Can Your Fitness Clients Also Be Micro-Influencers

Clients as Micro-influencers

Micro-influencers are those that create material that focuses on a particular market, specialty, or subject. While the exact amount of followers varies depending on the source, a micro-influencer often has between 1,000 and 50,000 followers. The quantity of followers is random and has nothing to do with success or worth. Anyone who is dedicated to a cause, quest, or message has the potential to become a micro-influencer. How do we impact our clients’ interactions with one another? And, maybe more significantly, why is it relevant? In a nutshell, clients as micro-influencers provide a contemporary form of social support.

Why Social Support Matters

Bandura’s (1986) social learning theory proposed for the first time that behavior may be explained by looking at the interactions and linkages between a person and his or her environment and social variables. Numerous research has established a favorable link between social support, goal accomplishment, and altered health habits over the course of decades.

For instance, one research examined the social impacts on rural individuals’ health practices. The researchers discovered that the opinions of family and friends had a significant impact on behavior. Additionally, the findings indicated that support from and accountability to social-support network members supported behavior change and maintenance (Sriram et al., 2017). Systematic research that evaluated the relationship between social support and physical activity in older individuals reached similar findings. According to the research, those who received more social support were more likely to engage in recreational physical exercise (Smith et al., 2017). Clearly, social support is a powerful incentive for individuals to persevere in pursuit of a goal (Bushman, 2017).

The bottom line is that we are already aware that our clients, regardless of their objective, gain tremendously from the presence of high-quality social support (Brehm, 2014). Additionally, we know that social support can take on a variety of diverse and unique forms: friends and family can offer positive encouragement and validation; coworkers can assist with covering a lunch shift; a workout partner can provide accountability and positive reinforcement, and online support groups can help influence motivation and share similar experiences. Social assistance does not take a singular form.

The Social Media Factor

Social media has a unique ability to link individuals on a local, regional, and global level. As health and fitness experts, we leverage social media to engage and educate our large following—we are micro-influencers. However, what about our customers? Why not leverage social media’s connection to assist our clients in becoming micro-influencers while they achieve their lifestyle goals? This may be precisely the creative outlet that today’s clients require to feel powerful and connected to others on a similar journey. Additionally, it may be used to convey a message of body positivity and a healthy lifestyle.

Here are some practical strategies to help clients work toward becoming micro-influencers:

• Create an online support group to connect clients through a common channel. This will help build familiarity and relationships among current and former clients. Select a social media channel that your clients find popular and use often.
• Follow your clients on social media and post-praise-filled messages. Do the same on your social media channel(s).
• Promote the individual social media channels of your clients.
• Post encouraging messages about the value of sharing a fitness journey.
• Share your own fitness journey and daily habits via live videos and stories.
• Hold candid conversations with clients about sharing their health and fitness journeys through a social media channel. Offer to help them get it started.
• If you have clients who possess a talent for writing, encourage them to start a blog and begin sharing things they’ve learned in their sessions and experiences with you.
• Encourage a “grow the group” effort where clients follow each other on their respective channels or join/create a Facebook group.
• Create a “wall of fame” at your studio or gym to showcase achievements. Include the clients’ social media channels on the wall (remember to seek permission to do so).
• Encourage clients to follow other individuals who are considered micro-influencers and interact with their posts.

Several factors contribute to an individual’s desire and motivation to commit to healthy habits, including exercise and physical activity. Among these factors are self-efficacy, enjoyment, accountability, habit integration into the daily routine, and social support.

As health and fitness experts, we have an unparalleled chance to impact each of those variables. We are responsible for developing training plans that are tailored to our client’s objectives and needs, which include including enjoyable activities. Additionally, we establish accountability measures and assist clients in developing the skills necessary to modify their behaviors. We assist customers in developing short-term goals that result in early victories, which boost self-efficacy. Finally, we not only give social assistance but also assist customers in discovering other sources of social support inside their own networks (family, friends, coworkers, and community).

Consider what would happen if we took proactive measures to encourage clients to assist one another in a more current and persuasive manner. Your clients may actually develop into micro-influencers as they go on parallel transformation journeys. Such an approach has the potential to foster client-client relationships and so increase the value of social assistance.