Top 3 Digital Marketing Struggles for Health & Wellness Brands
Lately, there has been a rise in health-conscious consumers, especially after the recent global pandemic. With this, we also witnessed an increase in new health and wellness brands, each promoting a unique health benefit for their customers.
This fact, combined with the fast-paced nature of the digital marketing world, health and wellness brands face challenges that are like no other when it comes to digital marketing. If what we’ve mentioned above describes the issues that your brand is facing at the moment, then you’re at the right place.
From navigating strict regulations to building trust with a discerning audience, let’s delve into the top three digital marketing struggles for a health & wellness brand and what you can do to overcome these obstacles.
Navigating strict regulations and compliance issues
Unlike other brands, when you’re dealing with health and wellness, you must adhere to strict regulations and compliance standards that are relevant to your brand and country. This rule applies not only when you produce a health-related product, but also when you market said product.
It is even more of a challenge to market your product digitally when your brand operates in multiple countries. For example, in Malaysia, you would have to adhere to guidelines set by regulatory bodies like the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), while in another country, you would have to make sure to comply with a complete different set of guidelines set by their specific regulatory bodies.
Missteps in adhering to these regulations can lead to severe penalties, such as hefty fines, product recalls, and legal actions. Moreover, non-compliance can severely damage a brand’s reputation, eroding consumer trust and loyalty.
Building and Maintaining Trust with the Audience
Yes, there are many new health and wellness brands, and while this definitely affects how your brand can build and maintain trust, there are other contributing factors too. For example, more and more brands are leveraging digital marketing these days, and this coupled with growing scams online and an overload of digital misinformation, consumers are getting vary of the content that they find online.
This makes it hard for a genuine health and wellness brand to truly stand out and gain the trust of their audience, especially since most of them are now on guard, and are more likely to question the authenticity of health claims.
Creating engaging and compliant content
Digital marketing has evolved rapidly over the past few years. Take social media for an example; the Instagram we know today is very different from when it was introduced and launched in 2010. And to add to that fact, there are so much more platforms now, each demanding a different digital marketing strategy.
This can definitely be a challenge for any brand, let alone one a health and wellness one. Creating engaging content that works specifically for each platform (email marketing, online ads, social media, etc.) is a significant hurdle, especially since the content has to also be legally compliant and reflect the company’s branding.
How to overcome these challenges
Do the top three digital marketing challenges seem like tough hurdles to tackle? Don’t worry, because we’re about to delve into how to overcome these challenges too!
- Navigating strict regulations and compliance issues
As we have explored, when you create content for digital marketing as a health brand, you must make sure that you pay great attention to detail and ensure that you are complying with the regulations set by your local authorities. Failing to do so does not only come with penalties, but will also tarnish your brand’s reputation.
You can also consider hiring an expert or a consultant that knows the industry and regulation well. Develop and implement a process for content creation that involves you checking with the expert before posting any kind of digital marketing collateral.
- Building and maintaining trust with the audiences
Building and maintaining your customer’s trust is the most important thing for a genuine wellness brand. Without trust, it does not matter what content you put out, you will not see an increase in brand awareness or conversion. This is because people only purchase or react to brands that they can rely on for accurate information and safe products, especially when it is related to health.
When drafting content for digital marketing, make sure to be transparent, engaging, and provide testimonials from your previous customers. Provide clear product information through honest communication, and address any potential concerns openly. When you are transparent, this helps your brand to establish a reliable image and reassure your consumers about the safety and efficacy of your products.
Apart from being transparent, consider using customer’s testimonials in your campaign artworks. Including previous customer’s reviews can help boost your brand’s credibility and increase your consumer’s trust. You can also add case studies, and encourage new customers to leave honest feedback so that you can share their experiences and significantly enhance the brand’s reputation.
Finally, don’t forget to engage with your customers. Creating engaging content is one thing (we’ll explore this next), but be sure to respond to questions and comments, because this helps to build a loyal customer base by showing that you, as a brand, value your consumer’s opinions and concerns.
- Creating engaging and compliant content
The digital marketing world is very competitive these days, and this fact is only growing. You never know what is going to go viral next, and sometimes, you would even question ‘why?’. This is why brands try their best to make each and every content that they put out engaging and relevant.
But, finding a balance between creating engaging content while keeping everything compliant is no easy feat. Here are some ways you can employ to help you strike that balance.
Post educational content: When it comes to creating content for a healthcare brand, focus on what your consumer would like to read. When it comes to health and wellness, most people like educational content that informs them about the industry and your product, so focus on creating informational content that provides value to the audience while remaining compliant with regulations.
This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, and other formats that inform and engage the audience without making unsubstantiated claims. On social media, you can try doing this with an Instagram or Facebook carousel post, or even post a story and add it to your account’s highlights later.
Employ creative storytelling: Use creative storytelling techniques to make your health and wellness content more engaging. Consider stories that resonate with audiences, and make the content memorable and impactful. You can do this by sharing success stories, customers journeys, and also behind-the-scenes insights to create a sense of transparency, and foster deeper connection with your audience.
A pro-tip is to not use the same type content all the time. Use tools like Instagram reels or TikTok videos to your storytelling advantage. Mix and match between videos, stories and posts so that your audience do not get easily bored.
Analyze and audit: Review the content you have put out regularly and audit them to see if they reflect and adhere to current regulatory standards. This can help you avoid issues, and give you insights to what has worked for you and where you need to improve. You can use tools like Google Analytics or Meta Business Suite to help you with this, and if need be, you can also consult marketing experts for further aid. Also be sure to constantly research current trends and marketing campaigns when you are reevaluating your current content and planning for future ones.
Let Brand360 Help You!
Navigating through the world of digital marketing is a challenge, but Brand360 has the right team that can help build your brand and make it soar. With our team of experienced professionals, we provide top-notch help for brand design, brand marketing and strategy.
Conclusion
There are definitely challenges in the digital marketing scene, especially if you are a health and wellness brand. You have to juggle between being compliant to local regulations, creating engaging content and building trustworthiness, all while maintaining and adhering to your branding guidelines.
But, by regularly checking up on new rules and consulting experts, you can make sure that your content and information is always compliant and would not bring you repercussions. You can also employ strategies like making your content transparent, and adding genuine customer reviews to further build the credibility of your brand, and improve trustworthiness among your consumers.
Keep researching current regulations and trends online to continuously improve your content, and keep it relevant to your product and target audience. Last but not least, reach out to marketing experts like Brand360 for help with brand marketing and strategy that will be catered to your specific brand and target audience.