The problem with nutrition writing is that the topic is broader than you may think. Your mind might go straight to healthy foods when you hear the word. But at its heart, nutrition is about wellness, a concept that goes beyond eating. Wellness means healthy lifestyles and smart decision-making. This includes exercise and diet but also extends to mental health and disease prevention. The nutrition industry targets everyone from the armchair quarterback to the marathon runner, which makes marketing it for a challenge. So how can you catch the eyes of wellness gurus and newbies alike? Let’s start by looking at what’s new in nutrition writing.
Nutrition Writing Blues in a Nutshell
How can one industry reach such a broad audience? Nutrition writers must create content that appeals to different but distinctive types of consumers. Here are three common personas:
- The Pro – This category caters to not only to the professional athlete but the semi-pro and the enthusiast. The guy who runs every morning before work and keeps a food journal may take nutrition just as seriously as a professional tennis player.
- Joe Q. Exerciser – This is the health-conscious consumer that makes sure to get the CDC required 30 minutes of exercise daily — nothing more and nothing less.
- The Just-Getting-Started Group – This includes the person that wants to live healthier but needs a little direction to make some lifestyle changes.
The trick is to focus on each of these categories in a balanced way — but how?
Get the Skinny on Nutrition Content Marketing News
One of the best ways to reach all three categories is to follow broad trends. Some nutrition writing insights include:
Keep It Clean — Anything that touches on the clean and green movement is bound to be a winner. Today, nutrition-minded consumers want sustainability, recognizable ingredients, and fresh, clean food choices. In fact, William Reed’s Food Navigator-USA.com lists sustainability as the most important trend for 2017.
Think Young-ish — Anti-aging is another huge seller, especially as the baby boomers become seniors who want to stay active. This demographic looks for fitness strategies and dietary supplements that improve mental acuity. They also gravitate toward meal suggestions that are heart healthy.
Be Scientific — Nutrition companies need to keep the science relevant and understandable. Readers want to see reliable data to support the nutritional choices they make for themselves and their families. Ingredients and product claims need to be backed up with targeted clinical research from an authoritative resource. Referencing your Uncle Joe’s blog doesn’t cut it unless he has a professional background in health and nutrition.
Be Visual — Well-made, innovative videos drive the market in every industry. Nutrition is no different.
Get Content-Wise — Provide content, content, and more content to keep your audience engaged, no matter their fitness level. Consumers search the Internet looking for expert advice on:
- What to eat
- How much to eat
- What food choices are healthy
- What food choices are not healthy
Readers want to know how nutrition ties into disease prevention and management, aging, and overall fitness. Companies must hire nutrition writers who can expertly answer questions using relevant studies. In today’s tech-centric world, there is no substitute for focused, well-written, inspirational web content.
What’s Your Whole-Food Inspiration?
One of the better nutrition campaigns from the last few years focused on the whole food trend. This concept often drives discussion about nutrition. But the conversation quickly becomes confusing when you factor in whole food supplements like Megafood offers. It’s not easy to explain to consumers how a powder equals whole food and helps those seeking a balanced and healthy diet.
Megafood used a social media campaign to interact with buyers and connect their supplements to real food. The What’s Your Whole-Food Inspiration asked social media users to show how they use whole food in their daily lives. Soon, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest were filled with enthusiastic responses. The carrot on this clever marketing stick was a chance to have their reply published in their Farm-Fresh Cookbook featuring “recipes to savor from solstice through harvest.”
In this campaign, Megafood used a variety of nifty marketing tricks to draw attention to their whole food products. They leveraged a free downloadable e-book, three major social media networks, and a very trendy topic — sustainable and organic foods.
Another winner in the nutrition category is the “vitamin company with an organic heart.” Since 1999, Viridian has been providing health-conscious consumers with nutrition products to enhance their diet. This company has a history of award-winning marketing campaigns. They can also boast a blog that offers engaging content on everything from superfoods to cruelty-free art. You could spend a month reading their articles and never get bored. Viridian accomplishes the one thing many blogs fail to master — they provide continuity. If you go through the blog, you’ll see they post frequently, and each article makes an impact.
So What Should You Be Reading?
First and foremost, nutrition marketing is still marketing. Start by adding some of the top content marketing blogs to your reading list, like The Content Marketing Institute and The Knowledge Bank. While you’re making that list, don’t forget our very own WriterAccess blog. These sites offer a diverse range of inspirational topics both for consumers and marketers. To pick up some specific nutrition writing tips, check out industry-focused sites like the Natural Products Insider and one of my personal favorites The Fitness Network.
Is nutrition content marketing different from other industries? In many ways, yes. Nutrition content must speak to all aspects of healthy living to be effective. This requires a broader approach than you see in most sectors. When done right, however, your expert nutrition writing can reach every category in your nutrition-conscious audience.
Darla F is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in helping agencies meet their goals by developing creative and engaging content.
