Can Social Media Help You Reach your Health Goals?

Have you ever used social media to help you achieve a health related goal?  Ever try out an application like Map My Run? Admittedly, I have not, but I have seen many friends post run statuses in my news feed. My curiosity lead me to download the application and if you too are curious, please read below.

Map My Run is owned by Under Armour. You will notice in the screen shot above, that if you were to log on to the application to go for a run, you would conveniently see an advertisement for Under Armour shoes. Pretty brilliant marketing, right? In the moment you are thinking about your fitness goals, you see the products that can help you to achieve them.

You will also notice that within the application you can find your friends and connect with them over your fitness goals. You can challenge your friends and encourage each other.

Map My Run allows you to capture your routes which you can use in the future and share with your friends. 

As you are writing down your goals, and “achieving your best” the Under Armour logo is prominently popping out next to the Map My Run title.  A subtle reminder that Under Armour helps you to achieve your fitness goals. 

Near the top right you will also notice a link to “shop”... again, just so you know that Under Armour products are always there when you are working on reaching your fitness goals! 

You vs the Year 2017. Under Armour has set up challenges on the application that allow you to compete and earn exclusive content. You can win Under Armour prizes throughout the competition. 

The Map My Run application has even tapped in to the Blogosphere, so you can further engage in the fitness community. As Li & Bernoff point out, “blog reading is one of the most popular activities in the groundswell, with nearly one in three online Americans reading blogs" ( Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 19).

What do you think, will you down download Map My Run to support your fitness goals?

Another recent example I observed of the power of social media to help you achieve fitness goals was the program Bright Line Eating . My mom joined Bright Line Eating to support her nutrition and weight loss goals and it has been the best program she has ever done for her health.  If you’re interested in a learning more, here is a  short clip from Susan, the founder.

One thing that stood out to me about the success of the program is the way it incorporates an online support group on Facebook in which peers from all over the world can support each other.

My mom described a moment when she had been doing well with her weight loss goals but was feeling stressed and wanted to eat. Instead of eating, she reached out to Bright Life and messaged the group (below is a copy of the message she sent):

Immediately, she received a flood of responses from her peers encouraging her to take a walk, take a moment to reflect and telling her she can do it!  Not only were these words of encouragement, but they were words coming from people who are all working towards the same goal of improved health and facing similar obstacles along the journey. The online community of support is immensely powerful.

As we have seen time and time again, with social media, people can get what they need from each other---whether that is advice on a product or a personal goal. So tell me, are there any online groups or applications that you would recommend for supporting fitness goals? It’s about time to spring into fitness!

Need Some Psychic Income Anyone? You are just a few clicks away!

Have you ever seen a compelling contest on Facebook and found yourself voting minutes later? Did you travel down a rabbit hole and end up learning more about the products that surrounded that contest? The other day I was on Facebook and I noticed a multiple friends posting a picture of a young woman that I recognized from high school. The woman in the picture was hooked up to a chemo pole and wearing a shirt that said “rock that chemo.”  Next to the photo was a link to vote for her for a real Maine wedding--Erica and Juan are the 7th video down the page. 

        

One of my family members recently went through chemotherapy and the experience immediately made me want to help the young woman out and vote for her. The desire to connect, fits with Li & Bernoff’s description of “ the search for psychic income.” As they describe, “psychic rewards come in several varieties, including good feelings from altruism” 

(Li & Bernoff, 2011, 160). 

And now, I am sharing with you, my classmates, and perhaps you will vote too?   For someone you have most likely not met, but learned about from a classmate (me) who learned from a friend of a friend on social media.  Unleash the power of groundswell!

The Real Maine Weddings' contest appeals to both the human desire for competition and for psychic points. Isn't it fun to vote, spread the word, and to try to help the couple of your choice win? Doesn't it feel good to think that you can easily, with just a few clicks, play a small part in helping to create an opportunity that two people will cherish for the rest of their lives?

The Real Maine Weddings site, demonstrates many of Li  & Bernoff’s recommendations, such as their advice that, “to be most effective, these videos must allow people to interact. They should direct people to a social network, a blog, or a community where they can form further relationships with each other or with the company" (Li & Bernoff, 2011, 103).   Chapter 6 pointed out there are many ways to talk to the groundswell but narrowed it down to four of the most common and effective strategies:

• Post a viral video

• Engage in social networks and user-generated content sites

• Join the blogospher

• Create a community

Real Maine Weddings has used all of the above to listen to the groundswell. They ask users to create videos on why they love coastal Maine, which are then shared by and with others to win the competition. This naturally creates exposure for Maine tourism and the companies in the area.

In reading blog examples, like the one above, you will notice that they highlight eight or so Maine vendors (sometimes more!) They are tapping into user-generated content---getting real people to share why they love Maine and Maine companies, rather than having the companies shout at you about why you should love them. The wedding stories create an emotional connection---when people read the stories they may transfer and associate the positive feelings to the businesses involved in the wedding. 

All of the above contributes to fostering a community. The founders of Real Maine Weddings further create community by encouraging their readers to email them (see below): 

The Real Maine website is transparent about the mutual benefits of the contest, as their website describes:

Are any of your curious about what the rest of the competition for the Real Maine Weddings looks like? I was, so I checked out the video that had the most votes, which as of now is  the couple 11th down on the page (Joshua and Alexis). 

One thing I noticed on their video, which I thought was interesting, is that the woman noted that her fiancé proposed with a Day’s ring. This struck me as a little funny and inauthentic, because would you ever talk about your ring like that? Then I looked back on the website and noticed (unsurprisingly) that Day's jewelry is a sponsor of Real Maine Weddings.

Speaking of the Truman Show last class, it kind of reminded me of this:

Anyone seen that movie?

Although I found the Day's jewelry comment a little odd at first, it does fit the concept that, “people are far more willing to trust each other than a company" [...] “And amazingly, people are willing to spend lots of time helping each other, if you just get out of the way” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, 158).  This is evident with the many people who have helped to share the videos of people they may or may not know personally.

Who do you think will win the Real Maine Weddings' contest? (Besides the groundswell that is)!