Among today’s strongest sectors, the health and wellness industry is what you might call “fiscally fit.” However, the crowded marketplace is full of fierce competition. Brands that want to get noticed have to run savvy marketing campaigns to make initial and lasting inroads with buyers. More and more, social media is their platform of choice to gain exposure and stay ahead of the curve.
Just how big is the health and wellness landscape? McKinsey estimates the industry’s net worth is just shy of $500 billion in the United States. Their research also teases future growth of up to 10% annually in the coming years.
Behind this explosion of interest is a general consumer sentiment toward wanting to be “well” in all areas of life. The same McKinsey report found that around eight out of 10 consumers say they’ve made their wellness a priority in their lives. Kantar reporting echoes these findings, concluding that people are now more interested in their emotional, mental, and physical well-being than ever before. In 2023, the Hartman Group dubbed this budding phenomenon the “Great Wellness Reset.”
Health and wellness are undoubtedly important to modern consumers. Yet health-focused brands aren’t guaranteed to nab customers. Instead, companies need to make themselves attractive by implementing strategic social media practices. After all, social media is where increasing numbers of shoppers flock. Companies wanting to build a positive, authentic digital reputation can start by implementing a few tried and tested social marketing techniques to stand out from the crowd.
1. Choose influencers based on brand vision alignment.
Social media influencing remains one of the fastest ways for a brand to connect with existing and future customers. There’s no shortage of health and wellness influencers on popular platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Nevertheless, brands must be careful to choose influencer relationships based not just on the influencer’s reach but also on the influencer’s messaging and personality ethos.
Remember: People can be skeptical. They can also spot fakes when they see them. An influencer who doesn’t have an authentic, obvious connection with a brand will make the brand look bad. On the other hand, an influencer who believes in a brand can help the brand drive sales and grow a fan base.
Making wise influencer choices can produce another desired effect: It encourages user-generated content (UGC). According to EnTribe, 83% of people admit they’re more motivated to buy a product from a UGC post than a straight influencer post. This finding doesn’t negate the importance of working with influencers, but it does underscore the need to ensure that a brand’s influencers can prompt their followers to produce UGC. When that happens, the UGC cements both the influencer’s and the brand’s credibility.
2. Publish well-researched, valuable health and wellness content.
It’s challenging for consumers to find valuable and objective content on many health and wellness topics. Brands producing this educational content can showcase their expertise and help buyers make informed decisions.
As McKinsey notes, sharing knowledge feeds consumers’ hunger for information about the wellness products they’re considering. Through its research, the consulting firm discovered that just about half of all health and wellness consumers wanted to buy products that were high-quality, competitively priced, and likely to work for them. Consequently, brands that create social content explaining why and how their solutions fit those parameters can position themselves in a strong light.
Since social content tends to be skimmed, it needs to be written to be quickly consumed. Some ways to get world-class, research-backed social content noticed are through illustrative videos, images, testimonials, and tantalizing snippets from longer-written content.
3. Forge a tight-knit branded community.
Branded online communities are a fantastic way for brand loyalists to find and support each other. As the community blossoms, the participants start to form a culture. As a result, the brand begins to expand into different populations — and deep connections are formed.
An Inspira survey shows how important those types of connections are. As Jeff Snyder, Inspira’s chief inspiration officer, explains, consumers want to have consistent interactions with brands. “According to [the] survey where we asked consumers how often they interact with brands on social media, 29.1% said “daily,” 26.4% said “weekly,” and 12.7% said “monthly.” That’s over two-thirds of consumers not only believing that communication with a brand is important but [who] are frequently trying to forge a connection.”
To grow communities, Snyder recommends regularly producing content, acknowledging opinions respectfully (and making changes when appropriate), and encouraging further UGC through giveaways, testimonials, and contests.
Health and wellness isn’t a passing fad. It’s a trend with serious legs. However, the only way health-based brands can be runaway successes is by putting time and effort into their social market strategies.