As consumers become more wary of products promising to help them become healthier, lose more weight, and improve their overall appearance, the need for credibility in the fitness and wellness industry is at an all-time high.
FitTok creators help meet this demand. Many of these fitness gurus, personal trainers, and athletes are experts in their field and can help you build trust among your target audience.
Partnering with a FitTok influencer may just be the boost your brand needs. Let’s take a look at this growing platform.
What is FitTok?
FitTok is an entire subsection of TikTok where personal trainers, professional and amateur athletes, and weekend warriors can share content covering topics like pre- and post-workout snacks, their favorite workouts, and gym life.
What are some of the most popular TikTok fitness trends?
From sharing workouts focused on improving a specific part of the body (whether it be creating a flat tummy or building glutes) to trying out the latest exercise fad, there are multiple popular TikTok fitness trends. Some current content types include:
Equipment Tests and Demos
Demo videos and reviews help viewers learn about trendy products and get a better idea of how they work, what people think of them, and whether they are worth trying out for themselves.
This content is effective for brands with a new or novel product. However, people tend to be wary of reviews that seem like a company paid for them. Be sure to encourage your partners to post honest and unbiased thoughts on your product, as this is far more genuine and engaging for viewers.
Fitness Challenges
Fitness challenges often depict an impressive and complicated display of strength, endurance, or flexibility, and then the content creator encourages others to participate and see if they can complete it.
This type of content is valuable for fitness influencers because it validates their strength and credibility when they prove they can complete these challenging moves. This can also increase their reach on the app when people stitch the original video to try the challenge for themselves.
How-Tos
Built for the beginner athlete and pros alike, how-to videos allow creators to share their favorite workouts, moves, and routines with viewers. This type of content provides value to the consumer and is extremely popular with influencers who are also personal trainers, as this can give viewers an idea of whether they would like to pay to learn more from them.
Nutrition Advice
From sharing grocery shopping hauls to encouraging viewers to join them as they cook a nutritious meal, FitTok influencers prove they are just as adept in the kitchen as they are in the gym. Creators who regularly share their meals are great partners for supplement and health food brands looking to promote their products to a larger audience.
Fit Checks
Sometimes, a great gym outfit can be the best motivation to work out, at least according to FitTok creators. Many will post their outfit as they go to the gym or even show off multiple within one video. These types of content serve as golden opportunities for athletic apparel and athleisure companies to partner with fashion-forward creators.
How has FitTok evolved?
Early FitTok influencers focused more on showing themselves completing a workout instead of providing instruction. But as the pandemic shuttered gyms and required people to find ways to work out at home, more and more influencers began posting how-tos and workout routines. The overall number of creators posting FitTok videos has also increased as the app has become more mainstream since its initial release in September 2016.
In fact, TikTok as a whole has seen much growth over the past few years. In 2019, the app earned 693 million downloads in 2019 and another 850 in 2020. There’s no better time to create a branded account on the app to post original content and partner with influencers who will reach this growing audience.
How are FitTok creators different from other fitness influencers?
Built for speed
FitTok creators understand the importance of speed and paring down their workouts to fit within TikTok’s 3-minute maximum. The same influencers tend to also utilize YouTube, but their content on that platform typically lasts 30-60 minutes, the length of a full workout.
Trendier and more relevant
They also need to focus more on staying on-trend than influencers on other social media platforms. Popular sounds, challenges, and topics on TikTok change from week to week, meaning creators have to stay on their toes if they want to stay relevant.
More with less
Finally, FitTok creators can’t rely on heavy descriptions. Instagram allows for long captions, as do YouTube and Facebook, but TikTok limits users to a 300-character caption. While they can engage with viewers in the comments, they have to be wary of character limits. Creators have to convey as much as possible in their video content. It’s also common for a TikToker to create a video response to a question in the comments since they are so restricted in writing.
Why should brands incorporate FitTok creators into their strategy?
TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform, with a consumer base of mostly millennials and Gen Z.
Data from a 2015 McKinsey study revealed that 26% of purchases were influenced by social media, and the trending “TikTok Made Me Buy It” movement highlights viral products that people purchased after seeing on the app. The success from being included in this lauded category doesn’t just stop at promotion on TikTok, though—media sites like Buzzfeed and NPR create listicles featuring viral TikTok products for their consumers to view.
