Facebook Group Profile: Offical H.E.A.T Challenge Support Group
Facebook groups are always so fascinating to me. A group of strangers bonding over one common interest that ties them together creates new friendships and “shoulders” to lean on. So when I stumbled across the Offical H.E.A.T Challenge, a group with over 23,000 members I had to take s deeper dive to understand what the formula for success was.
Before diving deep I needed to understand what exactly the H.E.A.T challenge was and why they needed a support group. Darrell Patterson, a personal trainer from Georgia, had the idea to create a fitness challenge that knows no limit. This program can be done in a gym, at home, with a friend, or completely “alone”. The challenge runs for 4 weeks and the winner — whoever had the biggest transformation — wins a CASH PRIZE! In order to keep people focused, motivated, and most importantly accountable, Darrell and the coaches on his team, started a private support group on Facebook.
When it comes to rules and best practices. The group uses the generic Facebook group rules: No hate speech or bullying, be kind and courteous, no promos or spam, and respect everyone's privacy. Additionally, there are no required questions to fill out before requesting access.
I requested access just to peek in for a second to see what makes this group so magical. The members of this group are so helpful and encouraging. They keep each other accountable and the Coaches seem to interact with the members daily Darrell, the creator, goes live every Sunday to answer any questions from members. I think this group is FANTASTIC because these users have access to trainers and nutritionists without having to pay an arm and a leg for it. There are actually multiple members in the group not actively participating in the challenge but using the group as the first touchpoint for deciding if they will actually sign up!
In my infiltration mission, the only “challenges” I noticed were negative Nancies. There were definitely some members who only had bad things to say about the page, the way the program was run, the supplements the trainers recommended, and a plethora of other things. But what I noticed was there were several members who would positively put these negative Nancies in their “place” by explaining how things work in the group and providing testimonials on how this group has saved them or created a huge change in their lives. The coaches also use their lives and other content posted to present factual information which I think is KEY in “shutting down the haters”. While this is one of the more relaxed groups I’ve ever seen I do strongly feel this model works for them.
