Putting the social in social media
What it truly means to be an online community
Social media has always been a home for me; a digital home where I can entertain guests and groups and people in a way that isn’t always possible in my physical home or favorite IRL spaces (as fun and rewarding as that might be).
When I first started out as an expat, having moved from abroad, everything was fresh and new and ready to be explored. At that early stage, social media was a great resource that helped me connect to my new home in so many ways. Not only was I able to find helpful information about the city and people around me, I also found a place where I could quickly learn new skills and make new connections.
“Okay Aspen, but how does this all relate to Freeletics?” you ask. Well, it does actually start with exercise and physical activity, specifically my favorite way to exercise: long distance running. Back in 2018 I suffered an injury that was bad enough to keep me from running for an extended period of time. This was upsetting news, but I was not going to let that keep me from a fitness routine!
I looked for ways to cross-train while I could not run, and naturally, I looked to social media, my digital home, for answers. It was then and there that I discovered Freeletics.
Ok, I must admit, this did not end up in the fantastic, dramatic personal journey story one may expect after that statement. I didn’t really get into it as much as I should have after being introduced to it (you know, the familiar “Oh hey, what’s a Burpee?” to “Oh gosh, THAT’S a Burpee?” to “Oh GOSH, that’s what a Burpee feels like??!”), but I was in complete admiration of the loyal online community around Freeletics, and I stayed pretty dedicated to checking in on it.
What I noticed in paying attention to the online fitness space is that there is such a large variety in the online fitness community, in terms of the brands, personalities, and product offerings, but Freeletics really stands out in the center of it. Never before had I seen such a global, diverse and die-hard community of (Free) Athletes or such a strong level of support in a community.
I saw people from all over the world striving to be the best versions of themselves, committed to helping each other feel accepted in every step of their journey, and staying confident through challenges no matter what their fitness level was. Positive and inspiring! As a person who has always strived to find this for herself in exercise, I really appreciated this.
Social Media at Freeletics
When the opportunity to join Freeletics came up earlier this year, I excitedly jumped at it — after all, it was a chance to further support this great community with the knowledge and experience I have in social media.
Happily, I was welcomed on board and straight away this role brought to me a lot of chances to bring value to the community very concretely; from managing the channel I know best (YouTube) to organizing the video shoots for that channel, to managing influencer relationships, to storyboarding out the shots that make up the content — it’s been challenging but rewarding. And, I wanna mention, it has given me a really clear view of the challenges that communities face online.
Now as supportive and great as the online fitness community online can be, it also has an unfortunate part to it, which can’t really be ignored: its subculture of comparison.
Many people, communities, and brands post images or videos that depict themselves as being exceptionally perfect and, to the average individual, this presents a pretty unattainable standard. Content that is shared to motivate ends up being the opposite. I’m glad to say that my role in Freeletics has also become one where I can help support change in this area.
By choosing to work with real people and people who really love the product, we have been able to produce a new level of authenticity in our social media content. And by working with our Freeletics Community around the world, we are able to show so many great stories of many different levels of fitness.
Being a community (online or offline) is not just about sharing cool content and providing support but providing a safe space where a person can be themselves and feel free from judgment, negative criticism, and the unrealistic expectations of others.
I even had the opportunity to do a challenge myself (it honestly was pretty intimidating to do and publicly share!), but in order to better support a community like Freeletics, it’s important to show all sides to a journey — not just the good ones, not just the easy ones. And when you do open up publicly about those challenges, often the community support is even greater.
Freeletics Social Life
Inside Freeletics HQ, we support each other as a community too, not only in the pursuit of good end results, but also in taking risks and attempting something new.
The recent pandemic has forced us all to cope with new social realities, like remote work being the new normal for now. We’ve also had to be more creative and flexible in order to achieve our goals and keep our own community social life vibrant in a safe, controlled way.
As unfortunate as it is that we cannot get together in person as much as before, my colleagues have found ways to still keep that tight support system alive online too. Whether it is by virtual coffee (or beer) breaks, online video training sessions, or early morning mindset calls before the workday begins, we still find ways to be a community and care for each other. It looks and feels a little different, but our team spirit is still there.
Tying it All Together
So to bring it all back to this little thing called social media: this is what the “social” in social media stands for. It means not just showing the great end product of a journey, or sharing your top “How-to tips”, but sharing the challenging moments, and the parts that you maybe were not able to accomplish on the first try. For me and for us, it means sharing the parts of our journeys that we can all relate to and reminding you that you are not alone. Being social means being kind to others and ourselves even as we all fight hard to overcome our own challenges.
I’ll end with this: no one truly enjoys doing Burpees (no matter how good you get at them!), but….you’re going to make it, and every day you do better than the last is a day when you’re the best version of yourself!.
