Is Whole Foods Fumbling Its Marketing Play for Millennial Health & Nutrition Dollars?

Whole Foods

After losing 20 percent of their value in the last year, Whole Foods is hoping to tap into the buying power of the “thrifty” Millennial generation by opening a less expensive chain of stores in 2016.

Unfortunately, the famously overpriced health food store brand that is referred to nationwide as “Whole Paycheck” may be facing an uphill climb. Here’s why:

Millennials Shop Differently
In my last post 5 Ways Millennials Shop (and How It Affects Health and Nutrition Marketing) I explained that Millennials are less brand and channel loyal than other generations of shoppers. This is true whether they are buying household goods or organic produce. They want convenience and quality at a fair price, and they don’t care where they find it. Continue reading

Health Nutrition Brands Can Spend Less on Paid Media Marketing

4 reasons why earned media is a cost-effective alternative

Earned Media may not be a term that you’re familiar with, but if your health nutrition brand has generated social media followers or positive social mentions, then it is already working for you. Unlike Owned Media, such as your website or blog, or Paid Media, such as Facebook ads, Earned Media is an organic, constantly evolving discussion between customers about their experience with your brand. In short, earned media reflects the reputation you have earned in your market.

Here are 4 reasons why earned media deserves more of your attention:

Continue reading

Social Media Marketing Strategies for Your Health Nutrition Brand

Social Media 01

6 tips for staying ahead of the competition

The effectiveness of advertising on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn is no longer in question. From small startups to large corporations, businesses use social media to increase visitors to their website, bring in new business and improve brand awareness and visibility among their target markets.

Unfortunately, as businesses become comfortable with using social media, they often use the same old approaches over and over again. This is natural, but it is your job to create a buzz. Keeping your social media strategy fresh will help separate you from the competition and keep whatever momentum you’ve already built up going. Here are some ways to push your strategy: Continue reading

Mobile Marketing in the Health Nutrition Market

Dandy

4 innovative tips to keep your brand on the cutting edge

According to a new report from Chetan Sharma Consulting, the US has reached 50 percent smartphone penetration.

Smartphones are in widespread use because they are a convenient way for Americans to communicate with friends, business partners, and customers as well as tap into social media and the ever-increasing number of apps that make life easier. Today’s user relies on their smart phones to access social media accounts, use QR codes, access web sites, or just pass the time by playing games.

Continue reading

Unleashing Creativity in Health Nutrition Marketing

unleash creativity

4 obstacles to innovation and how to overcome them

I can’t tell you how many times clients say that they want to “think outside the box”, when in reality they just want to tweak the same old solutions. Why? Because those solutions are safe.

Nutrition and wellness brands are particularly susceptible to safe thinking because they want to gain consumer trust. The impulse is to stick with what works. But today’s digital consumers are easily bored and content hungry. To engage them, creativity is a necessity, not a luxury.

Continue reading

Using SMS for Marketing Health Nutrition

i❤phone

Simple tips that will help achieve clear results for your SMS marketing strategy

SMS marketing (Short Message Service) uses text messaging to spread a marketing message. When done correctly, it’s the ultimate form of direct marketing, because texts are relevant in the moment. Some marketers don’t put much thought into their SMS strategy. This is a mistake. As a health and nutrition marketer, it’s critical that you target your customer shrewdly in order to see concrete and measurable results. Continue reading

Making a Good First Impression in Health Nutrition Marketing

Some helpful tips to make your brand stand out and reach your target market

With my experience in Health Nutrition Marketing, I can’t stress enough how important it is to create that successful brand “look” that people associate with your product or service using all marketing channels-—advertising, promotion, direct marketing, video, public relations, Websites, online marketing, and social media. Continue reading

Marketing Health Nutrition with Email Newsletter Content

Fly me to the Mooooon...

Some simple ways to improve your content that readers will look forward to receiving

Customers in any brand category have a short attention span, but none more so than those in the health and wellness space. If you are a pharmaceutical CMO, you know how difficult it is to achieve continued compliance with prescription refills. If you are marketing a natural health or sports and nutrition product, you are probably used to a customer base that comes and goes depending on market trends. It’s natural for people to become excited about doing something positive for their health only to get bored or forgetful just months later. As a marketer, your best defense against this extremely human trait is to keep the conversation going so that your product is always top of mind. Continue reading

4 Ways to Use Pinterest for Health Nutrition Marketing

Pinterest has many uses for health nutrition marketers

I’m the first to admit that, in the past, I never would have suggested that health and nutrition brands bother with Pinterest.com, the social website that allows users to “pin” videos and other content they like on a pinboard other users can rate. Pinterest is one of the newest social networking platforms, and the site itself forbids direct sales content. Like many marketers, I put it on my mental backburner, and I hadn’t thought about it since, until I read a recent article by Susan Gunelius. Continue reading