How to Engage a Crowd in 3 Easy Steps
I also used to manage the social media for a supplements website which, at the time was completely new to social media, just as I was completely new to the bodybuilding industry! They knew they wanted to be on Facebook as this was where their target audience seemed to be hanging out!
After much research, I figured out that the bodybuilding and fitness industry is extremely competitive and everyone wants to be ‘Top Dog’ when it comes to sharing new information and expertise. Therefore, I decided to engage, inspire and excite others through these 3 simple steps:
Crowdsourcing
I discovered that the main way to get people to engage is to prompt them to share information about themselves. For example, I updated the status of the page with “How much can you bench press?” within 15 minutes, the page received an influx of comments with bodybuilders and fitness fanatics all sharing their experience. I would also ask, “Which exercises are best for Abs? Is diet also important?”- anything really to prompt and promote discussion based on the audience’s key interests.
After a few months or so, the Facebook page built a reputation for being the “Trip Advisor” of the bodybuilding industry where people would visit to seek new information about diet and exercise. We received many messages from fans who needed help with a particular weight loss regime tailored to suit them, so again, I would use this as an opportunity to promote engagement i.e “Can anyone help Andy with his diet and fitness query?” etc.
Combine Social Media with Offline Promotions
Whilst working for the company, I was also responsible for writing offline articles to feature in fitness magazines which are often looking for factual information and noticed that a few of the fans had interesting stories to tell.Ii.e one person lost 5 stone and became a bodybuilder. I would approach these people and ask them if they would be interested in featuring in a fitness magazine with their story, which they would agree to and we would offer them a free supplement or a money off voucher for taking part. I found that the ones who took part in the contest became loyal Facebook fans, they would ‘like’ the status updates, re-post links and comment on page updates which ultimately encouraged further engagement.
Reach Out to Influential Bloggers
In any social media campaign, blogger outreach is extremely important to get your message across and draw in a crowd. I would research the most influential bloggers in the fitness industry with a Google Ranking of 3+ (to help with SEO and also to gauge the quality of the content) and more often than not, they would also have a huge Facebook following. I would target these bloggers and ask them if they would be either interested in collaborating for a magazine story or reviewing one of the products featured on the site and once published, I would update the information on the Facebook page, sharing a link to their Blog page which again, resulted in a loyal Facebook fans and ultimately advocates for the company website.
Digital PR 
Good use of crowdsourcing! You’re absolutely right in your assessment of the bodybuilding community; they’re jovial people, and they’re more than willing to give advice and share knowledge. Especially since you were new to the field, using social media to tap into your already-present customer knowledge base was a great way to start strong.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks Seth. I think you really do need to know your audience and tone of voice in order for it to be effective.