Author Archives: Jessica Clay

About Jessica Clay

Jessica is a competitive athlete and the President of Energize HNM, a health and nutrition marketing agency. Jessica is committed to supporting health brands of every size by helping them define their missions and connect with their customers on a deeper, more meaningful level.

Social Media Marketing Strategies for Your Health Nutrition Brand

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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 →

Challenging Consumer Assumptions with Health Nutrition Marketing

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3 reasons to tell customers what your brand isn’t

Conventional advertising wisdom dictates that brands should stay positive by talking about what they are, not about what they aren’t. Lately, I’m finding very good reasons to do just the opposite. In a marketplace brimming with gluten-free, fat-free, sugar-free (and the list goes on) options that contain unnatural substitutes, consumers are becoming VERY interested in what isn’t in their Health Nutrition products.

Health-conscious consumers have had to learn to read between the lines, so when they see a product advertised as “sugar-free”, for instance, they no longer take that at face value. Instead, they mentally substitute the artificial ingredient they know is there: sugar-free = aspartame, Fat-free = more sugar, etc. Continue reading →

Leveraging the Popularity of Fish Oils in Health Nutrition Marketing

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How educating your customer can help your brand lead the way

Originally touted for improving cardiovascular health, fish oil is now a major profit-driver in the health nutrition category. According to a new report published by Transparency Market Research (http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fish-oil.html), the global fish oil market is expected to reach USD 1.7 billion in 2018, up from 1.1 billion in 2011.

This growth is due in large part to the fact that health conscious consumers believe fish oils are beneficial for almost everything including hair, skin, nails, teeth, and joints. It is even used to boost fertility, fight depression and even to treat cancer. A new survey suggests fish oil pills are the most popular dietary supplement in the country—more so than even multivitamins.

As an avid CrossFit athlete, I use fish oil in my shakes every morning, and I have for several years. I believe fish oil aids muscle recovery, improves lunge performance, helps reduce fat, and of course contributes to joint and heart health. I truly believe I am more mentally and physically fit because of it, and I am not alone.

If you manufacture or sell a health nutrition product that contains fish oils, now is the time to lure in more customers by elevating that message in your marketing. Here’s are a few ideas for making it happen: Continue reading →

Using Foursquare to Bolster Health Nutrition Marketing

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3 ways to turn Foursquare users into ambassadors for your brand

With so many social media platforms out there, marketers often forget how critical Foursquare can be to their marketing strategy. Foursquare is the leading location-based social network, and even if you aren’t actively using it, chances are users are finding your business listed on it.

If you don’t know, here’s how Foursquare works: Users “check in” with the app on their mobile phone by selecting their location from a list of venues the application locates nearby. The location-based network allows them to be extremely specific. For instance, they may easily alert their social network, including their Facebook friends and Twitter followers, that they are in a certain aisle or floor of your store. Users earn points for every check-in, so there is an incentive to stay connected. Plus, there is the added bonus of basically bragging about the cool places they’ve been. Wouldn’t you like your business to be one of them?

I believe every business should have an active presence on Foursquare, because users are making a brand recommendation every time they check in. Here are 3 ways you can encourage visitors to your store to check-in with their Foursquare friends.

Continue reading →

Leading Children To Good Habits With Health Nutrition Marketing

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4 ways to make healthy foods and beverages appealing to children

Type-2 Diabetes is more common in children than ever before thanks to a society that serves up a steady diet of fast food and junk food advertising. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), “Food marketing intentionally targets children who are too young to distinguish advertising from truth and induces them to eat high-calorie, low-nutrient (but highly profitable) “junk” foods; companies succeed so well in this effort that business-as-usual cannot be allowed to continue.”

As a fitness expert, I’m acutely aware of how nutrition fuels the mind, body and spirit, and I feel that Health Nutrition Marketers are doing children a service by combating these messages with a healthy alternative. Traditional advertising can be manipulative and inappropriate for young children, but I think healthy food and beverage marketing is responsible marketing when education is the main goal.

With that said, here are some ways that your Health Nutrition brand can reach out and help educate a younger market by speaking their language:

Continue reading →

Marketing Health Nutrition Products to People with Allergies

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3 ways to increase your brand presence in the allergen-free market

Millions of Americans have allergic reactions to food, and there is no cure other than eating foods that are allergen-free. Though this is a growing problem for consumers, I see it as a great opportunity for Health Nutrition marketers to develop more and better allergen-free products.

The allergen-free nutrition market used to center on simple things like leaving out peanuts and soy, but it is expanding all of the time. According to a new report from the Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the global market for foods developed for those with food allergies and intolerances is expected to grow to more than $26.5 billion over the next five years.

Most of the new growth in the allergen-free marketplace is stemming from wheat-free, gluten-free, and lactose-free diets. Numerous celebrities now try out the benefits of gluten-free and wheat-free diets for weight loss and general health. Others are convinced that going gluten-free can help treat diseases and disorders such as autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, multiple sclerosis, infertility, migraines, and more.

With such a huge opportunity in the allergen-free marketplace, it is a great time to get into the act if you haven’t already. Here are the 3 steps you can take to make sure your customer knows about your existing or new allergen-free HNM product:

Continue reading →

Marketing Health Nutrition Products to Moms

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4 ways moms use social media, and why you should care

Moms are constantly seeking advice and comparing their choices to those of other moms. Social Media provides the perfect platform for them to exchange this type of information. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or any of the hundreds of other new social sites out there, moms are connecting at record rates.

80% of moms access social media sites to make their buying decisions. 70% of women make the healthcare decisions for their families. Combine those statistics, and it’s clear why Health Nutrition marketers should be targeting moms through social media.

Here are the 4 things you should know about what moms are doing online: Continue reading →

The Role of Celiac Disease in Health Nutrition Marketing

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4 reasons major HNM brands take gluten-free seriously

A reader of mine recently requested that I write about celiac disease and gluten-free eating. I was surprised at myself for not having broached the subject before. After all, gluten-free is now as common in the health nutrition market as sugar-free or fat-free.

Not long ago, grocery stores were debating whether it was even worth it to stock health foods. Today, Whole Foods is a major retailer, and they now have a section on their website dedicated to educating customers about celiac disease (a digestive disorder caused by an allergy to wheat, barley, and rye) and gluten-free eating.

If you haven’t been paying attention to how gluten-free is impacting the Health Nutrition market, here are 4 reasons you should: Continue reading →

Using Instagram To Energize Your Health Nutrition Marketing

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5 steps for visually marketing your brand

Instagram is a simple social media tool that is similar to twitter but uses photos rather than words. If you haven’t tried Instagram yet, I think you will be impressed by the power image sharing can offer your brand. With Instagram, your brand can use images to create a unique experience, promote events and connect with prospective and current customers. Here are 5 ways to make the most out of what Instagram has to offer: Continue reading →

Keeping Health Nutrition Marketing Simple

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3 reasons simplifying your message can bolster your brand

It’s marketing 101: Find one unique selling point and commit to it. Keeping it simple makes sense for every brand, whether a large coffee chain or a major retailer. But it’s even more important for your Health Nutrition brand, and here’s why: Continue reading →