In 2012, 19-year-old Ben Francis founded Gymshark out of his mom’s garage. Now worth an estimated $1 billion, we’ll uncover how the disruptive fitness brand created a whole new market for millennial fitness and built a cult following through social media and influencer marketing.

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Influencer marketing:

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Back in 2012, when Gymshark was first starting out, Instagram was only two years old and the concept of influencer marketing was yet to exist. During the early 2010s YouTubers were the ‘influencers’ of the time, building audiences and communities through their channel subscribers and Francis saw this as an opportunity to leverage his brand.

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“At the time, no one else was doing [influencer marketing]. It came totally naturally to us because we were just fans of the guys.” - Ben Francis

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Since the beginning, Gymshark’s influencer partners were an extension of the brand, only pairing up with people who ensured the brand’s credibility and authenticity which made them so powerful. The focus of these partnerships were to build long-term relationships and forge meaningful connections with them as brand ambassadors.

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Did you know that 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations?

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Into the later half of the 2010s, social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram were growing year on year, just like Gymshark. The business began to scale its network of influencers partnering with only the top fitness influencers with the highest engagement rates and follower counts bringing in a large number of fans.

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Social media marketing:

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From the start, Francis knew the power of influencer marketing and understood that as an e-commerce brand having a strong social presence and social media strategy is everything. The company is well tapped into the social media game and understand that different platforms require different strategies.

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Gymsharks’ individual social channels publish various different types of content, carefully adapted to align with the interests of their followers on each platform. Through this, Gymshark has managed to keep multiple audiences engaged from all sides, accelerating business growth and continuing to maintain brand awareness.

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40% of consumers have made purchases due to influencer posts on Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

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Gymshark has now built huge followings across all the major social networks, including Pinterest which we’ll get on to, but most recently TikTok.

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For many e-commerce brands, TikTok is a great opportunity for product marketing - if you’re able to cut through the noise. With 1 billion daily active users worldwide and the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag garnering over 8.9 billion users, the app is a simple and effective way to get your product out there - with the right strategy. Partnering with TikTok fitness influencers, Gymshark launched the #Gymshark66challenge where users would embark on a 66-day fitness journey and show the results from before and after.

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The hashtag amassed over 700k views and encouraged people to try something new, many of those who participated saw results. This further increased brand affinity and awareness for the Gymsharks as they became a brand strongly associated with a positive change. Besides the challenges, their account focuses on relatable gym content as well as try-on product videos using trending sounds from both ambassadors and Gymshark fans.

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Gymshark utilise Pinterest as a social media platform and SEO tool, which can sometimes be a platform that is overlooked. Creating set Pinterest boards and grouping their product offerings and ranges together, the brand receives almost 10 million views a month and receives most of its social media shares through the platform.

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There are over 335 million people who use Pinterest every month.

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On their account, they share fitness recipes, workout videos, gym humour content and motivational quotes in addition to their product offerings. As a marketing tactic, Pinterest is great for discoverability as most of its users are seeking aspirational and inspirational content. As an SEO tool, Gymshark leverages its brand presence on Pinterest by further interrupting its audience’s customer journeys through the use of content marketing.  

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User-generated content:

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Gymshark’s social media presence and influencer marketing content strategy, has created a flywheel effect generating an influx of user-generated content from Gymshark fans. Users seeing their favourite fitness influencer in Gymshark apparel, purchasing it and posting themselves wearing it all contributes to the content Gymshark is able to generate. Similarly to how the #Gymshark66challenge may have inspired users to buy Gymshark gear to start their own fitness journey and document it on social media.

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Content marketing:

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Aside from social media marketing, Gymshark also runs a native blog called Gymshark Central which helps drive organic traffic to their shop. Their blog offers a range of content from editor’s choice, product & style to health and fitness tips. The blog has the look and feel of an e-magazine and fits the dynamic style of the brand as well as offering more value to their community.

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Gymshark further meets their audience where they are by being active on Spotify. They offer a range of playlists to help motivate their listeners to power through their gym sessions. Each playlist is branded with the Gymshark name and varies depending on the type of fitness mood or workout type - even creating playlists curated by athletes. This is a unique way Gymshark is able to maintain an intimate relationship with their users, keep their brand top of mind and continue to be associated with the positive actions of their users.

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Offline marketing:

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Once Gymshark had built a name for itself, Francis started to roll out pop up stores in major cities. For e-commerce brands it’s important to think about offline marketing strategies, you want your brand to scale and exist beyond social media likes. Gymshark achieved this by hosting immersive events.

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In September 2021, under Covid-19 safety rules, Gymshark hosted a community event in LA where influencers could come and experience their exclusive collections and mingle with others who enjoyed the brand.

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They created an immersive space where people could take photos with various different backgrounds and attendees could write down their fitness goals and habits and be paired with professionals to advise them on how to get started. Again, this is another example of how Gymshark positions themselves as a community-driven brand that’s committed to the positive experiences of their customers.

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What we can learn:

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• Understand your audience and their culture - Part of the brand's appeal was its cultural relevancy, they understood the culture their audience live in and created a brand that enhances their lifestyle.  

• Create a long-term influencer partnership strategy - This means creating meaningful, mutually-beneficial relationships with influencers that will help enhance your brand. Be sure to partner with people who represent the values of your brand and align with your audience, at the end of the day you want to turn them into brand ambassadors and elevate the reputation of your brand.

• In-person events - As an e-commerce brand it’s very easy to get sucked into the echo chamber of the internet, so inviting your community to in-person events is a great way to connect with them. Use offline events as an opportunity for your customers to see and feel your product for themselves in person and meet the people behind the product.

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Want to learn more about successful brand strategies? Click here to read Monzo’s brand strategy and how they built a community-driven brand.

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