Instagram usage by Saudi female fitness influencers for athlete-branding

In the digital and Online Social Networks (OSN) era, marketing communication methods have been evolving. With branding’s move to a micro-level of personal branding, athletes have been able to construct and control their brand image, managing audience impressions and increasing the athlete’s equity in the fitness field. As a theoretical framework, this study used the lens of Goffman et al.’s (1959) self-presentation theory, Mead’s (1934) role theory, and the Model of Athlete Brand Image (MABI) developed by Arai et al. (2013, 2014). Drawing on the analytic autoethnography approach, this study examines Saudi female fitness influencers’ depiction of their exercise identity through visual content on Instagram, investigating how these experiences are affected by cultural traditions and other challenges. The autoethnography approach used consisted of two types: evocative, which included the researcher’s personal experience as a personal trainer and Instagram user, and an analytic autoethnography including the author’s personal experience and typical case participants’ experiences to avoid subjectivity and better understand the phenomenon. The participants’ cases were investigated in two sequential phases. Of twenty Saudi female fitness influencers, eleven were distributed in three focus groups and nine were interviewed individually in in-depth photo-elicitation interviews. Through the study, the researcher developed a framework for understanding Muslim females’ athlete branding on Instagram, in three main categories: motivations, challenges, and strategies. The study sets out several significant contributions, highlighting Instagram usage and Muslim females’ perspectives and practices in branding. It identifies how occupying the role of a Muslim woman can affect a woman’s role as an athlete in terms of presentation of self in public. It also explores significant findings relating to influencers’ cultural, personal, and professional challenges that shape their online presentation selections and athlete branding strategies. The study draws on a dramaturgical analysis and a qualitative mixed-method approach to demonstrate a rich understanding of athletebranding for Muslim women on an online popular marketing platform.