Impact and engagement of sport & fitness influencers: A challenge for health education media literacy

David Recio Moreno 1 * , Javier Gil Quintana 1, Efrén Romero Riaño 2
More Detail
1 Faculty of Education, National University of Distance Education (UNED), SPAIN
2 Faculty of Engineering, Bucaramanga Autonomous University, COLOMBIA
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 13, Issue 3, Article No: e202334. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/13309
OPEN ACCESS   3979 Views   4177 Downloads   Published online: 25 May 2023
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

Influencers of physical activity and sport have acquired an important role in the promotion of health and well-being through digital social networks such as Instagram. The purpose of this study is to obtain a detailed view of the use that sports and physical activity influencers make of the Instagram social network, its reach and impact on the audience. This study monitored and collected data from the channels of ten Spanish Sport & Fitness influencers who projected their activity towards 6,804,930 followers on the social platform Instagram. In addition, the content of the biography and most popular publications of each influencer was analysed, considering the visual aspects, codes and digital languages. The results obtained show a commitment of the influencers to motivate and excite their audience to lead an active life, a healthy lifestyle and to perform a variety of exercises to increase their muscular strength, flexibility and cardiorespiratory resistance, among others. They also offer practical nutrition advice, performance-enhancing recommendations, and individualized training programs. All this through a style and strategies typical of digital marketing and influence to gain trust and credibility, achieve engagement and a positive impact on their audiences, even influencing the decision to purchase services and products from commercial brands. This scenario highlights the importance of media literacy for citizens towards a responsible use of the Internet and social networks, especially towards the consumption of content related to physical activity and sports, thus developing critical thinking to evaluate the information that can influence our decisions and perceptions about health and physical well-being.
Keywords: influencers, social media, Instagram, media literacy, health education, physical activity

CITATION

Recio Moreno, D., Gil Quintana, J., & Romero Riaño, E. (2023). Impact and engagement of sport & fitness influencers: A challenge for health education media literacy. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 13(3), e202334. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/13309

