Building A Community Through Social Media Viterbo University

Samantha Weaver

Many  people  have  a   love-­‐hate   rela+onship  with  CrossFit,  whether   they   fear  the  intensity,  believe  it  causes  injury,  or  think  it  is  too  expensive,  the  average  person  is  hesitant  about  becoming  a  member  or  even  trying  a  workout  of  the  day   (WOD)   to   see  what   it   is   like   because   of   the   inCmidaCon   factor   (Knapp,  Massengale,  Partridge,  2014).  

This   study     focused   on   CrossFit   UDX,   a   new   CrossFit   box   located   in   the   La  Crosse  Wellness  Center   in  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin.  CrossFit  UDX  competes  with  two  other  CrossFit  boxes  within  a  10-­‐mile  radius.  The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to   create  a  posiCve   community  at  CrossFit  UDX   (UDX)   through   social  media,  specifically  Facebook  and  Instagram.  Then  to  examine  the  effect  it  has,  if  any,  on  the  engagement  and  growth.    

COMMUNITY NaConwide,  more  people  are  heading  to  their  nearest  yoga  studio,  barre  class,  or  CrossFit  box   rather   than   to  a   standard  gym  or  health   club   (Garcia,   2015).  CrossFit   affiliates  have  been  a  part  of   a  major   shiW   in   the  health  and  fitness  industry  over  the  last  few  years.  •  2000  -­‐  CrossFit  was  introduced  as  a  fitness  training  program  •  2004  -­‐  Facebook  was  founded  •  2005  -­‐  only  13  CrossFit  affiliated  boxes  were  opened  •  2013  -­‐  10,000  affiliated  boxes  were  opened  Heywood   (2014)   suggests   the   reason   for   this  major   increase  was  due   to   the  introducCon  of  Facebook.  He  backs  up  his  claim  by  explaining  prior   to  social  media  consumers  would  access  the  CrossFit  videos  via  the  website  and  could  share   them   through   word   of   mouth   or   by   email   linking   the   website.   The  growth  of  CrossFit—which   is  both  a  training  methodology  and  a  compeCCve  sport,  is  potenCally  developed  by  the  visual  communica+on  of  the  immersive  sport  (Heywood,  2015).      

FITNESS INDUSTRY GROWTH Consumers   were   not   just   looking   for   a   gym   anymore,   but   a   connec+on  created  at   the  gym  with  other  members,   coaches  and  even  owners,  making  CrossFit  boxes,  yoga  studios,  boxing  gyms,  and  many  more  stand  out  among  compeCtors   (Garcia,   2015).   Because   the   number   of   fitness   centers   is  increasing  in  urban  areas,  a  consumer  can  choose  from  among  a  dozen  fitness  centers  within  a  15-­‐minute  driving  distance  making  compeCCon  fierce  within  the  fitness  industry.  

Researchers   find   that   health   and   wellness   is   a   mul+genera+onal   trend,  however,   the   biggest   push   into   specialty   classes   is   happening   among  Millennials  because  of  the  connec+on  created  at  a  yoga  studio,  Zumba  class,  CrossFit   box,   etc.   (Garcia,   2015).   Compared   to   four   or   five   years   ago,  consumers   especially   Millennials   are   now   finding   more   value   in   specialty  training   because   of   the   community   created   among   other   members   and  coaches  (Sena,  2014).      

SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES Today’s   reality   is   that   both   personal   related   acCviCes   and   business   related  acCviCes  are  culCvated  via  social  media  (Beqiri,  2015).    Social  media  plaaorms  include  different  tools  and  tacCcs  that  provide  users  with  a  sense  of  ownership  allowing  them  maintain  the  feeling  of  being  in  control.  When  done  correctly,  social   media   markeCng   has   the   ability   to   expand   a   company’s   range   of  engagement  assets  (Evans,  Bracon,  &  McKee,  2010).    

Social   media   is   the   Cadillac   of   word   of   mouth   marke+ng,   good   or   bad  messages   spread   at   a   click   of   a   bucon.   This   is   both   a   disadvantage   and  advantage   of   social   media  markeCng,   which   is   why   developing   a  markeCng  strategy  and  posiCvely  formulaCng  a  brand  message   is  criCcal  to  successfully  execuCng  social  markeCng  tacCcs  (Beqiri,  2015).  

