Monday 4 January 2016

My Social Media Why.....

     

As someone who is passionate about Social Media, from both a professional and personal standpoint, lately I have been thinking about what exactly I want my message to be.
We all know that Social Media can be a very powerful vehicle for advertising and branding. Many successful companies now solely rely upon Social Media for marketing. The shift from print to online has had a dramatic effect on the fitness world; an example being that many athletes and fitness models no longer rely on magazine or competitions to gain exposure. Having a mass online following can often be more valuable than the publicity gained by more traditional media sources.
However, when I look at the fitness world it is quite different than “normal life”. With the proliferation of ½ naked selfies, butt shots, ab selfies, and many athletes posing in nothing more than a G-string, it seems as if the standard norm in the fitness world has become almost pornographic. Every progress or transformation pic now seems more and more of less and less. Which I might add, I have been guilty of as well. 
But recently I have been asking myself: Am I being authentic in my message? Or am I falling into the fitness Social Media norm of showing less to gain more followers and likes?
If Social Media is a numbers game, and we view likes and followers as a commodity, then wouldn’t having the right followers be equally as important? Those who buy into your message, find the content of your page interesting, informative, and inspiring, the engaged, valued follower....
I have seen many non-fitness pages that have very interesting content, hundreds of thousands of followers and not one body shot. So in this fitness world of amazing scantily clad bodies how do you create interest and followers without sacrificing and exposing everything (literally)?
If I was selling a car I would show the vehicle and all its features. So is that not part of showing our fitness achievements? Displaying our body and how we maintain and care for it? 
Having a sexy body shot is the best way to garner more likes and possibly more followers, which can lead to more opportunities, we have all seen it. Now if in these pictures are you being authentically yourself then I say rock it out...but I guess that is part of my question...Can these images be used to send a message about who I am and what I stand for? Can I be seen as Aspirational not just a piece of Ass?

I have done many wonderful photo shoots with sexy fitness pictures and I plan on using them. So I am in no way casting any judgment. I know the amount of work it takes to get your body to a certain level. I love doing photo shoots, being on stage and supporting all those who do the same.

Recently after talking to many women in this industry I was made aware that this issue seems to be a common struggle. Many expressed the desire for followers and to create value in their Social Media platforms, but the question lies “At what expense....and can we have both?”
Can we be proud and show our achievements, be authentic, gain new and valued followers, yet be clear and concise on our message without losing ourselves (and all our clothes)?  

                                   



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