Brands collaborating with FitTok creators
1. Under Armour
Under Armour is a fitness apparel and equipment company with a history of partnering with fitness influencers, having them use specialized hashtags, including #wearyourarmour, to unify posts. They also encourage influencers to compete in fitness challenges for ads. The most recent example is the #currybrand campaign where participants tried to shoot 3-pointers in honor of Under Armour’s Curry Brand collaboration with Stephen Curry.
2. Paceline
Paceline is an app that links to wearable fitness trackers and rewards people for working out. While some brands tend to be more subtle in their partnered videos, Paceline encourages influencers to create content that functions more like a traditional ad, complete with an explanation of how the app works.
3. Gymshark
Probably best known for their leggings that have gone viral on TikTok, Gymshark is a fitness apparel and equipment company that mainly partners with female influencers who share “haul” videos showcasing multiple pieces within a short clip.
Top 10 TikTok fitness influencers to follow
1. Natasha Pehrson
Natasha Pehrson is a mom of three sharing her postpartum weight loss experience across social media. She emphasizes clean eating and often shares videos of her cooking meals, working out, or discussing the things she’s noticed about what life is like at her current weight compared to her starting weight.
You can follow Natasha’s weight loss journey on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook, and her blog.
2. Ron Everline
Ron Everline, better known by his handle of Just Train, is a fitness trainer whose clients include Kevin Hart and Trey Songz. He also runs Just Train Kids, a program to combat childhood obesity, and an online series called No Matter the Game. Ron has a history of collaboration with big-name brands, including C4 Energy and Fabletics Men.
Learn more about Ron’s approach to training on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
3. Megan Roup
Megan Roup is the founder of The Sculpt Society, a virtual sculpt and dance cardio workout subscription service. Her videos invite you in for a personal look at her workouts, where she offers tutorials on sculpting moves and sneak peeks of what to expect from her paid program.
Check out some of her fitness inspo on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
4. Danyele Wilson
Danyele Wilson, a trainer at EvolveYou, is an advocate for body positivity and building mental and physical strength. In addition to sharing her workouts across social channels, she shows her comedy chops in all-too-relatable videos about not wanting to workout, dating, and anxiety. She’s collaborated with brands like Balance Athletica, Toluca Swim, and BEAM Supplements.
Stay up to date with Danyele on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
5. Stefana Avara
Stefana Avara focuses on helping people new to fitness find workouts that they truly enjoy doing and revealing that even influencers don’t look perfect all of the time. Calling herself “your new big sister,” Stefana hosts the TreadTalks podcast and shares details about her fitness journey, including her struggles.
Find your next workout with Stefana on TikTok, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and Instagram.
6. Mason Mahoney
Mason Mahoney is a personal trainer and the co-host of the Athlete Mentality Podcast. He regularly posts about his favorite foods to eat, resetting your metabolism, and his go-to workout moves.
Learn how to build muscle with Mason on TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
7. Johanna AKA
Johanna Devries has a degree in kinesiology, is a certified personal trainer, and created the Grow With Jo app. With content ranging from easy workouts, inspiring pep talks, and even comedic views into the life of a “mompreneur,” Johanna offers value to fitness beginners and experts alike.
Check out her latest content on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest.
8. BullyJuice
While many FitTok influencers focus on helping beginners get started with fitness, Darryl Williams creates content that shows what an intense exercise regimen can look like. His TikTok is chock-full of amazing stunts, from backflips to squatting while holding his entire family. He also regularly features his wife, lifestyle influencer Brittany Williams, in his videos.
See more of Darryl’s jaw-dropping fitness moves on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
9. Cassey Ho
Cassey Ho, perhaps better known by her handle @Blogilates, is a certified Pilates instructor and the head designer and CEO of POPFLEX, an athleticwear line. She frequently shares videos of simple fitness moves you can do with limited equipment, as well as details about her latest products.
Check out Cassey’s fitness tips on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest.
10. Bradley Martyn
Bradley Martyn is the founder and CEO of Zoo Culture, a gym in LA, who owns an athleisure apparel company called RawGear. He posts a mixture of comedic clips about working out at the gym and videos of him testing out fitness challenges to see if he can do them.
Find more of Bradley’s content on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Conclusion
Partnering with a fitness influencer on TikTok can be a great boost for your brand if you do your research. With a variety of niches on FitTok, from gym comedy to impressive challenges to workout demos, you’re bound to find the right creator to appeal to your target audience. If your brand is willing to put in the work, you’re sure to see some gains.
Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101
