The Past, Present and the Future

After discussing a few topics that cover health and wellness as well as relate to public relations, what does the future hold for Everything Fit? My blog, Everything Fit, originated to complete blog assignments for PRL 215, Advanced Public Relations Writing for a Digital World. The name, “Everything Fit,” was inspired by my healthy food Instagram account @Everything_Eats.

For a back story on @Everything_Eats, I created this account at the end of my freshman year at Syracuse University. After having the best freshman year filled with constant unhealthy dining hall eats and tons of late-night snacks on Marshall Street, the fun eventually caught up to me. Freshman year was the first time in my life where I was completely independent and had to make choices on my own. Of course, eating pizza and grilled cheese every meal as well as having nonstop access to a soft serve machine in the dining hall was enjoyable at first. By the time freshman year ended, I wanted to make a change. I always was an avid gym-goer, yet my eating habits spiraled and I wanted to become more dedicated to eating healthier. I soon learned that a healthy lifestyle consists of “80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise” [1]. I created @Everything_Eats in May 2017, to initially share my healthy meals with others and inspire friends and followers to make these recipes as well. Fast forward to today, creating this healthy Instagram account taught me more than I’ve realized about social media, public relations, and communications techniques.

To start, when I created the account I had zero followers. I mostly generated followers in the beginning, by following my friends on Instagram. One way I gained some awareness was by adding a mix of hashtags in my caption. This provided me with likes from Instagram accounts who searched a specific hashtag, as well as some new followers who found my account through hashtags. Hashtags are important on Instagram because it “gives audiences an organic way to discover branded content through the topics and forums that interest them” [2].

In the first year or so of my account, I mainly posted only pictures of meals on my page. As I became more comfortable posting on my account and my followers grew, I began creating more personal content to connect with my followers. For instance, in my Instagram captions, I often ask questions to engage with my followers and hope for replies. I also always like or reply to all comments, even comments about food ingredients I may not know the answer to. As a public relations practitioner and someone who hopes to grow @Everything_Eats, I feel it’s important to be responsive to all comments as well as follow the PRSA Code of Ethics. This includes, “provid[ing] a voice in the marketplace of ideas, facts and viewpoints…,” [3] “adher[ing] to the highest standards of accuracy and truth…,” [4] and “responsibly us[ing] specialized knowledge” [5].

Another technique I have utilized to engage with my followers is storytelling. Believe it or not, once you tell a personal story, more people than you think will have something in common with you. Storytelling is an impactful way to use “unique and emotion-filled angles to capture the interest of their intended audience” [6]. Furthermore, the more personal you are, followers will be able to relate better to you and the connection between an account and its followers will only grow stronger. I also feel that being relatable on my account has allowed me to form a community within the health and wellness space on Instagram. There are many young women around the age of 21 who also have wellness accounts. It’s a great way to share and exchange ideas and try new things.

Lastly, creating @Everything_Eats has given me the opportunities of becoming a student ambassador for @F_TheFreshman15, a nutrition platform, as well as working with brands on a small scare to try new products. This has helped me learn about other areas of communications even as far as legal aspects. For instance, in COM 408, Advertising and Public Relations Law, I learned about the FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines. I learned that in sponsored Instagram captions writing “A ‘thank you’ to a company or brand doesn’t necessarily communicate that the endorser got something for free…” including “sponsored” is sufficient [7]. I wasn’t even aware that guidelines existed before this. I once was sent boxes of chickpea pasta from Banza, and at the time I was unfamiliar with these guidelines. I posted an image of the boxes of chickpea pasta on my account without even giving it a thought about what I needed to include in the caption. Now that I know these guidelines, I must be upfront with my followers about receiving free products as well as the relationship between a company and my account. It is important to know this for the future as a public relations practitioner and social media user.

Photo 1: Post from @Everything_Eats Instagram account with an updated, FTC approved caption.

Thus, those are just a few of the ways that creating @Everything_Eats has allowed me to gain real-world social media, public relations, and communications experience. Creating a blog, Everything Fit, is a great way for me to elaborate on my thoughts and opinions regarding health topics. It’s also a great way for me to share more information with my followers, get to know them better and grow my account. Creating a blog for @Everything_Eats was something I was always interested in doing, so I am glad that PRL 215 allowed me to do so. I am dedicated to continuing Everything Fit once the semester ends and am excited to write future blog posts!

Citations

1. Gomez, A. (2019, June 11). Is Weight Loss Really 80 Percent Diet and 20 Percent Exercise? Retrieved from https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19982520/weight-loss-80-percent-diet-20-percent-exercise/.

2. MacDonaldView, J. (2017, May 5). The Importance of Hashtags: Know Where, Why, and How to Use Them. Retrieved from https://www.business2community.com/social-media/importance-hashtags-know-use-01837644.

3. Luttrell, Regina. (2019). Social Media: How to Engage, Share and Connect (Third Edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

4. Luttrell, Regina. (2019). Social Media: How to Engage, Share and Connect (Third Edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

5. Luttrell, Regina. (2019). Social Media: How to Engage, Share and Connect (Third Edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

6. Luttrell, Regina. (2019). Social Media: How to Engage, Share and Connect (Third Edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

7. The FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking. (2019, May 15). Retrieved from https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking#SocialNetworkingSites.

Photo 1: @Everything_Eats. (2019, June 22). Finally got to try @EatBanza classic cheddar mac and cheese! Thank you so much @EatBanza for sending me your Mac and cheese to try! It was amazing and tastes even better than regular mac.10/10 recommend 🧀#sponsored. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BzCMTj4J4uF/.

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