REFERENCES

  • Aguilar, D., & Arbaiza, F. (2021). The role of fitness influencers in building brand credibility through distorted imagery of healthy living on Instagram. Proceedings of 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.23919/CISTI52073.2021.9476251
  • Blaszka, M., Burch, L.M., Frederick, E.L., Clavio, G., & Walsh, P. (2012). WorldSeries: An empirical examination of a Twitter hashtags during a major sporting event. International Journal of Sport Communication, 5(4), 435-453. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.5.4.435
  • Castelló-Martínez, A. (2016). El marketing de influencia: Un caso práctico [Influencer marketing: A case study]. In V. Tur-Viñes & J. Segarra-Saavedra (Eds.), Tendencias publicitarias en Iberoamérica: Diálogo de saberes y experiencias (pp. 49-65). Colección Mundo Digital. https://doi.org/10.14198/MEDCOM/2016/8
  • Castelló-Martínez, A., & Del Pino-Romero, C. (2019). La comunicación publicitaria con Influencers [Advertising communication with influencers]. Redmarka. Revista de Marketing Aplicado, 1(14), 21-50. https://doi.org/10.17979/redma.2015.01.014.4880
  • Castillo-Abdul, B., Ortega-Fernández, E., & Romero-Rodríguez, L.M. (2022). Corporate social responsibility communication of male luxury fashion brands: analysis on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Management Decision. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-09-2022-1316
  • Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications.
  • Durau, J., Diehl, S., & Terlutter, R. (2022). Motivate me to exercise with you: The effects of social media fitness influencers on users’ intentions to engage in physical activity and the role of user gender. Digital Health, 8, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221102769
  • Escaño, C. (2022). Pedagogías de la mirada: Reflexiones desde la postdigitalidad [Pedagogies of the look: Reflections from the postdigitality]. Dykinson.
  • Falcón, M., & Ruiz-Cabello, A. (2012). Alfabetización en salud: concepto y dimensiones. Proyecto europeo de alfabetización en salud [Health literacy: concept and dimensions. European Health Literacy Project]. Revista de Comunicación y Salud, 22, 91-98. https://doi.org/10.35669/revistadecomunicacionysalud.2012.2(2).91-98
  • García, M. F., Daly, A. J., & Segado, S. (2016). Identificando a los nuevos influyentes en tiempos de Internet: medios sociales y análisis de redes sociales [Identifying the new influencers in Internet times: social media and social network analysis]. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 153, 23-40. https://doi.org/10.5477/cis/reis.153.23
  • Gil-Quintana, J., Felipe-Ruiz, R., & Moreno-Muro, M. A. (2022). Influencers deportivos y su repercusión en el consumo, la actividad física y su proyección en redes sociales por los adolescentes andaluces [Sports influencers and their impact on consumption, physical activity and their projection on social networks by Andalusian adolescents]. Retos, 43, 591-602. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v43i0.89518
  • Gil-Quintana, J., Parejo, J. L., & Cantillo-Valero, C. (2021). Investigar en comunicación y educación. Teoría y práctica científica [Investigate in communication and education. Scientific theory and practice]. Tirant Lo Blanch.
  • Gil-Quintana, J., Ruiz Galizteo, A., & Romero-Rodríguez, L. M. (2023). Girl YouTubers: Interaction, creation, educational content and emotions during COVID-19 confinement. Observatorio (OBS), 17(1), 188-202. https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS17120232171
  • Gil-Quintana, J., Santoveña-Casal, S., & Romero-Riaño, E. (2021). Realfooders influencers on Instagram: From followers to consumers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1624. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041624
  • Godefroy, J. (2020). Recommending physical activity during the COVID-19 health crisis. Fitness influencers on Instagram. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2, 589813. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.589813
  • Goodman, M. K., & Jaworska, S. (2020). Mapping digital foodscapes: Digital food influencers and the grammars of good food. Geoforum, 117, 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.09.020
  • González-Loyola, P. A., Cañizares-Alvarado, C. A., & Patiño-Mosquera, G. A. (2018). Las redes sociales como factor de decisión: Millennials frente a la generación X [Social media as a decision factor: Millennials vs. generation X]. Revista Economía y Política, 27, 9-28. https://doi.org/10.25097/rep.n27.2018.01
  • González-Carrión, E. L., & Aguaded, I. (2020). Engagement y evolución de instagramers hispanohablantes de moda [Engagement and evolution of Spanish-speaking fashion instagramers]. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 77, 231-252. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2020-1456
  • Gómez-Nieto, B. (2018). El influencer: herramienta clave en el contexto digital de la publicidad engañosa [The influencer: A key tool in the digital context of misleading advertising]. Methaodos. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 6(1), 149-156. https://doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v6i1.212
  • Hijós, N. (2018). Influencers, mujeres y running: Algunas consideraciones para entender los nuevos consumos deportivos y los estilos de vida saludable [Influencers, women and running: Some considerations to understand the new sports consumption and healthy lifestyles]. Lúdica Pedagógica, 1(27), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.17227/ludica.num27-9442
  • Jandrić, P. (2020). Postdigital Research in the Time of Covid-19. Postdigital Science and Education, 2, 233-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00113-8
  • Janssen, L., Schouten, A. P., & Croes, E. A. (2022). Influencer advertising on Instagram: product-influencer fit and number of followers affect advertising outcomes and influencer evaluations via credibility and identification. International Journal of Advertising, 41(1), 101-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.1994205
  • Jaramillo-Dent, D., Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., de-Casas-Moreno, P., & Baldallo-González, C. (2020). Instagramming: Temas, tópicos y tendencias [Instagramming: Themes, topics and trends]. Octaedro.
  • Karg, A., Shilbury, D., Westerbeek, H., Funk, D. C., & Naraine, M. L. (2022). Strategic sport marketing. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270522
  • Keegan, B. J., & Rowley, J. (2017). Evaluation and decision making in social media marketing. Management Decision, 55(1), 15-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2015-0450
  • Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2013). Fundamentos del marketing [Marketing fundamentals]. Pearson Educación.
