Budget gym chain Xercise4Less finished 2016 as the top ranking private fitness brand on social media platforms.

The firm was followed by Pure Gym and Virgin Active, who came second and third respectively, in LeisureDB’s Q4 edition of the Social Media Fitness Index.

Facebook remained the most popular social media platform for the top 20 private fitness brands in the UK, with the number of likes increasing by 31,000 across the quarter to 1.07m.

The Gym Group gained the most likes over the three month period, while Vital Health & Wellbeing boosted its number of likes by 56 per cent.

While Twitter continued to be the second most fertile platform for fitness companies with 285,000 combined followers, many experienced a surge in Instagram followers in the run-up to Christmas.

Across the 20 brands there was a 12 per cent increase in Instagram followers from Q3.

However, the number of YouTube views declined by 13 per cent across the board. Despite losing 1.5m views across the period, The Gym Group increased its subscription base by 10 per cent.

David Minton, director of LeisureDB, said that the public and private sector fitness companies “need to reassure themselves they are thinking mobile first”.

“Social media has grown rapidly on the back of mobile and advertising spend is now bigger on mobile than any other platform,” he added.

“With technology racing ahead, social media platforms roll out new advertising offerings constantly. Digital isn’t a destination but a new way of thinking.”