Creating vitamin and supplements content that creates trust, loyalty and cut through

Legitimise, humanise and find the right eyes – the three steps to incredible vitamin and supplements content 

Echinacea and vitamin C before breakfast to ward off colds, collagen powder with a cuppa to combat the signs of ageing, a few drops of CBD oil to reduce stress after a long day… gone are the days of taking a simple multi-vit to hit our RDAs.  

As our collective understanding of the importance of holistic health grows, so does our interest in finding the perfect, most personalised way to support our wellbeing through vitamins and supplements. Did you know that search interest around the phrase “What vitamins should I take” has increased by 60% in the past month alone?  

Of course, a pandemic will do that. When faced with a new health threat, it’s only natural to want to do everything we can to protect ourselves and our families. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that search mentions of supplements alongside the word Covid are on the rise – “vitamin D Covid”, for example. But consumers are constantly seeking out content that focuses on lifestyle behaviours around supplements, too: think “when is the best time to take vitamins”, “supplements that boost the immune system”, and “proof that collagen supplements work”.  

Most importantly, though, this interest isn’t cursory – nearly a quarter of vitamin and/or supplement users have increased their intake during the pandemic. So how can brands successfully tap into this ever-growing trend for (virtuous) pill-popping? 

With content that legitimises your offerings and humanises the results – and then by choosing the perfect platform for it. Legitimise, humanise, find the right eyes. Here’s how… 

LEGITIMISE  

To legitimise your offerings, first you have to be honest about one of the biggest hurdles faced by the industry: customers are confused by, and even apprehensive of, vitamins and supplements.  

They know the industry is regulated differently to standard medicines or OTC drugs, but don’t quite know what that means for their health. According to social listening carried out by Hearst: 

• When it comes to purchasing vitamins, scepticism is frequently cited by consumers.  

• Popular searches between January 2019 and December 2020 centre on the effectiveness of several vitamins and supplements and one of the most common questions is why the market isn’t regulated.  

• Additionally, search trends have shown safety to be a concern, especially around sports nutrition and weight-loss products.

But you can overcome this hurdle – view it as an invitation to pull back the curtain on your process. Prioritise education, with an emphasis on dispelling myths surrounding certain products, clearly outlining their benefits, and building trust on a brand level first to ensure credibility. Explain why you can make the claims you do – and talk about the science. Don’t be scared of referring to complex processes, as customers will appreciate the respect of being spoken to intelligently.   

Honest content helps forge a deep and trusted connection – essential for building brand loyalty and cut through in the saturated health and self-care market. And we know what you’re thinking… yes, you can make this type of content interesting, engaging and social-friendly. Get in touch for a brainstorming session with the HCA creative team to learn how.  

HUMANISE 

When it comes to vitamins and supplements, it can be tricky to get the content balance right: it is often either dull and dry, or far too superficial. Dull content only focuses on the facts and forgets the emotional reasons why a person might use it. Shallow content does the opposite – it emphasises the benefits with impressive aesthetics but no genuine substance. Either way, consumers are left wanting more. The way to overcome this? Humanise the results. 

Word of mouth recommendations are incredibly important for health supplements. While brands can’t create this authenticity themselves, one way to do this is with user-generated content. Seeing pictures of real people using products and giving their honest take not only creates compelling visual reviews that help shoppers feel more connected to the brand through social proof, it actually increases conversion and engagement rates. Authentic user-generated content is five times more likely to convert than professionally produced content.  

You can create a similar impact with your own content, too, through curated yet authentic testimonials. Showcasing stories of people who have used and benefitted from the products – for example, “What’s in my pillbox” and “I started using CBD every day and here’s what happened” – is another way to benefit from the word-of-mouth effect. 

FIND THE RIGHT EYES 

Great content doesn’t help you if no one sees it. Seeding your content out onto the right platform – be it your website, Instagram page or YouTube channel – is key to making sure your content gets the impact it deserves.  

Knowing how your audience behaves across each of these platforms is crucial. While YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are the social media channels most adopted by this audience, did you know they over-index most in using Pinterest? Vitamin and supplement buyers are 66% more likely than the average UK population to use Pinterest. 

Pinterest’s influence is paramount: 93% of users have used Pinterest to plan for purchases, 50% have made a purchase after seeing a promoted pin and 61% have discovered new brands or products from promoted pins. Meanwhile, 98% of Pinners say they’ve tried new things found on Pinterest versus 71% on other social media platforms. If you’re only sharing your content on, say, Facebook and Instagram, you could be missing out on a highly engaged, ready-to-act audience.  

Or take YouTube, the second most-visited site after Google, with 2bn unique users every month. Video has been reported to help health and fitness companies maintain a 60% return rate for customers, three times the industry average. Uncertainty triggered by the pandemic drove a greater number of people to seek videos related to food and nutrition, exercise, relaxation and sleep. YouTube and self-care go hand in hand. 

At HCA we put the audience at the heart of all our content strategies. From pinpointing the truth in their motivation to make purchases and understanding their barriers to entry, to ensuring our content meets those needs head on, we’ll make sure your strategy for content distribution is spot on, not only for your marketing goals, but to reach your potential audience as well, giving it true, measurable, purpose.