Social Media

Strava is a platform where users can find, map or record workouts and the app keeps track of the user’s performance and training goals along with speed, distance, elevation change and more. Strava can even recognize if you are running the same route and the app can tell you if your pacing was slower or faster than the previous workout.

While this app is great for athletes to record and analyze their performance, Strava offers an entirely other aspect to their app. The gamification and socialization features make working out fun, social and competitive. Strava users can see other individuals who may be friends or complete strangers who did the same workout that they previously completed. Now users can see how they compare to someone else. This creates friendly competition and can even foment a new friendship between strangers.

Furthering more into the socialization aspect, Strava has a mixture of Facebook and Instagram features. Each Strava user has an activity feed that shows your friends’ activities that you can “like”, give kudos to or write a comment on. Similar to Facebook, Athletes can craft “posts” where they can add photos, headlines, and descriptions and other friends can share. There are also different groups users can join and challenges such as the “November 30-Hour Challenge.” In addition, Strava has a “Clubs” feature that uses your geographical location and allows you to join different clubs in your area.

Strava is an app that is taking over the fitness industry while allowing people a place to communicate, create new relationships, have friendly competition all along with getting the data that one needs to improve their own performance. Strava currently is growing at a 1 million rate of new members every 40 days¹. Their member rate will keep rising as they continue to bring in new exercise features along with social sharing features. Strava will continue to gain popularity as there is no fitness app that is giving the same amount of data while at the same time, promoting challenges among people globally along with trying to gather people with the same interests in their own community area.

Sources:

Gross, M. (n.d.). How strava became the only fitness app that matters. Men’s Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/how-strava-became-the-only-fitness-app-that-matters-w501209/
Hall, C. (2022, January 1). What is Strava, how does it work and is it worth paying for? Pocket-Lint. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/154854-what-is-strava-and-how-does-it-work

^{Pictured above owner Sami Bossert}

P’tula is a fitness apparel company that started in December 2016 by owner Sami Bossert. She worked as a full-time nurse who posted her workouts that turned into a fitness influencer who stated her own apparel company. I had stumbled upon Sami’s Instagram while she was a nurse and watched her entire journey and I am a loyal customer to her brand. P’tula has come a long way with their marketing strategies and within the most recent years they have implemented different strategies that have helped attract new customers and keep old ones loyal.

One strategy that I think is very important in today’s digital marketing world is that P’tula has used brand ambassadors who are real people to help market their products. These people get early access to the products prior to launch so consumers can see what the products look like on real people with all body types. The customer gets a real-life picture and review of the fabric, it’s coloring and how the product fits.

P’tula also does a great job with engaging with their audience. They will re-post the customer if they are tagged in a story or post. Prior to new product launches, Sami also goes on Instagram live to speak about the new products, talk about sizing, colors, fabric and responds to questions from her users in real time. I think this has also promoted her products and generated brand loyalty.

Contests is another strategy that was recently implemented by the company. P’tula has asked customers to review their product in exchange they get entered in a gift card raffle. They want people to post more reviews to a) help other customers make decisions and b) get information on how to better their products.

Within the past month P’tula has been giving incentives for the customer to sign up for text messages which promotes new products and sends discount codes. These text messages will prompt the customer to think about P’tula products and offering discount codes will entice the customer to purchase more.

Even though Sami quit her full-time job as a nurse and started this company on her own, she is still a real-life person, not Kim Kardashian creating a new clothing line. This is something I believe the consumer can truly relate to. Within the past year Sami has used new marketing strategies which has boosted her following and increased her customer base. Using real-life brand ambassadors, engaging with each and every customer via social media, promoting reviews on her website are all huge factors that have helped boost her business. She listens and engages with her audience, she connects with them on different levels, creates brand loyalty and creates products tailored to her client’s wants and needs.

I am excited to see the future of P’tula.

Sources:

https://www.ptula.com/pages/about-us-0804