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Instagram Fitness Influencers: Posting as Professional Communicators

Kimberlyn Pepe, George Mason University

Background
Social media has changed the way that people and brands promote themselves to reach a
certain audience (Neal 6). With the evolution of social media, Instagram is a platform that has
contributed to the development of an emerging category of communication professionals. In the
fitness community, Instagram is a space for fitness advocates to connect with each other,
particularly women. Women are often omitted from the conversation of heavy weight lifters. As
recently as 2000, the Olympics didn’t include a women’s weight lifting program (Stone et al.
51). A lack of female weight lifting resources has led to women finding new ways to discover
workouts, advice, and information involving heavy weights. The use of social media in the
fitness community has allowed women promote positive fitness images of themselves (Toffoletti
and Thorpe 28). On Instagram, women known as fitness influencers are part of a community that
strives to bring similar minds together. Throughout Instagram’s evolution as an app, #fitspiration
has become a staple category especially for women involved with heavy weight lifting. Weight
lifting has gained popularity among female Instagram users as fitness influencers display its
freeing and empowering effects on the body through the images they post.
Studies have previously focused on the negative aspects that sometimes accompany
fitness women and social media. One study concluded that viewing fitness photos has adverse
effects on the user’s perceptions of themselves, as well as the effect of passing that negative
judgment onto other people’s body types (Jong and Drummond 767). In a study on athletes
sharing their fitness photos, the study determined that women athletes, who present themselves
as strong and fit, also include elements of apologetic and overly feminine aspects in their posts to
keep themselves appealing to a broader audience (Barnett 97). However, it could be argued that
fitness influencers on Instagram participate in a form of communication that encourages women
to embrace their bodies (Toffoletti and Thorpe 26). Successful fitness influencers engage in
habits of professional communicators as they interact with their followers. Emily Petersen
recognized the need to define the accomplishments of online female professional
communicators. In Petersen’s study on mommy bloggers, her analysis revealed that mommy
bloggers engaged in characteristics of professional communicators with their professionalization
of motherhood through blogging. Peterson’s study utilized Brenton Faber’s theory of
professionalism that distinguishes between professional and occupational writers (Peterson 279).
This study of Instagram fitness influencers strives to accomplish a similar task to Peterson and
define how fitness influencers are professional communicators through their professionalism of
fitness on Instagram. Faber’s theory is comprised of three characterizations of professional
identity: audience relationship, social responsibility, and ethical awareness (Faber 314-316). This
study focuses on how fitness influencers engage in characteristics of professional communication
to create successful Instagram profiles by sharing workouts, creating communities, offering
inspiration, and promoting brands through Instagram posts.

Research Design
Instagram has over 500 million active daily users, with hundreds of photos uploaded
every minute (Expandedramblings.com). Instagram allows fitness influencers to control the
message about their bodies and connect to women with similar goals. Instagram has multiple
fitness accounts that brand themselves as weight lifters, dieters, and lifestyle experts; however,

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only certain accounts have accumulated hundreds of thousands of followers. Successful fitness
influencers are professional communicators that establish a professional reputation with their
followers through their posts. The research questions that form this study include the following:
 Research question 1: How are female fitness Instagram influencer’s professional
communicators?
 Research question 2: What communication tactics do female fitness influencers use in
order to gain (and retain) followers while promoting their fitness legitimacy?
The pilot study was modeled off of Laurie Gries’ method of iconographical analysis from
her book, Still Life with Rhetoric: A New Materialist Approach for Visual Rhetorics.
Iconographical analysis was used to review popular female Instagram fitness influencers’ posts
to determine what defined the influencers as professional communicators. Gries’ method of
iconographic tracking is outlined in phases that constantly evolve and build off one another.
Utilizing Gries’ method and methodology as a guide, the pilot study analyzed three fitness
influencer’s posts to identify meaning behind the posted images that communicated the
influencers’ fitness expertise and reinforced their status as professional communicators. The
examined influencer accounts included Aubrie Bromlow: 71,000 followers, Hanna Oeberg:
773,000 followers, and Cass Martin: 1.6 million followers. The varying follower counts allowed
for patterns to be observed in the communication practices between the fitness influencers who
are on-the-rise verse established influencers. Replicating Gries’ phases of research, a data set
was formed by collecting every post from each influencer during the month of February. An
analysis of each post, individually and then collectively, was performed to identify patterns in
composition, production, information shared, and brands promoted that contributed to an
influencers’ professional identity. Understanding why certain elements in videos and photos
were replicated by the fitness influencers was necessary in developing conclusions about what
defines an influencer as a professional communicator.

