Sex Doesn't Sell: Ideal Fitness Bloggers Lose the Battle for Engagement to Regular Trainers

A new study disproves the classic “sex sells” marketing trope when it comes to fitness influencers. It found that overly attractive content creators are less trustworthy and engaged with their audiences than their more moderate peers due to a psychological barrier to perception.

In today’s world, social media has become part of everyday life. It was believed that appearance could be a key element of a personal brand, but a paradoxical discovery by scientists calls into question established marketing strategies. A study conducted by Andrew B. Edelblum revealed the so-called “reverse beauty effect” among fitness influencers.

It turned out that the more attractive the trainer looks, the less accessible he seems to his audience, which directly reduces the level of subscriber engagement. Initially, the scientists planned to study how the audience reacts to fitness bloggers' advice based on scientific data or personal experience. However, during the pilot study, they were in for a surprise. Contrary to expectations, it turned out that posts with photos of relatively attractive influencers received fewer likes than text publications.

"This unexpected result led us to dig deeper and ask whether physical attractiveness itself was causing this negative reaction," the researchers explain.

To test the hypothesis, we conducted a series of three main experiments with American adults. In the first study, nearly 300 participants viewed a parody social media post with fitness tips. Depending on the condition, the post was accompanied by a photo of either a very attractive woman, a moderately attractive woman, or no image at all. The results clearly showed a pattern: the highly attractive influencer was rated as significantly less persuasive, less trustworthy, and less likable. Intention to follow her account or like her post was also lower, despite the fact that her physical beauty was acknowledged. The key factor explaining this decrease in engagement was precisely the lack of perceived commonality. Moreover, participants who saw the “ideal” fitness model reported lower self-esteem, while viewing the moderately attractive image, on the contrary, increased self-esteem due to a sense of achievability.

The second experiment aimed to find out whether this effect is specific to fitness influencers, whose appearance becomes direct evidence of their expertise, or whether it extends to other niches. Participants were shown posts from very or moderately attractive female influencers who gave advice on either fitness or personal finance (a category where appearance is not directly related to expertise). The results confirmed the hypothesis: the “reverse beauty effect” was significantly more pronounced in the fitness category.

"For fininfluencers, attractiveness did not have a significant negative impact on engagement. This proves that when a blogger's authority is directly associated with their appearance, excessive attractiveness creates a psychological barrier between them and the audience," the experts explain.

The researchers tested whether the strategy of presenting information could neutralize the negative effect. They manipulated the text of the captions to the posts: in one case, the influencer displayed pride and arrogance (“I’ve always looked like this. True greatness is for champions”), in another – modesty and a mention of the work done (“I didn’t always look like this. It took a lot of hard work”).

“Humble captions significantly increased receptivity across the board and completely closed the engagement gap between the very and moderately attractive influencers. When the otherwise perfect fitness model showed vulnerability and acknowledged her struggles, her audience began to perceive her as more approachable and genuine, which brought back interest in her content,” the marketers say.

As Edelblum points out, many people come to fitness already feeling insecure about themselves, so when seeking advice online, it’s critical to find a mentor who feels approachable and psychologically relatable. Content creators with perfect physiques often exacerbate these negative feelings by encouraging comparisons to someone better and creating insecurity instead of motivation.