The communication strategies of Chinese fitness online influencers: a multimodal discourse analysis based on discipline theory perspective

Purpose This study attempts to explore the strategies of fitness discourse. Design/methodology/approach It employs a multimodal discourse analysis approach to examine the communication strategies of influencers who own personal brands on new media platforms and their short video content. Findings The findings reveal that fitness influencers on Douyin leverage the appeal of fluid and everyday penetration of new media to craft a personal brand identity as “professional knowledge educators”. Through discourse construction strategies such as spatial mobility and visibility, temporal linearity and rhythmicity and the authority of knowledge, these influencers emphasize the professionalism of the fitness knowledge they disseminate. By positioning their audience as passive recipients of knowledge and education, they reinforce an upgraded form of external discipline over their audience’s bodies. Originality/value First, this study explores the interactive relationship between body, health and society, provides a new perspective for the research in the field of sports health and reveals the disciplinary mechanism (especially self-discipline) behind health consumption in the context of mobile Internet and consumer society. Second, the conclusions of this study have certain reference significance in improving the personal brand building ability of fitness practitioners, promoting the development of digital marketing in the fitness industry and promoting the innovation and optimization of short-form fitness videos.