Healthy returns: Content marketing opportunities for health and wellness brands

The age of digital is impacting just about everything in our lives - including dietary choices and eating patterns. On a personal level, social media is empowering people to be more connected, informed and motivated than ever before. This change to content marketing health and wellness is presenting brands with increasing opportunities that previously did not exist. There's a growing trend online to build a strong community of networks and content to maintain motivation to stay fit and healthy. Exhibit A: Instagram. Exhibit B: Twitter. Exhibit C: Facebook. Need I continue?What this means is that individuals, with access to more and more content all of the time, are empowered to make informed decisions when it comes to their health and wellbeing. Needless to say, the opportunities this is unlocking for brands are limitless.Making the brand personalAt the end of the day, brands need to realise that social media is a platform for the promotion of a personal brand. In other words, people will only share content that is a true reflection of themselves. It should be funny or smart, or both, but above all - it must show integrity.And, when it's all about creating a personal brand, lifestyle and food choices are integral players.Consider these examples:"The phenomenon we're seeing with the advent of Facebook, eBay and Twitter is an individual's ability to create their own brand through the messages and photos they post," said Simon Bell, marketing and social media expert at University of Melbourne, in a recent Body+Soul article.

Are our news feeds making us healthier?

Essentially this means that an individual's ability to shape his or her core identity is at the very centre of social media. When sharing content via social media channels, individuals are creating a reputation around that identity, one that they need to be true to - and the sorts of content they share should embody their core values and beliefs.This is why, when it comes to health and wellness content, brands should keep the customer and never the product at the core of their strategy.Enter content marketing By shifting the focus away from the product and squarely toward the consumer, brands are increasingly able to communicate key messaging and their "essence" in a way that is accessible and shareable.Consider, for instance, the message behind this Tweet from BluePrint - a nutritional cleanse and juice company. https://twitter.com/BPCleanse/status/561229118759776258"Why pair a juice with lip gloss and a watch?" writes Lindsay Kolowich. "Because the kind of person who buys BluePrint's juices is also the kind of person who wears lip gloss and pretty watches. In other words, it fits in well with their buyer persona."Kolowich also notes the way that BluePrint has built its brand around a content marketing strategy, with the buyer persona at the heart of it all. "She is probably a health-conscious graduate who's social online, shops at produce markets, and exercises regularly."To achieve this, BluePrint has a social media strategy that, yes, depicts juicing as part of everyday life, but that is also reflective of broader lifestyle and beauty trends, recipes and seasonal-specific material aimed at the key persona. This allows the brand to effectively communicate with its audiences, encouraging two-way conversation not at all dissimilar to other health and wellness brands such as Lorna Jane, Base Body Babes, I Quit Sugar and Vitamix.

Some things to keep in mind when creating content in the health and wellness space:

• Put your customer, not your product, at the centre of your content
• Be open to new social media trends and platforms
• Create content that is funny or smart, or both
• Know the difference between native, branded and advertorial content - and experiment with each of these
• Have fun! If you don't enjoy the content, chances are no one else will either

Related: The road to content marketing success is paved with consumer trustRelated: A marketer’s maze: The path to effective content marketingRelated: The difference between B2B and B2C content marketingRelated: Content marketing opportunities for health and wellness brandsRelated: Dealing with disruption: Digital marketing lessons from the Huffington PostRelated: Hijack marketing: Stealing the spotlight