Report on Pilot Study: Fitness Influencers as Professional Communicators on Instagram


The pilot study revealed that fitness influencers fit into the context of professional
communicators as outlined in Faber’s three characteristics of professional communicators.
Fitness influencers (through Instagram posts) engage with their followers, bring together a
community of like-minded people, and promote positivity and expertise.
Audience relationship. Fitness influencers post with the ultimate goal of connecting to
their audience base that care about the same things as they do. Fitness influencers need to
continuously post images and interact with their followers to stay relevant on Instagram. Each
fitness influencer had different communication strategies in how often and when they posted;
however, all the influencers posted similar fitness content in an attempt to cater to their audience.
Fitness influencers provide a fitness community to their followers who are looking for other
people who are also passionate about weight lifting. The three influencers posted about their
workouts, physical appearances, and diets in order to provide a needed service to their followers.
Influencers as professional communicators understand the interests of their followers and create
posts relevant to that audience.
Social responsibility. Strength and happiness were the overall goals of the three fitness
influencer Instagram profiles. Fitness influencers assert through their gym selfies that they are
happy and strong. The three women promote their lifestyles through photos showcasing their
muscular bodies as evidence that body acceptance can be achieved. Influencers post weight
lifting workouts for their followers to replicate. By virtually inviting their followers into the gym

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with them, influencers demonstrate that the workouts are doable and the results are achievable.
Fitness influencer’s bodies are not the typically promoted Instagram bodies; influencers have
defined legs and arms, a stark difference to the usual tiny, toned women of Instagram. Fitness
influencers encourage lifting weights and eating unlike Instagram’s famous #thinspiration, which
is notoriously harmful to women’s mental health (Jong and Drummond, 760).
Ethical awareness. Influencers’ asserted their professional identity within the fitness
community by posting their physiques (as testaments to their credibility), sponsorships (promote
their legitimacy), and workout videos (establishing coaching relationship with followers). The
influences’ bodies are testaments to their workouts and advice. Influencers often post full-body
images posing in sports bras, crop tops, and tight running shorts, to showcase their muscles to
reinforce their professional status to their followers. The influencers’ post to prove that their
lifestyle choices and workouts are successful in achieving happiness with their bodies. By
posting their workouts, these women become credible coaches and mentors to their followers.
Workouts facilitate interaction between the influencers and audience by encouraging followers to
attempt their workouts and comment about their experiences. The three fitness influencers were
all sponsored by various types of fitness brands, which gave them legitimacy and credibility.
Aubrey Bromlow and Hanna Oeberg frequently included brand deals in their selfies and workout
videos, which contributed to their professionalism as fitness influencers.

