Social Media has a Friend in Fitness: Greatist

As social media continues to expand and enter more areas of our lives, the health and fitness segment has been dominated by a handful of major companies and publications. Nike was a trendsetter. Men?s Health made a splash early on. For the pure healthy lifestyle enthusiast who also enjoys a good Tweet or Facebook update, there?s an up-and-coming site that has the right mix of substance and social: Greatist.

A quick look at their Facebook page reveals two things: they stay active and they?re not just your standard blog RSS-fed page. They have real engagement and ask real questions of their followers, offering advice at times while staying fresh and fun at others. There are links to posts, of course, but it?s never just a sheer copy and paste of the link. They start discussions surrounding the content, using Facebook as a way to connect rather than just read stories.

The page is geared around a movement more than just a blog. You can see the passion ring true throughout the page and on the tabs as they take a light-hearted approach to the daily grind of keeping fit. Healthy foods, effective exercises, and new-age health trends fill the page but they do so in a way that?s not authoritarian. They aren?t trying to guilt people into being healthy. They?re trying to encourage people to enjoy the benefits of staying healthy while enjoying the methods of doing so along the way.

It?s a picture-perfect example of how a site within a tight niche should operate a Facebook page. Social media is about keeping it as real as possible in the virtual world and tying it into real life when applicable. Greatist does this in exemplary fashion.

Whether you?re doing so for the actual health benefits, for the example that the presence sets in social media, or for a combination of both, we highly recommend liking their Facebook page.