HOW 15 FITNESS INFLUENCERS DROVE 267K+ VIEWS IN 2 CAMPAIGNS

The Brief

X Shadyside is a boutique fitness studio in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood. In late 2022, ownership came to The Stoop with a clear goal: grow membership by putting the studio in front of the local fitness community — without relying on generic paid ads.

Our recommendation was an influencer-led approach, built around two distinct campaign windows tied to the studio's biggest membership drives: New Year (post-holiday resolutions) and Back-to-School / Fall (routine resets). Two campaigns, 15 influencers total, $6,750 in combined spend.

Campaign 1: New Year New Us

Ran December 2022 through February 2023. We locked 7 influencers with a focus on fitness instructors, chiropractors, and lifestyle influencers with authentic Pittsburgh ties:

• Ashley Neicea ($600) — Fitness influencer & instructor, 79.6K followers
• Dr. Brian Meenan ($1,000) — Chiropractor, 101K followers
• Ana Sofia ($200) — Fitness model, 12.1K followers
• Miranda Martin ($200) — Fitness influencer & instructor, 13K followers
• Alex Nichols ($100) — Fitness model & instructor, 2.4K followers
• Michelle Lagree ($100) — Registered dietitian, 1.4K followers
• Cam Laconi ($100) — Fitness & lifestyle influencer, 12.7K followers

Each influencer received a 1x 3-hour content shoot at X Shadyside, produced 1x Reel + 4x Story Posts, and granted 1 month of likeness rights. Total influencer spend: $2,300.

A $1.00 CPC for highly targeted local fitness traffic is excellent — well below the $2–$3 benchmark for fitness influencer campaigns.

Campaign 2: Fall into Fitness

Ran August through September 2023. With Campaign 1 data in hand, we leaned into slightly larger shoots and longer likeness windows. We locked 8 influencers with stronger emphasis on content quality and multi-month usage rights:

• PJ Frontino — Fitness influencer & yoga instructor, 17.1K followers — 1 year likeness
• Ethan Mittereder — Powerlifter, 1.2K followers — 3 months
• Joel Tarzoho — Fitness model & instructor, 2.9K followers — 3 months
• Gabriella Hornack — Fitness & lifestyle influencer, 1.4K followers — 6 months
• Peyton Manko — Fitness & lifestyle influencer, 1.2K followers — 6 months
• The Health Blend (Maggie May + Leia Bouabdellaoui) — Wellness page, 5K followers — 6 months

Total influencer spend: $4,450.

Influencer Sourcing Strategy

For Campaign 2 alone, we evaluated 25+ influencers across fitness, wellness, and lifestyle categories before locking 8. Here's what we screened for:

• Pittsburgh-local or strong Pittsburgh engagement — a national influencer means nothing to a Shadyside studio
• Authentic audience — we checked engagement rates, not just follower counts
• Non-compete status — several influencers were eliminated because they were already partnered with competing studios
• Willingness to commit to on-site shoots — user-generated phone videos perform worse than directed professional shoots
• Reasonable rate relative to reach — we negotiated every deal; one major influencer asked for $3,500 and didn't make the roster

The result: a roster where every dollar went to an influencer who could actually move the needle for X Shadyside's specific market.

What We Learned

• Micro-influencers often out-perform macros for local businesses. A $100 influencer with 2.4K loyal Pittsburgh followers can drive more qualified foot traffic than a $600 influencer with 80K scattered followers
• Directed 3-hour shoots beat self-produced content every time. Professional creative direction during the shoot is where campaigns are won or lost
• Stagger posts across 4–6 weeks, not 1–2. Sustained visibility outperforms a single burst, especially for membership-driven businesses
• Negotiate longer likeness windows on repeat campaigns. Going from 1-month to 6–12 month usage rights in Campaign 2 gave X Shadyside an evergreen content library
• Data carries forward. Campaign 1 gave us the benchmarks to price, pitch, and plan Campaign 2 more efficiently — and will keep compounding across future activations

The Combined Bottom Line

Over two campaigns, X Shadyside reached over a quarter-million views in their local market at a blended cost of $0.025 per view — and built a reusable content library in the process.