new and untapped marketing channel. Fitness influencers are filling in the gaps in a crowded marketplace littered with unceasing commercials and promotions, especially as celebrity endorsements have become increasingly questionable for their lack of authenticity and genuineness, and for helping gym brands stand out. Now, you've everything you need to know before you tap this untapped marketing opportunity for your gym.

If you own a fitness club or gym, its time for you to switch your business to Kenko app. Kenko is the best fitness management software laced with industry best features and everything your fitness business might need.

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