Full Project Proposal


The pilot project revealed that there is a knowledge gap in what defines a professional
communicator on Instagram. There is little known about how or why certain Instagram accounts
become popular and what asserts an account’s professional status. For Instagram fitness
influencers, communication is used on daily basis. Through Instagram posts, fitness influencers
invite their followers onto their fitness journeys. Fitness influencers are able to communicate to
thousands of people and represent their messages through a single image or set of videos.
Understanding what separates a regular user from a professional communicator opens doorways
to brands and to the people who make a living on Instagram.
The pilot study’s results showed that there are certain communication elements that
define Instagram fitness influencers as professional communicators. From the three influencers’
Instagram profiles, it was revealed that each had different posting habits, but similar posting
elements that communicated their professional identity to their audiences. The pilot study
analysis of the February postings revealed that fitness influencers post to their Instagram
accounts to engage with their followers, bring together a community of like-minded people, and
promote positivity and their fitness expertise. Successful communication habits were apparent in
the fitness influencer’s posts, especially in the details that relayed their professionalism to their
followers. However, the pilot study would have benefited from a larger data set and variables to
truly understand how influencers assert their professional identities to their audiences. For the
full study, the main two research questions from the pilot study will remain the same, but will be
expanded on using information learned. Additional questions will include issues concerning the
fitness influencer’s posting frequency, the time of day posts are created, the follower and
influencer interaction in the comments, post captions, and influencer personal businesses. The
pilot study was only able to touch on these elements, and the full study would benefit from this
knowledge.
Iconographical analysis will remain the main method used for the full study. In the pilot
study, iconographical analysis was successful in revealing similarities in the influencers’

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messages through their posts, including the settings, outfit choices, and physiques. By analyzing
the similar details in the posts, patterns emerged to tell what professional communication habits
are successful among Instagram’s popular influencers. A second method to be included in the
full study will be rhetorical analysis. This method will allow for a proper analysis of the
comments and captions on the influencer’s Instagram posts. The pilot study would have
benefitted from the knowledge of what types of interactions the influencer’s have with their
followers and what kind of captions generate interaction. However, it was hard not to observe the
differences in communication styles in the captions during the post analysis. Cass Martin never
posted a caption with her photos, and at maximum she posted one sentence. In contrast, both
Hanna Oeberg and Aubrey Bromlow posted long captions. The reasoning behind the differences
in communication habits were not delved into, but would have made for interesting data points if
time allowed during the pilot study.
The number of fitness influencers for the full study will be increased from three to five
influencers. Five influencers will satisfy the need to produce enough data while also bringing
additional perspectives to the study. An improved process for selecting the five fitness
influencers will be implemented in the full project. A pre-determined definition for what defines
a female weight lifting fitness influencer will be established. This additional step will ensure that
all accounts are chosen based upon shared characteristics as Instagram fitness influencers.
Additionally, the pilot study revealed that there were benefits from analyzing influencers based
off of differences in follower count and comparing a smaller influencer’s communication
patterns to larger influencer’s communication habits. Cass Martin, who had the most Instagram
followers, only posted once every few days compared to new-comer Aubrey Bromlow, who
posted reliably once a day. Although their posting habits were different, elements of their posts
were similar including types of clothing, workouts, and positivity towards weight lifting. The
timeline for collecting data will be expanded from one month to six months. Every post from
each account during a six month period will be analyzed, similarly to the pilot study, to uncover
characteristics of professional communicators. Six months of data will allow for influencer’s
posting habits to take form, including the opportunity explore fitness influencers’ retention or
loss of followers based new or lost sponsorships, changes in diet or workouts, and other factors
that contribute to their communication with their audiences. The full study will focus on how
fitness influencers are professional communicators through their professionalization of fitness.

Anticipated Impact
The women who earn the title of fitness influencer, do so by committing their time and
attention to their followers. Fitness influencers reach hundreds to thousands of people with a
single post. In a world where major fitness sites are slow to catch up, Instagram is a perfect tool
to view quick videos on weight lifting form and gain inspiration for workouts. Fitness
influencers’ communicate to their followers that their happy lifestyles are achievable by the
average woman. Understanding how fitness influencers are professional communicators and
what defines them as professional communicators would unlock a category of communication
that is underrepresented in research in social media. Social media will only continue to grow, and
with it this new category of professional communicators will evolve with the platforms.
Knowing what qualities define a professional communicator will pave the way for future
communication on social media.

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Gries, Laurie E. Still Life With Rhetoric: A New Materialist Approach for Visual Rhetorics.
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Toffoletti, Kim, and Holly Thorpe. “Female athletes’ self-representation on social media: A
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