  • Leaver, T., Highfield, T., & Abidin, C. (2020). Instagram: Visual social media cultures. Wiley.
  • López-Rabadán, P., & Doménech-Fabregat, H. (2018). Instagram y la espectacularización de las crisis políticas. Las 5W de la imagen digital en el proceso independentista de Cataluña [Instagram and the spectacularization of political crises. The 5W of the digital image in the independence process of Catalonia]. Profesional de la información, 27(5), 1013-1029. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2018.sep.06
  • Luque-Ortiz, S. (2019). La imagen de marca de los influencers y su repercusión en el consumo a través de Instagram [The brand image of influencers and its impact on consumption through Instagram]. In G. Paredes Otero (Ed.), Investigar las Redes Sociales. Un acercamiento interdisciplinar (pp. 217-244). Egregius.
  • Mayor-Serrano, M. B. (2010). Revisión y corrección de textos médicos destinados a los pacientes… y algo más [Review and correction of medical texts for patients... and something else]. Panace@, 11(31), 29-36. https://bit.ly/3VXU4aS
  • Manovich, L. (2020). Instagram y la imagen contemporánea [Instagram and the contemporary image]. UAM, Unidad Cuajimalpa.
  • Martín-Critikián, D., & Medina-Núñez, M. (2021). Redes sociales y la adicción al like de la generación Z [Social networks and the addiction to the like of generation Z]. Revista de Comunicación y Salud, 11, 55-76. https://doi.org/10.35669/rcys.2021.11.e281
  • Muhammad, S. S., Dey, B. L., Kamal, M. M., & Alwi, S. F. S. (2021). Consumer engagement with social media platforms: A study of the influence of attitudinal components on cutting edge technology adaptation behaviour. Computers in Human Behavior, 121, 106802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106802
  • Pilgrim, K., & Bohnet-Joschko, S. (2022). Influencer und das Problem mit dem Sixpack. Merkmale gesundheitsbezogener Bildsprache auf Instagram [Influencers and the problem with the six-pack. Characteristics of health-related imagery on Instagram]. Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung, 17(1), 113-118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11553-021-00845-w
  • Ramos, J. (2019). Marketing de influencers. Juanjo Ramos S. L.
  • Ravina Ripoll, R., Romero-Rodríguez, L. M., & Ahumada-Tello, E. (2022). Guest editorial: Happiness management: key factors for sustainability and organizational communication in the age of Industry 4.0. Corporate Governance, 22(3) 449-457. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-05-2022-576
  • Rego Rey, S., & Romero-Rodríguez, L. M. (2016). Representación discursiva y lenguaje de los “youtubers” españoles: Estudio de caso de los “gamers” más populares [Discursive representation and language of Spanish "youtubers": Case study of the most popular "gamers"]. index.Comunicación, 6(1), 197-224. https://indexcomunicacion.es/index.php/indexcomunicacion/article/view/271
  • Romero-Rodríguez, L. M., & Castillo-Abdul, B. (2023). Towards state-of-the-art on social marketing research in User-Generated Content (UGC) and Influencers. Journal of Management Development, 42(2), https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-11-2022-0285
  • Roy, T. K., & Mehendale, S. (2021). Effectiveness of healthcare and fitness influencers during COVID times. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 33(35B), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.9734/jpri/2021/v33i35B31894
  • Saini, M., & Shlonsky, A. (2012). Systematic synthesis of qualitative research. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387216.001.0001
  • Santoveña-Casal, S. (2020). Entre redes [Between networks]. Tirant lo Blanch.
  • Schreier, M. (2014). Qualitative content analysis. In Flick, U. (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446282243.n12
  • Segarra-Saavedra, J., & Hidalgo-Marí, T. (2018). Influencers, moda femenina e Instagram: el poder de la influencia en la era 2.0 [Influencers, women's fashion and Instagram: the power of influence in the 2.0 era]. Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación, 9(1), 313-325. https://www.doi.org/10.14198/MEDCOM2018.9.1.17
  • Segarra-Saavedra, J., Carratalá-Martínez, D., & Romero-Coves, A. (2022). Uso publicitario de Instagram por parte de modelos españoles antes del código de conducta de AEA y autocontrol [Advertising use of Instagram by Spanish models before the AEA code of conduct and self-control]. Vivat Academia, 155, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.15178/va.2022.155.e1410
  • Serrano-Puche, J. (2016). Internet y emociones: Nuevas tendencias en un campo de investigación emergente [Internet and emotions: New trends in an emerging field of research]. Comunicar, 46, 19-26. https://doi.org/10.3916/C46-2016-02
  • Silva, M. J. B., Farias, S. A., Grigg, M. H. K., & Barbosa, M. L. A. (2021). The body as a brand in social media: analyzing digital fitness influencers as product endorsers. Athenea Digital, 21(1), e2614. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/athenea.2614
  • Sokolova, K., & Perez, C. (2021). You follow fitness influencers on YouTube. But do you actually exercise? How parasocial relationships, and watching fitness influencers, relate to intentions to exercise. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102276
  • Stavros, C., Meng, M. D., Westberg, K., & Farrelly, F. (2014). Understanding fan motivation for interacting on social media. Sport Management Review, 17(4), 455-469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2013.11.004
  • Tafesse, W., & Wood, B. P. (2021). Followers' engagement with instagram influencers: The role of influencers’ content and engagement strategy. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102303
  • The Social Media Family (2022). VIII Estudio sobre los usuarios de Facebook, Twitter, Instagram y LinkedIn en España [VIII Study on users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn in Spain]. https://thesocialmediafamily.com/redes-sociales-mas-utilizadas/
  • Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523-538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
  • Villagómez, A. R., & Acosta, E. (2020). Uso de redes sociales digitales como estrategia de mercadotecnia en pymes pirotécnicas de Tultepec en el estado de México [Use of digital social networks as a marketing strategy in pyrotechnic SMEs of Tultepec in the state of Mexico]. Revista de Comunicación de la SEECI, 52, 73-93. https://doi.org/10.15198/seeci.2020.52.73-93
  • Walliman, N. (2011). Research methods. The basics. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203836071
  • Yang, C. (2021). Research in the Instagram context: Approaches and methods. The Journal of Social Sciences Research, 7(1), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.32861/jssr.71.15.21