Fitness Industry Statistics & Benchmarks for Instagram 2024

Instagram KPIs are critical for measuring the success of your social marketing activities. Finding fitness industry statistics and benchmarks can help set realistic measurement goals for your own brand's strategy.

Some of the most common Instagram KPIs for marketers to monitor and track include: 

• Organic reach: The number of impressions your content and account receives, or how many people your content and account reach. 
• Growth rate: Your follower increase ratio.
• Engagement: The ratio of followers interacting with your posts by liking, commenting, and sharing. Engagement can be calculated by: (Likes + Comments) / Followers 

To set goals and KPIs, it’s also helpful to understand how competitors and other brands in your industry perform — from their average engagement, to how often they post. This lets you set realistic, yet exceedable goals for your social accounts, and gauge your performance against competitors.

Fitness Instagram Industry Benchmarks

Whether you're an activewear brand, a gym, or other member of the Fitness Industry, benchmarks guide you towards how much to post each week and how content typically performs in your niche so you can set goals and plan appropriately. The Dash Hudson Insights team pulled platform statistics for a variety of fitness brands on Instagram and TikTok to determine: 

• Average weekly number of posts,
• Average engagement rate,
• Average Effectiveness Rate,
• Average video views,
• Average retention rates.

Sports Instagram Industry Benchmarks

Sports fans can be vocal on social media — but does this extend to Instagram performance in this industry? Average engagement is higher for sports brands, however, they require more frequent posting to achieve this. Their average Effectiveness Rate is just one percent lower than that of the Fitness industry, meaning Instagram benchmarks are fairly similar for both Fitness and Sports.

The Dash Hudson Insights team pulled platform statistics for a variety of sports brands on Instagram to discover: 

• Average weekly number of posts,
• Average engagement rate,
• Average Effectiveness Rate,
• Average video views,
• Average retention rates.

Fitness Industry Statistics 

Data-informed decisions based on account performance are essential, but general industry statistics and social media benchmarks should also be a part of your strategy. 

Here are some key fitness industry statistics to help inform your fitness Instagram strategy: 

What Percentage of Instagram Influencers Are in Fitness?

According to Statista, 3% of influencers make up the fitness category — however, it’s worth noting that 14% of influencers (the majority) make up the Lifestyle category, which can often cater to the fitness industry, particularly novices and those looking for relatable influencers incorporating fitness into their own daily routines. 

How Popular Is the Fitness Industry on Instagram?

While Lifestyle also dominates the ‘most popular’ category and accounts for the most popular type of influencers at 15%, Fitness and Gym is the 8th most popular variety of influencers, with 4% account share. 

How Many Fitness Industry Businesses Are There in the United States?

As of 2022, there are 112.6K fitness industry businesses in the U.S. The fitness industry itself has always relied on visual mediums — from home workout tapes in the 1980’s to early 2000’s, and more recent introductions like the video-based Peloton. As of 2024, there are more than 510 million people following the hashtag #fitness, and more than 135 million following the hashtag #fitnessmotivation on Instagram — there is a huge audience waiting for fitness brands on Instagram.  

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According to Statista, 10% of Gen Z, followed by 9% of millennials report exercise equipment is their favorite product to buy in an online video shopping experience. Instagram’s popularity for the fitness industry — especially Instagram Reels — makes sense when you consider how visual the fitness industry is. 

How Much Revenue Is the Fitness Industry Projected To Bring In?

In 2024, total revenue from the fitness industry is projected to come in at 223.19 billion, with revenue expected to rise to 223.19 billion by 2024, 233.02 billion in 2025, and 248.99 billion in 2026, respectively.

How Brands Use Instagram Fitness Influencers

Some of the best fitness brands work with influencers on Instagram to make a splash and produce entertaining content. Here are some brands that use Instagram in creative ways to boost their engagement. 

@nikesb 

Skateboarding as fitness? Absolutely. Nike has a separate Instagram presence entirely for their line of skateboarding shoes, and for good reason. They use Reels to highlight pro skaters and brand ambassadors wearing their shoes while showing off their skills. They also include feed posts to draw more detailed attention to their products. 

@lululemoneurope 

LuluLemon’s European Instagram account has an excellent content mix on their Instagram feed — from sweat tests from running influencers, and trend-focused content from brand ambassadors, to visuals that highlight running, yoga, and spin. They know that their customer is concerned with style and activity, and they strike a great balance with a variety of personalities on their feed.

@underarmourca

Under Armour’s Canadian Instagram account does a great job of highlighting their superstar brand ambassador’s like the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry, plus workout routines from fitness influencers like @mtfitness.ec and @kdkinetics. Their influencers also include Under Armour’s handle in their bios, which is a great way to enhance their partnership. 

@fitbit 

Fitbit knows that its customers and audience are curious about how to use their Fitbit for a range of activities, and their influencers and partners display this in full on their Instagram profiles. They use influencers to teach workouts, discuss the health benefits of getting outside, and even how to improve your golf swing.    

How Fitness Brands Benefit From Dash Hudson 

Fitness brands can take their Instagram strategy to the next level with Dash Hudson’s powerful Creative Intelligence for content strategy, and Social Commerce features so you can reach your customer in all phases of their awareness — from discovery to purchase. 

A robust Instagram strategy includes content for Reels as well — and luckily, Dash Hudson provides insights and AI-powered insights through Vision that predict which of your visual content has the best chance of performing.

FAQs

How has Instagram influenced the fitness industry?

Fitness, like many other industries, is highly visual — whether it’s the clothing athletes wear, equipment used in workouts (or the workouts themselves), or how a new fitness product can be utilized to enhance performance and wellness, Instagram offers a platform for brands and creators to prove how impactful a product or routine is. Influencers have also changed the fitness industry, with the barrier to entry slightly lower, as fitness influencers don’t necessarily need to be professional athletes to make an impact on the industry. 

How to grow a fitness Instagram account?

Growing a fitness Instagram account is similar to other types of social media profiles. First, understand how the Instagram algorithm works and what content — and goals make sense for your brand. From there, conduct an Instagram competitive analysis to find gaps in your content strategy and determine what your competitors are doing well (and poorly) in theirs. To grow your account when it’s up and running, you should set goals and monitor your account’s performance, post at the best times, and tap into methods to boost your Instagram engagement to encourage your account to be suggested to new users.  

Who are the best social media influencers for fitness?

The best social media influencers for your fitness brand will depend on your business goals, social media demographic, and brand identity. However, the top 3 followed fitness influencers in 2024 are: 

• @michelle_lewin: 16.2M followers 
• @kayla_itsines: 16M followers
• @jenselter: 14.1M followers

Fitness Industry benchmarks for Instagram help brands understand the yield of their social marketing efforts.