UDX GENDER & AGE DEMOGRAPHIC

FACEBOOK RESULTS

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POST REACH & ENGAGEMENT  

Researchers  recommended  to  post  on  THURSDAY  &  FRIDAY  for    

most  engagement    

Compared  to  47%  of  Facebook  users  are  MALE  and  53%  FEMALE  

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SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES

BEST  TIMES  TO  POST  BEFORE  8AM  &  AFTER  5PM  

INSTAGRAM RESULTS

The   BIGGEST   words   were   the  most   frequently   used   hashtags  and  smallest  were  least  used  

How can a small business use social media as a marketing strategy to build a community of engaged customers?

Given  the  results  from  both  Facebook  and  Instagram  plaaorms,  the  Facebook  results  were  more  telling  than  Instagram.   INSTAGRAM The  use  of  trending  or  popular  hashtags  and  quality  images  were  the  most  significant   factors   in   increasing   follower   engagement.   Trending   hashtags  used   to   describe   high   quality   images,   generally   resulted   in  more   post   likes  and  comments.  Consistency  was  a   factor  as  well,  but  not   sacrificing  quality  for  quanCty.      

FACEBOOK PosCng  videos   and   pictures  were   the  most   significant   factors   in   increasing  follower   engagement.   The   analyCcs   suggest   the   best   Cme   to   post   on  Facebook   is   between   7PM   and   9PM,   any   day   of   the   week   for   the   highest  engagement  and  most  reach.  64%  of  UDX’s  fans  are  within  a  90-­‐mile  radius  meaning  Facebook  is  an  effecCve  tool  to  send  out  markeCng  messages  to  a  targeted  demographic.  UDX  engages  more  females  than  males  and  has  more  female  than  male  members.  There  was  no  major  increase  in  followers  during  the  study;  however,  there  was  a  major  increase  in  follower  engagement.  

RECOMMENDATIONS •  Post  high  quality  photos  on  Instagram  daily  with  popular  hashtags  •  Post  videos  and  photos  more  oWen  than  links  and  statuses  between  7PM  

and  9PM,  at  8AM  or  12PM  •  Engage  more  male  Instagram  and  Facebook  followers  

•  Quan+ta+ve  methodology  was  used  for  this  study  

•  Analyzed  the  company’s  social  media  descripCve  staCsCcs  

•  Experimented  with  several  forms  of  posts  of  two  different  plaaorms  and  then  analyzed  the  subsequent  engagement  over  a  10  week  period  

•  Set  expecta+ons/strategy  based  off  of  social  media  best  pracCces  prior  to  conducCng  the  study  increased  the  validity  of  the  quanCtaCve  

analysis  

FACEBOOK RecommendaCons  from  researchers  for  increasing  engagement:  

•  Best  Cme  to  post  7AM  to  9PM    •  Post  3  to  4  Cmes  a  week  •  Only  post  once  a  day  for  maximum  reach  •  Videos  have  the  highest  potenCal  for  engagement  then  pictures  

INSTAGRAM RecommendaCons  from  researchers  for  increasing  engagement:  

•  Be  acCve  –  post  daily  •  Post  high  quality  photos  •  Maintain  a  consistent  idenCty  or  brand  message  

•  Use  hashtags  to  target  followers  

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NS Beqiri,  G.  (2015).  Marketers  and  social  media  markeCng.  Proceedings  Of  The  Mul3disciplinary  Academic  Conference,  91-­‐98  

Evans,  D.,  Bracon,  S.,  &  McKee,  J.  (2010).  Social  media  markeCng:  The  next  generaCon  of  business  engagement.  Sybex;  1  edi3on.  Garcia,  T.  (2015,  September  17).  BouCque  fitness  studios  are  leading  growth  in  the  health  club  industry.  Retrieved  April  01,  2016,  from  hcp://www.marketwatch.com/story/bouCque-­‐fitness-­‐studios-­‐showing-­‐the-­‐most-­‐growth-­‐in-­‐the-­‐health-­‐club-­‐industry-­‐2015-­‐09-­‐16  Heywood,  L.  (2015).  The  CrossFit  sensorium:  Visuality,  affect  and  immersive  sport.  Paragraph,  38(1),  20-­‐36.  doi:10.3366/para.2015.0144  Kemp,  S.  (2015,  January).  We  are  social  USA.  Retrieved  April  09,  2016,  from  hcp://wearesocial.com/    Sena,  M.  (2015,  January).  Fitness  industry  analysis  2016  -­‐  cost  &  trends.  Retrieved  April  01,  2016,  from  hcps://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-­‐reports/fitness-­‐industry-­‐report/  R

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